Robert Francis McDonnell (15 June 1954-) was the Republican Governor of Virginia from 16 January 2010 to 11 January 2014, succeeding Tim Kaine and preceding Terry McAuliffe.
Biography[]
Robert Francis McDonnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1954, and he was raised in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He served in the US Army in West Germany and New Jersey from 1976 to 1981 before working in the hospital supply industry and retraining as a lawyer. He served in the House of Delegates from 1992 to 1996, as Attorney General of Virginia from 2006 to 2009, and as Governor from 2010 to 2014, and he advocated for privatization and offshore drilling. He also oversaw a decrease in unemployment from 7.4% in 2010 to 5.2% in 2013, and he left office with a 55% approval rating. However, he was sentenced to two years in prison in 2015 for receiving improper gifts and loans from a Virginia businessman, and his conviction was overturned in 2016.