Gary Herbert (7 May 1947-) was the Republican Governor of Utah from 11 August 2009 to 4 January 2021, succeeding Jon Huntsman Jr. and preceding Spencer Cox.
Biography[]
Gary Herbert was born in American Fork, Utah in 1947, and he was raised in Orem before becoming a Mormon missionary. He served in the state national guard for six years and became a realtor in civilian life; Herbert also served on the Utah County Commission from 1990 to 2004, as Lieutenant Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009, and as Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. Herbert saw low taxes, limited government spending, and the creation of a business-friendly environment as the best means to foster job growth after the Great Recession, and he opposed same-sex marriage (although he later signed into law an anti-discrimination bill to protect LGBT people in employment and housing), supported gun rights while opposing excessive magazine sizes, opposed Medicaid expansion, opposed the legalization of medical marijuana, supported free-range parenting, and supported international trade.