Governor Brian Schweitzer

Accomplishments:

On November 2, 2004 Brian was elected as Montana’s first democratic governor since 1988. Brian Schweitzer became the 23rd Governor of the great state of Montana on January 3, 2005.

As Governor, Brian Schweitzer has focused attention on economic development through protecting Montana’s wild places as they are central to the image that draws people to the state. Governor Schweitzer also supports mining and logging as long as it is conducted responsibly.

Since becoming Governor, Brian Schweitzer has overseen an agreement between the state and labor unions that would result in a $70 million increase in pay and benefits for state government workers. This deal would give all employees the larger of either a 3.5 percent or $1,005 pay raise in the first year of the agreement and the larger of a 4 percent or $1,188 raise the second year.

Governor Schweitzer is focused on public safety, providing tax credits to encourage the film industry, increasing state funding for college scholarships, community colleges and technical schools, and promoting sustainable energy policies.

Preparation to serve:

Brian earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Agronomy from Colorado State University, and later earned a Master of Science degree in Soil Science from Montana State University.

After graduation, Brian and his wife, Nancy, began a career of irrigation development that took them to Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. He has built hundreds of miles of roads, poured thousands of yards of concrete, buried many miles of pipe, and built hundreds of structures, from houses to warehouses to distillation plants. During seven years in Saudi Arabia, Brian developed over 28,000 acres of irrigated cropland. Brian and Nancy returned to Montana in 1986 to raise a family and to build a ranching and irrigation business in Montana.

His business and agricultural experience is broad and deep, including extensive farming and ranching experience in Montana, and successful agricultural business projects on five continents. Brian has owned and operated Montana farms in Flathead, Sanders, Rosebud, and Judith Basin Counties.

In 1993, Brian was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the Montana State USDA Farm Service Agency committee. He served for seven years with the FSA, and his three-person committee was responsible for the operation of 46 county offices, 300 employees and a budget of more than $300 million. He resigned in 1999 to run for U.S. Senate.

Brian has been active in developing and implementing national farm policy, and ensuring that the voice of local Montanans is heard. In 1995, he received an award from the Secretary of Agriculture for outreach efforts to Native Americans. In 1996, Brian was appointed to the Montana Rural Development Partnership Board. In 1999, he was appointed to the National Drought Task Force, a 16-member national board, to review policy and report to Congress an improved coordination response to drought emergencies nationwide.

Brian’s life experiences are extensive and diverse. He has learned to fly his own plane, obtained a Montana Boiler’s license, has communicated in several languages and has a chemical applicator’s license.

Link to official site

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