David Duane Freudenthal (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney, economist, and politician who served as the
31st Governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011. Freudenthal previously was the
United States Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for the
District of Wyoming from 1994 to 2001. , he is the most recent
Democrat to hold statewide office in
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...
.
Biography
Education and career
Dave Freudenthal was born in
Thermopolis
Thermopolis is the county seat and largest town in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town population was 2,725.
Thermopolis is Greek for "hot city." It is home to numerous natural hot springs, in whi ...
, the seat of
Hot Springs County in north central Wyoming, the seventh of eight children; he grew up on a farm north of town. He graduated in 1973 from
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...
in
Amherst Amherst may refer to:
People
* Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst''
* Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
. After graduating he joined the Department of Economic Planning and Development as an economist and later became the state planning director for
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Edgar Herschler
Edgar Jacob Herschler (October 27, 1918 – February 5, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 28th Governor of Wyoming from 1975 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the longest-serving Governor of Wyoming w ...
.
Freudenthal received his
J.D. degree from the
University of Wyoming College of Law
The University of Wyoming College of Law is the law school of the University of Wyoming and the only law school located in Wyoming. It is situated in the Rocky Mountains in Laramie, Wyoming at 7,165 ft. between the Laramie Mountains and Snow ...
in 1980 and went into private practice. After retiring as governor, Freudenthal briefly worked at the law firm of
Crowell & Moring
Crowell & Moring is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Chicago, Indianapolis, Denver, London, Brussels, Doha, and Shanghai. With approximately 600 l ...
as Senior Counsel in the firm's
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistic ...
office.
Political career
In 1994, upon the recommendation of Governor
Mike Sullivan, Freudenthal was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming. He left this post in May 2001 and was replaced by future governor
Matt Mead
Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the D ...
.
In 2002, Freudenthal contested the Democratic primary for the
gubernatorial election
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...
held later that year and won with over 50% of the vote against a field of opponents. He went on to be elected
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Wyoming on November 5, 2002 with 49.9% of the vote. He ran for reelection on
November 7, 2006, and improved his vote count to 70%, sweeping every county in the state. Freudenthal announced on March 4, 2010 that he would not attempt to seek a third term as governor after speculation he would push to repeal state law on term limits; that law limited governors to eight years in office during a 16-year period.
Freudenthal remained consistently popular with his constituents throughout his tenure, even though he was a Democrat in a state that had turned almost solidly Republican. As governor he often took rather conservative positions, leading to disagreements with federal officials and environmental groups. In fact, Freudenthal and his eventual Republican successor,
Matt Mead
Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd Governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the D ...
, notably held similar positions on various issues. The majority of his two terms oversaw an enormous energy boom and surpluses in government revenue, although this was later reversed after the
Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
; Freudenthal then called for cuts to state agencies as growth continued to slow. In June 2007, following the death of US Senator
Craig Thomas he appointed Republican
John Barrasso
John Anthony Barrasso III ( ; born July 21, 1952) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wyoming, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Wyoming State ...
to the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
.
Personal life
Freudenthal is married to
Nancy D. Freudenthal
Nancy Dell Freudenthal (née Roan, February 5, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. She is the first female judge to serve in the District of Wyoming. Freudenthal was also ...
, a native of
Cody
Cody may refer to:
People
*Cody (given name)
*Cody (surname)
* Cody (wrestler), a ring name of Cody Runnels
Places Canada
*Cody, British Columbia
United States
* Cody, Florida
* Cody (Duluth), Minnesota
* Cody, Missouri
* Cody, Nebraska
*Cody, ...
, who serves as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. They have four children: Donald, Hillary, Bret and Katie. In 2008, while serving as Governor, Freudenthal underwent surgery on his shoulder; during this time
Secretary of State Max Maxfield served as acting governor for a short time.
Electoral history
Notes
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freudenthal, Dave
1950 births
Living people
American Episcopalians
Amherst College alumni
Democratic Party governors of Wyoming
People from Thermopolis, Wyoming
State cabinet secretaries of Wyoming
United States Attorneys for the District of Wyoming
University of Wyoming College of Law alumni
Wyoming lawyers