Nolan E. Karras (born December 30, 1944 in Ogden, Utah) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and businessman who served as a member of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district conta ...

from 1981 to 1990.

Early life and education

Karras earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking and Finance from

Weber State College Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founde ...

and

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in 1970.

Career

Karras has been a member of the board of trustees of

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

since 2013 and chair since 2015. He served as a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1981 to 1990, representing

Roy, Utah Roy is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States, located on the west side of Interstate 15. The population estimate in 2019 was 39,613, an increase of 5.8% from 36,884 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Ogden− Clearfield, Utah Metropo ...

. He held the office of Speaker of the House from 1989 to 1990. After leaving office, Karras was succeeded as Speaker by Craig Moody. Karras later served as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents for 12 years. He served as chairman from 2001 to 2005. Karras ran for Governor of Utah in the

2004 Utah gubernatorial election The 2004 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2004. The incumbent governor was Republican Olene S. Walker, who had become governor following Mike Leavitt's resignation to join the George W. Bush administration. However, Walker p ...

, coming in second after diplomat Jon Huntsman Jr. in the Republican primary election. Karras had selected former Congresswoman Enid Greene Mickelsen as his running mate. Karras was a member of the Board of Directors of

Scottish Power Scottish Power is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. ScottishPower is the distribution network operator for Central and Southern Scotland, Merseyside, Nor ...

, a corporation that operates as

PacifiCorp PacifiCorp is an electric power company in the western United States. PacifiCorp has two business units: # Pacific Power, a regulated electric utility with service territory throughout Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington. ...

in the United States.

Personal life

Karras is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. He and his wife, Lynda Karras, have three children and 13 grandchildren. Leah Karras, Sophie Karras, Caden Karras, Griffin Karras, Shelby Sanders, Sam Sanders, Whitney Coburn, Josh sanders, Mitch Sanders, Brady Karras, (favorite) Carter Karras, Hannah Karras, Christian Karras.

References

External links

Biography on the Scottish Power Website
1944 births Living people Speakers of the Utah House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Politicians from Ogden, Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah Weber State University alumni University of Utah alumni {{Utah-politician-stub