Greg Gianforte
Governor of Montana (born 1961) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gregory Richard Gianforte (/ˌdʒi.ənˈfɔːrteɪ/ JEE-ən-FOR-tay; born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2021.
Greg Gianforte | |
---|---|
25th Governor of Montana | |
Assumed office January 4, 2021 | |
Lieutenant | Kristen Juras |
Preceded by | Steve Bullock |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Montana's at-large district | |
In office June 21, 2017 – January 3, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Ryan Zinke |
Succeeded by | Matt Rosendale |
Personal details | |
Born | Gregory Richard Gianforte (1961-04-17) April 17, 1961 (age 63) San Diego, California, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Susan Gianforte (m. 1988) |
Children | 4 |
Residence | Governor's Residence |
Education | Stevens Institute of Technology (BE, MS) |
Occupation |
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Signature | |
Greg Gianforte speaks in support of the Great American Outdoors Act Recorded July 22, 2020 | |
In 1997, Gianforte and his wife, Susan, co-founded RightNow Technologies, a customer relationship management software company.[1][2] The company went public in 2004; by that time, it employed over 1,000 workers.[3] RightNow Technologies was acquired by Oracle Corporation for $1.5 billion in 2011.[4][5]
In 2016, Gianforte ran for governor of Montana as the Republican nominee, losing to incumbent governor Steve Bullock. In May 2017, Gianforte defeated Democratic nominee Rob Quist in a special election for Montana's at-large congressional seat to fill a vacancy created by the appointment of Ryan Zinke as U.S. secretary of the interior. Gianforte was convicted of misdemeanor assault in state court in June 2017 stemming from an assault on a The Guardian political reporter Ben Jacobs in May 2017.[6] He was fined and sentenced to community service and anger management therapy.[7][8][9] Gianforte was reelected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Kathleen Williams.
Gianforte did not seek reelection to the House of Representatives in 2020 and instead was a candidate in the 2020 Montana gubernatorial election. In the November general election, he defeated incumbent lieutenant governor Mike Cooney.[10] He is the first Republican to serve as governor of Montana since Judy Martz left office in 2005.