Biography of Governor Hoeven
JOHN HOEVEN was sworn in as the state’s 31st Governor in December 2000 and began working to build North Dakota’s future by focusing on six pillars of growth: education, economic development, agriculture, energy, technology and quality of life.
Under his leadership, North Dakota has expanded and diversified its economy, adding thousands of new jobs and growing its targeted industry sectors, including value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, energy development, technology-based business and tourism. During his term, North Dakota’s personal income growth has outpaced the national average. Today, North Dakota continues to grow its economy.
Because of Hoeven’s stewardship, the state ended the last fiscal biennium with a strong reserve for North Dakota’s future, and no new taxes. His current budget focuses on investments that will continue to stimulate the state’s economy, including property and income tax relief, as well as enhanced funding for education, economic development and helping North Dakota families.
In his third term, Governor Hoeven remains committed to enhancing the state’s business climate, reducing taxes and promoting a higher standard of living and a better quality of life for all North Dakotans. Building on previous initiatives, he has advanced new incentives for economic development, renewable energy, and research and development, as well as additional investments in education, including increases for teacher compensation, education equity and adequacy, and expanded funding for Centers of Excellence, an initiative that combines education and economic development to create higher-paying jobs and new business opportunities for North Dakota citizens.
Hoeven directed the development of EmpowerND, a multi-resource energy policy for the state, with incentives in each energy sector, as well as a conservation component. The Governor has worked to advance the state’s traditional energy resources, including lignite coal, oil and gas, while promoting renewable energy opportunities, such as wind, ethanol and biodiesel.
Protecting North Dakota’s citizens and communities has been an important focus of many of Hoeven’s policies and initiatives, including the introduction of new laws to strengthen the state’s violent and sexual offender statutes, and the expansion of North Dakota’s efforts to combat substance abuse, while helping young people involved with drugs through rehabilitative programs such as North Dakota’s Drug Courts.
Hoeven chairs the Governors’ Biofuels Coalition and serves on the Executive Committee of the National Governors Association. He previously served as chair of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, the Midwestern Governors Association, and the National Governors Association’s Health and Human Services Committee and Natural Resources Committee.
Born in Bismarck, North Dakota, Hoeven earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1979 and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University in 1981. He served as executive vice president of First Western Bank in Minot from 1986 to 1993, and from 1993 to 2000, served as president and CEO of the Bank of North Dakota, during which time the bank’s assets grew from $900 million to $1.6 billion.
Hoeven and his wife Mical (Mikey) have two children, Marcela and Jack.
