Dave Freudenthal

David Duane "Dave" Freudenthal (/ˈfriːdənθɑːl/; born October 12, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming from 2003 to 2011.

Education and early life

Freudenthal was born in Thermopolis, the seat of Hot Springs County in north central Wyoming, the seventh of eight children, and grew up on a farm north of town. He graduated in 1973 from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, with a bachelor's degree in economics. After graduating he joined the Department of Economic Planning and Development as an economist and later became the state planning director for Governor Edgar Herschler.

Freudenthal entered the University of Wyoming College of Law, receiving his law degree in 1980, and went into private practice.

Political career

In 1994, he was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming upon the recommendation of then-Governor Mike Sullivan. Freudenthal left the post of U.S. Attorney in May 2001.

Freudenthal was elected Governor of Wyoming on November 7, 2002. He was reelected to his second term on November 7, 2006, and announced on March 4, 2010, that he would not attempt to seek a third term as governor.

On April 2, 2008, Freudenthal endorsed Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois for the party's presidential nomination, having cited "Obama's style of leadership and openness to discussion." Obama won the Wyoming Democratic caucus by a 61.44-37.83 margin over then U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

After retiring as governor, Freudenthal joined the law firm of Crowell & Moring as Senior Counsel in the firm's Cheyenne, Wyoming office.

Freudenthal is married to Nancy D. Freudenthal, a native of 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.