About Terry Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is a retired American politician and U.S. Army veteran who served as the 39th and 42nd governor of Iowa (1983–1999; 2011–2017) and the United States ambassador to China (2017–2020). A member of the Republican Party, Branstad is the longest-serving governor in United States history, with a total gubernatorial tenure of 22 years, 4 months, and 13 days. Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives and one term as the 40th lieutenant governor of Iowa before he was elected governor in 1982. At age 36, he was the youngest governor in Iowa history upon taking office. After 16 years as governor, he served as president of Des Moines University, a private medical osteopathic school, from 2003 to 2009. In 2010, Branstad returned to Iowa politics, running for governor again and defeating Democratic incumbent Chet Culver to become the state's 42nd governor. In December 2016, president-elect Donald Trump nominated Branstad to serve as the United States Ambassador to China. Branstad resigned as governor of Iowa on May 24, 2017, and was sworn in as the United States ambassador to China on July 12, 2017. In 2020, Branstad resigned from his post to work on Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. Branstad retired from public life in 2025. Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 and was the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1979 to 1983, the year he was first elected governor. When he took office as governor at age 36, Branstad became the youngest chief executive in Iowa's history. Iowa's unemployment rate went from 8.5% when Branstad took office to a record low 2.5% by the time he left office in 1999.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.