On Thursday, November 14th, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as the next Secretary of the Interior. The official announcement is set to be released on Friday.
Trump made this announcement at a dinner hosted by the America First Policy Institute at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with Burgum in attendance.
As the Secretary of the Interior, Burgum will be in charge of overseeing approximately 70,000 federal employees who manage America’s natural resources and federal lands, including national parks and monuments. Additionally, the department is responsible for managing public lands and offshore energy development.
At the age of 67, Burgum grew up in the small town of Arthur with a population of only 328 people in North Dakota. He holds a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The software company he led, Great Plains Software, was acquired by Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum continued as Vice President until 2007. He has also led other real estate development and venture capital companies.
In 2016, Burgum ran for governor and won his first term. He easily secured re-election in 2020.
Upon taking office in December 2016, he dealt with the tumultuous situation of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in the last few months. He led the state through severe droughts and devastating storms.
As governor, Burgum implemented business-oriented policies to boost the state’s major industries like agriculture and oil. He advocated for income tax cuts, regulatory reforms, and modifications to livestock laws and higher education governance.
From June to December of last year, Burgum ran for president. His campaign focused on energy, economy, and national security, but due to a lack of resonance with his campaign platform, he eventually dropped out of the race.
In January of this year, he publicly declared his support for Trump. In the same month, he stated that he would not seek a third term as governor.
(This article referenced reports from the Associated Press and Congressional Quarterly)