Former President Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department
— Former President Donald Trump has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Interior Department. Some things to know about the two-term Republican governor of a sparsely populated state:
Burgum, 67, grew up in tiny Arthur, North Dakota, population 328. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his master’s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
He went on to become a wealthy software executive. He led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum stayed on as a vice president until 2007. He’s also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.
In 2016, Burgum ran for governor, his first campaign for elected office. He touted a message of “reinventing” government as the state dealt with a massive revenue shortfall.
In a major upset, Burgum defeated North Dakota’s longtime attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary. He handily won his first term in the strong Republican state, which has about 784,000 residents.
