Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American Republican Party politician who served as the 14th governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003, and in the George W. Bush administration as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2005 to 2009.
Leavitt started his career in 1972 and worked in the insurance and risk management industry until 1992. From 1984 until his election as Governor of Utah in 1992, he was the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Leavitt Group. As governor, Leavitt worked to establish Western Governors University and the first charter schools in Utah, led the state's preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, was a leader in the implementation of a modernized system of sales tax on e-commerce throughout the United States, negotiated the largest land exchanges between a state and the federal government, initiated an engineering education initiative, worked on the devolution of welfare to the states, and established the Utah Centennial Highway Fund which featured design build highway construction.
Leavitt resigned as governor in 2003 after he was successfully nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the EPA; he was succeeded as governor by Olene Walker, his lieutenant governor. Leavitt was promoted to Secretary of Health and Human Services at the start of Bush's second term, serving until the conclusion of the Bush administration. As HHS Secretary, he oversaw the implementation of Medicare Part D, developed the National Pandemic Plan, promoted value-based health care, mitigated the effects of Hurricane Katrina, opened FDA offices in China, India, South America, and reauthorized SCHIP and TANF.
Leavitt now works as a health care advisor, investor, and independent corporate director. In August 2021, he became president of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Early life and education
Leavitt was born in Cedar City, Utah, the son of Phyllis Anne (Okerlund) and Dixie L. Leavitt. Leavitt graduated with a degree in business from Southern Utah University and married Jacalyn Smith. They have five children.
Leavitt is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He is a descendant of an old Massachusetts Puritan family, and a direct descendant of Dudley Leavitt, a Mormon pioneer.
Career
Early career
Leavitt's business career started with his joining The Leavitt Group, a regional insurance company founded by his father. He rose to become the company's president and CEO and presided over a period of expansion. He was subsequently appointed to the boards of directors of numerous local and regional companies, including Utah Power and Light, as well as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents. As a regent, he helped oversee Utah's nine public colleges and universities. For four years, he was chair of Southern Utah University's (SUU) board of trustees.
In 1976, Leavitt assisted his father, then a Utah state senator, in an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He worked on a number of U.S. Senate campaigns through the 1980s for Jake Garn and Orrin Hatch.
Public service
Governor of Utah
Leavitt first ran for governor in 1992. He had tough competition in the Republican Party primary from Richard Eyre who had more delegates vote for him at the state Republican convention. He defeated Independent Party candidate Merrill Cook and Democratic nominee Stewart Hanson in the general election, becoming the 14th Governor of the State of Utah.
A holiday fire shortly before noon on December 15, 1993, destroyed much of the Utah Governor's Mansion, but spared the lives of the first family and staff (Jacalyn Leavitt and some members of the family and staff were in the home at the time of the fire).
Leavitt was re-elected in 1996 with the largest vote total in state history. While Governor, he and Roy Romer of Colorado were the two key founders of Western Governors University in 1997, one of the first exclusively online schools in the nation. In addition to Leavitt and Romer, 17 other governors signed legislation creating the school as a non-profit private university.
In 2000, Leavitt became only the second governor in Utah history to be re-elected to a third term. As governor, he held leadership positions in national and regional organizations, which included chairing the Republican Governors Association from 1994 to 1995, the Western Governors Association from 1995 to 1996, the Council of State Governments from 1996 to 1997, and the National Governors Association from 1999 to 2000.