Governor Terry Branstad

Governor Terry Branstad was elected to the Iowa House in 1972, ’74 and ’76, served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor in 1978 and governor from 1983 to 1999. At the end of his tenure, Iowa enjoyed record employment and an unprecedented $900 million budget surplus. Branstad then served as President of Des Moines University for six years. In October of 2009, sensing a need for change and wanting to “lead Iowa’s comeback,” Branstad retired from DMU and was again elected governor and took office on January 14, 2011.