Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels
12th President of the Purdue University System
In office
January 14, 2013 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byFrance Cordova
Timothy Sands (acting)
Succeeded byMung Chiang
49th Governor of Indiana
In office
January 10, 2005 – January 14, 2013
LieutenantBecky Skillman
Preceded byJoe Kernan
Succeeded byMike Pence
33rd Director of the Office of Management and Budget
In office
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2003
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
DeputySean O'Keefe
Nancy P. Dorn
Preceded byJack Lew
Succeeded byJoshua Bolten
White House Director of Political and Intergovernmental Affairs
In office
October 1, 1985 – March 1, 1987
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byEd Rollins
Succeeded byFrank Donatelli
Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
In office
March 26, 1985 – October 1, 1985
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byLee Verstandig
Succeeded byDeborah Steelman
Personal details
Born
Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr

(1949-04-07) April 7, 1949 (age 74)
Monongahela, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Cheri Herman
(m. 1978; div. 1993)
(m. 1997)
Children4
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Indiana University, Indianapolis
Georgetown University (JD)
Signature

Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican, he later served as president of Purdue University from 2013 until the end of 2022.

Daniels began his career as an assistant to senator Richard Lugar, working as his chief of staff in the Senate from 1977 to 1982. He was appointed executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee when Lugar was chairman from 1983 to 1984. He worked as a chief political advisor and as a liaison to President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He then moved back to Indiana to become president of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. He later joined Eli Lilly and Company where he served as president of North American Pharmaceutical Operations from 1993 to 1997 and as senior vice president of corporate strategy and policy from 1997 to 2001. In January 2001, Daniels was appointed by President George W. Bush as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, where he served until June 2003.

Daniels ran in Indiana's 2004 gubernatorial election after leaving the Bush administration. He won the Republican primary with 67% of the vote and defeated Democratic incumbent Governor Joe Kernan in the general election. In 2008, Daniels was reelected to a second term, defeating Jill Long Thompson. During his tenure, Daniels cut the state government workforce by 18%, cut and capped state property taxes, balanced the state budget through austerity measures and increasing spending by less than the inflation rate.[1][2] In his second term, Daniels saw protest by labor unions and Democrats in the state legislature over Indiana's school voucher program, privatization of public highways, and the attempt to pass 'right to work' legislation, leading to the 2011 Indiana legislative walkouts. During the legislature's last session under Daniels, he signed a 'right-to-work law', with Indiana becoming the 23rd state in the nation to pass such legislation.[3]

It was widely speculated that Daniels would be a candidate in the 2012 presidential election,[4][5][6] but he chose not to run.[7] Daniels was selected by the Trustees of the Board of Purdue University, all of whom he appointed or re-appointed while Governor,[8] to become the university president after his term as governor ended on January 14, 2013. He retired as Purdue president on January 1, 2023.

  1. ^ Vaughan, Martin A. (June 11, 2008). "States Move To Cut, Cap Property Taxes As Home Values Decline, Many Will Have to Make Up Lost Revenue by Other Means". Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ Leonhardt, David (January 4, 2011). "Budget Hawk Eyes Deficit". nytimes.com.
  3. ^ Davey, Monica (February 1, 2012). "Indiana Governor Signs a Law Creating a 'Right to Work' State". The New York Times.
  4. ^ York, Byron (June 4, 2009). "Can Mitch Daniels save the GOP?". Washington Examiner. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  5. ^ Will, George F. (February 7, 2010). "Charting a simple road to government solvency". Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Douthat, Ross (March 1, 2010). "A Republican Surprise". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  7. ^ King, Neil (May 22, 2011). "Daniels Withdraws From Presidential Race". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
  8. ^ Hunter, Christy (June 25, 2012). "Daniels has no comment on conflict of interest issue". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved June 11, 2020.