Dave Freudenthal

Dave Freudenthal was born in Thermopolis, the seat of Hot Springs County in north central Wyoming, the seventh of eight children, and grew up on a farm north of town. He graduated in 1973 from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, with a bachelor's degree in economics. After graduating he joined the Department of Economic Planning and Development as an economist and later became the state planning director for Governor Edgar Herschler.

Freudenthal entered the University of Wyoming College of Law, receiving his law degree in 1980, and went into private practice.

In 1994, he was appointed United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming upon the recommendation of then-Governor Mike Sullivan. Freudenthal left the post of U.S. Attorney in May 2001.

Freudenthal was elected Governor of Wyoming on November 5, 2002. He was reelected to a second term on November 7, 2006, beating his opponent by nearly 40%. In June 2007, he appointed John Barrasso to the United States Senate following the death of Craig Thomas. Freudenthal announced on March 4, 2010 that he would not attempt to seek a third term as governor.[2]

Despite being a Democrat in one of the most Republican states in the country (John McCain had won 65% of the vote in the previous presidential election[3]), Freudenthal remained consistently popular with his constituents throughout his tenure. As governor he often took rather conservative positions, leading to squabbles with federal officials and environmental groups.[4] His two terms also oversaw an enormous energy boom and surpluses in government revenue, although later on Freudenthal called for cuts to state agencies as growth slowed.[5] In fact, Freudenthal and his eventual Republican successor, Matt Mead, notably held similar positions on various issues.[6]

On April 2, 2008, Freudenthal endorsed Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois for the party's presidential nomination, having cited "Obama's style of leadership and openness to discussion." Obama won the 2008 Wyoming Democratic caucus by a 61.44-37.83 margin over then U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

After retiring as governor, Freudenthal briefly worked at the law firm of Crowell & Moring as Senior Counsel in the firm's now-defunct Cheyenne, Wyoming office.[7]