Doug Burgum

Doug Burgum took office as the 33rd governor of North Dakota on Dec. 15, 2016. He was elected governor on Nov. 8, 2016, in his first run for political office. On Nov. 3, 2020, Burgum was elected to his second term as governor. Born Aug. 1, 1956, Burgum grew up in Arthur, N.D., and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in university studies from North Dakota State University in 1978. He earned a master’s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1980. He helped lead Great Plains Software from a small startup company in 1983 into a tech firm that employed thousands of team members from more than 220 cities across North Dakota. Burgum led Great Plains as CEO through its initial public offering in 1997 and acquisition by Microsoft Corp. in 2001. He remained at Microsoft as senior vice president through 2007. In 2006, Burgum reaffirmed his passion for North Dakota by founding Kilbourne Group, a real estate development firm In 2008, Burgum co-founded Arthur Ventures, a venture capital firm. He has maintained his commitment and connection to his roots through family farm partnerships, by serving as a member for Arthur Companies, Inc., a diversified agribusiness company founded by his grandparents in 1906, and through a ranching partnership in the Badlands of western North Dakota. Burgum is married to Kathryn Burgum and has two sons, Joe and Tom, and a daughter, Jesse. Burgum of North Dakota, a wealthy businessman, lent his presidential campaign $14.8 million; the campaign spent $17.8 million before he left the race in December 2023. A super PAC backing him raised $24.1 million and spent $24 million.