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Brian Schweitzer
23rd Governor of Montana
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2005
Lieutenant(s)	John Bohlinger
Preceded by	Judy Martz
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	September 04, 1955 (age 51) Havre, Montana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Nancy H. Schweitzer
Profession	Rancher, Agribusiness
Religion	Roman Catholic

Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is a Democrat and the current governor of Montana, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest gubernatorial approval ratings in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of around 70 percent [1]. He is also the Recruitment Chair for the Democratic Governors Association for 2006-2007.

Schweitzer was born in Havre, Montana. He was the fourth of six children born to a German-Russian father, Adam, and an Irish mother, Kay. Schweitzer earned his Bachelor of Science degree in international agronomy from Colorado State University in 1978 and a Master of Science in soil science from Montana State University in 1980. Upon finishing school, he worked as an irrigation developer on projects in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, spending much of his time in Saudi Arabia before returning to Montana in 1986 to launch a ranching and irrigation business in Whitefish. Schweitzer married Nancy Hupp in 1981; they began a family after returning to Montana and have three children: Ben, Khai, and Katrina.

Bill Clinton appointed Schweitzer to the United States Department of Agriculture as a member of the Montana USDA Farm Service Agency committee, where he worked for seven years. While working for the USDA, he was appointed to the Montana Rural Development Board (1996), and the National Drought Task Force (1999).

In 2000, Schweitzer ran for U.S. Senate against the Republican incumbent Conrad Burns. In a close race, Schweitzer lost by the surprisingly small margin of 51 percent to 47 percent. When incumbent Governor Judy Martz announced she would not run for re-election in 2004, Schweitzer announced his candidacy. His running mate was John Bohlinger, a Republican state Senator. He won the general election by a margin of 50 percent to 46 percent over Montana Secretary of State Bob Brown.

In March 2005, Schweitzer sparked controversy by suggesting that Montana's National Guard troops be recalled from service in Iraq to assist firefighting during Montana's wildfire season. He has been also gaining national attention lately for his focus on converting Montana's vast coal reserves into fuel, which he has said is one way to wean America off of foreign oil. Schweitzer has been interviewed by 60 Minutes (first aired on February 26, 2006), Diesel Power Magazine (December 2006 issue), and Charlie Rose (March 7, 2007) regarding his work in this field.

On May 3, 2006, Schweitzer granted posthumous pardons to forty persons convicted of sedition during World War I for making comments that were critical of the war. These were the first posthumous pardons in Montana history, but the convictions had become notorious in recent years because Montana's sedition law had been one of the broadest and harshest of its time: one man went to prison for calling food rationing "a joke," while others were targeted because they refused to physically kiss a U.S. flag or to buy Liberty Bonds. At a public ceremony attended by family members of the pardon recipients, Schweitzer said "[i]n times when our country is pushed to our limits, those are the times when it is most important to remember individual rights."

• "Montana governor to pardon 78 convicted during WWI", USA Today.com, May 3, 2006.
• "Pardons granted 88 Years After Crimes of Sedition", NY Times.com, May 3, 2006.

• Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer official state site
  • biography
• National Governors Association - Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer biography
• Follow the Money - Brian Schweitzer 2004 campaign contributions
• On the Issues - Brian Schweitzer issue positions and quotes
• Project Vote Smart - Governor Brian D. Schweitzer (MT) profile
• Schweitzer Bohlinger official campaign site
• 2004 campaign website
• 2008 Montana Governor Race at 2008RaceTracker.com

Governors of Montana
Toole • Rickards • Smith • Toole • Norris • Stewart • Dixon • Erickson • Cooney • Holt • Ayers • Ford • Bonner • Aronson • Nutter • Babcock • Anderson • Judge • Schwinden • Stephens • Racicot • Martz • Schweitzer