Who is Mitt Romney? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Willard Mitt Romney

Age: 77 Years, 77 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Ann Romney (m. 1969)

father: George Romney

mother: Lenore Romney

children: Ben Romney, Craig Romney, Josh Romney, Matt Romney, Tagg Romney

Born Country: United States

Political Leaders American Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

Ancestry: German American, British American

City: Detroit, Michigan

U.S. State: Michigan

More Facts

education: Harvard University, Brigham Young University

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Childhood & Early Life

Willard Mitt Romney was born on 12 March 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. His father was an automobile executive named George W. Romney and his mother was a homemaker, Lenore Romney. He is the youngest of four siblings. He has English, Scottish, and German ancestry. They were members of the Mormon Church.

He studied at the renowned Cranbrook School and later at the Brigham Young University, from where he received his undergraduate degree. He then attended the Harvard Law School and the Harvard Business School, earning a law degree as well as an MBA.

He spent several months in France as a Mormon missionary. However, just like the other individual Mormon missionaries, he didn’t gain many converts.

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Business Career

Mitt Romney’s business career began shortly after he received a joint Juris Doctor and an MBA from the Harvard University. He was recruited by several firms and he chose to remain in Massachusetts and work for Boston Consulting Group in 1975.

He was eventually hired by ‘Bain & Company’ in 1977. The following year, he was promoted to the role of vice president. He worked with many clients, such as Monsanto Company, Outboard Marine Corporation, Burlington Industries and Corning Incorporated. He was considered one of their best consultants within a few years.

He partnered with Coleman Andrews III and Eric Kriss and founded a spinoff company ‘Bain Capital’ in 1984. Romney himself was the president and managing general partner. Early investors included members of elite Salvadoran families as well as wealthy Latin Americans. The firm was not an affiliate or a division of Bain & Company, but a completely different organization.

Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company in 1990, as it was facing financial problems. He was named the new CEO of the company in 1991 and received a symbolic salary of one dollar. Romney felt that though there was no personal gain for him in returning to the company, he did it out of a sense of obligation to the organization which had employed him and thousands of other people. Over the course of his business career, Romney amassed massive wealth which amounted to around a quarter billion dollars as of 2011.

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Political Career

Mitt Romney had not taken any public or political stance for most of his business career. In 1993, he thought about entering politics mostly due to his wife’s urging. He decided to challenge Democratic US Senator Ted Kennedy—who was seeking re-election for the sixth time—at the United States Senate election in Massachusetts. He formally announced his candidacy as a Republican in 1994. However, in the general election, he was beaten by Kennedy, who received 58 percent of the vote against his 41 per cent.

Later in 2002, he ran for the post of the governor of Massachusetts. He emerged victorious after defeating Shannon O'Brien who received only 45% of the vote. He was sworn in as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts on 2nd January 2003. He declined his governor’s salary of $135,000.

He supported raising fees for drivers’ licenses and gun licenses, and also increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon. He sought to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state as well. He signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, also known as ‘Romneycare’. It required nearly all the residents of the state to buy health insurance coverage or face tax penalties.

He opposed same-sex marriages and civil unions. But he advocated tolerance and supported some forms of domestic partnerships. Since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court required the state to recognize same-sex marriages, he started instructing town clerks to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In 2004 and 2008, he urged the US Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment.

He formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on 13th February 2007. His campaign emphasized his profitable career in the world of business and also his stewardship of the Olympics. His political experience as a governor was also stressed upon. He assembled a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters for his campaign. However, he avoided speaking about his Mormon doctrines.

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Romney received around 4.7 million votes and was eventually defeated by John McCain who became the Republican nominee. He endorsed McCain for president a week later; however, McCain was defeated in the presidential election by Democratic Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, who became the 44th President of the US.

Mitt Romney announced the beginning of his official campaign for the 2012 presidential election in early 2011. He eventually became the Republican nominee. He discussed his stances on taxes, economy, and terrorism, and vocally criticized his opponent Barrack Obama on many issues. His promises included repealing Obama’s health care reform law, as well as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which he called a job killer.

Though Romney led a strong campaign, Obama turned out victorious in the 2012 presidential election and was re-elected the US President. Romney had gained 206 electoral college votes while Obama had received 332. Although it was speculated that Romney would run for the president again in 2016, he later publicly stated that he wouldn’t enter the race. During the Republican campaign, he was a vocal critic of Donald Trump.

In 2018, it was announced that Romney would run for the Senate seat in Utah, which the retiring Orrin Hatch will be vacating.

Major Works

Mitt Romney played a major role in the passage of the Massachusetts health care reform law in 2006. The law aimed at providing health insurance to nearly all of its residents. Under the law, an independent public authority, the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, was established.

He is the author of the book ‘No Apology: The Case for American Greatness’ which became a bestseller. The book details his visions for the US as well as his views on economic and geopolitical matters. He also discusses the need to expand American military programs and their funding. The book, however, does not discuss the social issues faced by Americans. It was published on 2 March 2010.

Awards & Honors

Mitt Romney has received honorary doctorates from several universities, such as the University of Utah and the Southern Virginia University.

He was included by ‘People’ magazine in their list of ’50 Most Beautiful People’ of 2002. He was also included in the Time Magazine’s list of ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’.

He is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Cranbrook School.

Along with his wife, he received the Canterbury Medal from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in 2008.

Personal Life

Mitt Romney is in a long and happy marriage with Ann Romney. They got married in 1969 and have five sons named Tagg, Matt, Ben, Craig, and Josh.

Mitt Romney Biography