Mike Leavitt

Mike Leavitt
20th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
In office January 26, 2005 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Tommy Thompson
Succeeded by	Kathleen Sebelius
10th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
In office November 6, 2003 – January 26, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Christine Todd Whitman
Succeeded by	Stephen L. Johnson
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office August 10, 1999 – July 11, 2000
Preceded by	Tom Carper
Succeeded by	Parris Glendening
14th Governor of Utah
In office January 4, 1993 – November 5, 2003
Lieutenant	Olene Walker
Preceded by	Norman Bangerter
Succeeded by	Olene Walker
Personal details
Born	Michael Okerlund Leavitt (1951-02-11) February 11, 1951 (age 73) Cedar City, Utah, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jacalyn Smith
Children	5
Education	Southern Utah University (BA)

Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American Republican Party politician who served as the 14th governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003, and in the George W. Bush administration as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2005 to 2009.

Leavitt started his career in 1972 and worked in the insurance and risk management industry until 1992. From 1984 until his election as Governor of Utah in 1992, he was the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Leavitt Group. As governor, Leavitt worked to establish Western Governors University and the first charter schools in Utah, led the state's preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, was a leader in the implementation of a modernized system of sales tax on e-commerce throughout the United States, negotiated the largest land exchanges between a state and the federal government, initiated an engineering education initiative, worked on the devolution of welfare to the states, and established the Utah Centennial Highway Fund which featured design build highway construction.^[1][2]

Leavitt resigned as governor in 2003 after he was successfully nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the EPA; he was succeeded as governor by Olene Walker, his lieutenant governor.^[3] Leavitt was promoted to Secretary of Health and Human Services at the start of Bush's second term, serving until the conclusion of the Bush administration. As HHS Secretary, he oversaw the implementation of Medicare Part D, developed the National Pandemic Plan, promoted value-based health care, mitigated the effects of Hurricane Katrina, opened FDA offices in China, India, South America, and reauthorized SCHIP and TANF.^[4]

Leavitt now works as a health care advisor, investor, and independent corporate director.^[5] In August 2021, he became president of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.^[6]