Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty, known affectionately as “T-Paw,” was a two-term governor of Minnesota and is one of the leading voices in the Republican Party. He used innovative and conservative leadership to balance Minnesota’s budget, cut spending, reform health care, and improve schools without raising taxes. Due to his leadership, Minnesota had nation-leading health care, high school test scores, and a prosperous economy.

Most recently, Pawlenty was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president and is currently offering analysis as a political commentator. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, his presentations address our current political climate in a way that only someone who has traveled the country running for president and served successfully as governor could. Having been in the race, he discusses election analysis, what is next for the GOP, and the issues facing Capitol Hill – from taxes, the economy, and the deficit to health care, education, and social issues, and his presentations are littered with insider stories from the campaign trail. Pawlenty can also do an in-depth, policy analysis for healthcare, education, fiscal issues, and agriculture.

Gubernatorial Career. After being elected governor in 2002, Pawlenty represented the interests of more than five million citizens and was responsible for a $50 billion biennial budget, more than 30,000 employees, and over 30 agencies and departments. He led historic trade missions, business development efforts, and disaster response and screened and appointed judges. As Minnesota’s chief executive officer, Pawlenty also balanced the budget every year – erasing a deficit of $4.3 billion – and cut taxes by nearly $800 million. This moved Minnesota out of the top 10 highest-taxed states – a goal of every Minnesota governor for more than 30 years.

In addition to tackling the state’s fiscal concerns, Tim Pawlenty also championed innovative education and health care reforms that later became national models. His health care reforms made price and quality more transparent for patients, which led to an overall better standard of care. His education reforms held teachers accountable, rewarding the best with a performance-pay system. Pawlenty has long stood behind the importance of education, as he was the first in his family to graduate from college. He earned both his BA and JD from the University of Minnesota. Other public policy initiatives he proposed and implemented in areas such as education, health care, and energy were viewed as amongst the most innovative and impactful in the nation. As chair of the State Board of Investment, Pawlenty also provided oversight of $60 billion in investments.

In 1989, Pawlenty was elected to the local city council and, three years later, to the state House of Representatives. There, he quickly rose to become the Republican majority leader and led efforts to enact the largest tax cuts in Minnesota history.

After his governorship, Tim Pawlenty authored Courage to Stand, which covers his reflections on leadership, public service, and policy, explaining how he successfully governed his left-leaning state.