RICK PERRY FORMER GOVERNOR OF TEXAS MONDAY 2000-2015 GOVERNOR OF TEXAS 1999-2000 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF TEXAS 1991-1999 COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE OF TEXAS 1985-1991 TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1972-1977 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 1972 GRADUATE OF TEXAS A &M UNIVERSITY
Former Governor Rick Perry was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2008 and in 2016. A fifth-generation Texan, Perry grew up in Haskell County. His parents were cotton farmers, and Perry was among the first in his family to attend college. After graduating from Texas A&M University, Perry served in the U.S. Air Force for five years. He flew C-130 tactical aircraft in the U.S., the Middle East, and Europe, rising to the rank of captain before returning to Texas to work on his family’s ranch. In 1984, Perry ran for and won his first election. For the next six years, he served in the Texas House of Representatives. Perry originally assumed office as a Democrat, but in 1980, he voted for Ronald Reagan and nine years later he switched parties. Perry served as Texas’ lieutenant governor from 1999 to 2000. In 2000, he was elected governor and remains the longest-serving governor in Texas history. Perry’s wife, Anita, was his childhood sweetheart. They two have two children and two grandchildren. Official Bio