Michael O. Leavitt
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 20th
United States secretary of health and human services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
from 2005 to 2009 and the 10th
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other envir ...
from 2003 to 2005. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 14th
governor of Utah A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
from 1993 to 2003. 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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
and
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
(CEO) of The Leavitt Group. As governor, Leavitt worked to establish
Western Governors University Western Governors University (WGU) is a private online university based in Millcreek, Utah, United States. The university uses an online competency-based learning model, providing advanced education for working professionals. Degrees awarded b ...
and the first charter schools in Utah, led the state's preparation for the
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
in Utah, was a leader in the implementation of a modernized system of
sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
on
e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...
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. Leavitt resigned as governor in 2003 after he was successfully nominated by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
to lead the EPA; he was succeeded as governor by Olene Walker, his lieutenant governor. 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 Medicare (United States), Medicare Part D, also called the Medicare prescription drug benefit, is an optional United States federal-government program to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered prescription drugs. Part D was enact ...
, developed the National Pandemic Plan, promoted value-based health care, mitigated the effects of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, opened FDA offices in China, India, South America, and reauthorized SCHIP and TANF. Leavitt now works as a health care advisor, investor, and independent corporate director. In August 2021, he became president of
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
.


Early life and education

Leavitt was born in
Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. Located south of Salt Lake City, it is north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Utah, Interstate 15. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City. It is the home of the Ut ...
, the son of Phyllis Anne (Okerlund) and Dixie L. Leavitt. Leavitt graduated with a degree in
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
from Southern Utah University and married Jacalyn Smith. They have five children. Leavitt is a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church). He is a descendant of an old
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
family, and a direct descendant of Dudley Leavitt, a
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
pioneer.


Career


Early career

Leavitt's business career started with his joining The Leavitt Group, a regional insurance company founded by his father. He rose to become the company's president and CEO and presided over a period of expansion. He was subsequently appointed to the boards of directors of numerous local and regional companies, including Utah Power and Light, as well as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents. As a regent, he helped oversee Utah's nine public colleges and universities. For four years, he was chair of Southern Utah University's (SUU) board of trustees. In 1976, Leavitt assisted his father, then a Utah state senator, in an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He worked on a number of U.S. Senate campaigns through the 1980s for
Jake Garn Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn (born October 12, 1932) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Utah. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1974 to 1993. Garn ...
and
Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senat ...
.


Public service


Governor of Utah

Leavitt first ran for governor in 1992. He had tough competition in the Republican Party primary from Richard Eyre who had more delegates vote for him at the state Republican convention. He defeated Independent Party candidate Merrill Cook and Democratic nominee Stewart Hanson in the general election, becoming the 14th Governor of the State of
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
. A holiday fire shortly before noon on December 15, 1993, destroyed much of the Utah Governor's Mansion, but spared the lives of the first family and staff (Jacalyn Leavitt and some members of the family and staff were in the home at the time of the fire). Leavitt was re-elected in 1996 with the largest vote total in state history. While Governor, he and
Roy Romer Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2000 to 2006. Romer was a ...
of Colorado were the two key founders of
Western Governors University Western Governors University (WGU) is a private online university based in Millcreek, Utah, United States. The university uses an online competency-based learning model, providing advanced education for working professionals. Degrees awarded b ...
in 1997, one of the first exclusively online schools in the nation. In addition to Leavitt and Romer, 17 other governors signed legislation creating the school as a
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...
. In 2000, Leavitt became only the second governor in Utah history to be re-elected to a third term. As governor, he held leadership positions in national and regional organizations, which included chairing the Republican Governors Association from 1994 to 1995, the Western Governors Association from 1995 to 1996, the Council of State Governments from 1996 to 1997, and the National Governors Association from 1999 to 2000.


EPA Administrator

On August 11, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Leavitt as Administrator of the EPA at a press conference in
Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, counti ...
. He was confirmed on October 28, 2003, by a vote of 88–8 in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
. On November 5, having resigned the governorship, Leavitt was sworn in as the 10th Administrator of the EPA. At the EPA he implemented higher standards for ozone, diesel fuels and other air pollutants. He organized and managed a collaboration to develop a federal plan to clean up the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. He is also the co-author of an environmental policy called Enlibra.


Secretary of Health and Human Services

On December 13, 2004, Leavitt was nominated by Bush to succeed
Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...
as Secretary of HHS, and was confirmed by the Senate by
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...
on January 26, 2005. He was commonly known for his advocating that Medicare was drifting toward financial insolvency. Secretary Leavitt cited the work of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
's Michael McCoy as the most compelling scientific work into the avian flu threat. This encouraged Leavitt to mobilize the nation's pandemic preparedness and led to the reconfiguring of the nation's medical emergency plans. Leavitt also served on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. In August 2007, Leavitt became the first cabinet-level
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
ger in U.S. history.


Presidential transitions

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Leavitt was Chairman of the Transition Committee for Republican nominee
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
. This was the first time a Presidential transition had planned under the Presidential Transition Act of 2010. In August 2012, ''Politico'' reported Leavitt to be "creating a government-in-waiting plan for Mitt Romney" and "a lock for...
White House chief of staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...
or Treasury secretary" in a potential Romney administration if he had won that year's presidential election against incumbent
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. In 2014 and 2015, Leavitt advised Congress on how to improve the statutes governing presidential transitions. On December 18, 2015, the Edward "Ted" Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 was signed into law by President Barack Obama. In the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, Leavitt was part of a team organized by the Center for Public Service and the Center for Presidential Transition who advised both Republicans and Democrats' presidential campaigns on the development of effective transitions plans.


Electoral reform

In 2013, Leavitt partnered with former Utah First Lady Norma Matheson and businesswoman Gail Miller to launch "Count My Vote", a
bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...
effort to push for state
electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...
. Together, they successfully lobbied for a new law allowing candidates access to the primary election ballot by gathering signatures in Utah.


Leavitt Partners

In 2009, Leavitt organized Leavitt Partners, a consulting firm to advise clients in health care policy matters.Cannon, Michael (2011-06-28
Republicans Getting Rich off ObamaCare
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...
The firm evolved into a leading authority on value-based health care. In April 2021, Leavitt Partners merged with Health Management Associates and Leavitt was appointed Co-Chairman of the combined firm.


Tabernacle Choir president

On August 6, 2021, Gérald Caussé, the LDS Church's presiding bishop, announced that Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square president Ron Jarrett was stepping down after nine years of service and that Leavitt would replace him in that role.


Philanthropy

Leavitt's family
charitable foundation A foundation (also referred to as a charitable foundation) is a type of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that usually provides funding and support to other charitable organizations through grants, while also potentially participating d ...
, the Dixie and Anne Leavitt Foundation, was established by the Leavitt family in 2000, and the family has donated nearly $9 million of assets to it since.


Electoral history

*1992 Race for Governor **Michael Leavitt (R), 42% ** Merrill Cook (I), 34% **Stewart Hanson (D), 23% *1996 Race for Governor **Michael Leavitt (R) (inc.), 75% ** Jim Bradley (D), 23% *2000 Race for Governor **Michael Leavitt (R) (inc.), 56% ** Bill Orton (D), 42%


References


External links


Official Website
*
NPR Story about Leavitt's blogFormer Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt Keynote Patient Flow SummitLeavitt Partners
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Mike 1951 births 21st-century Utah politicians Administrators of the United States Environmental Protection Agency American bloggers George W. Bush administration cabinet members Republican Party governors of Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah Leavitt family Living people Southern Utah University alumni Western Governors University people 2000 United States presidential electors United States secretaries of health and human services 21st-century United States government officials