Jon Huntsman

Former U.S. Ambassador to China (2009 to 2011)

Why He Matters

The scion of a hyper-wealthy family and former two-term Republican governor from one of the reddest states in the union, Huntsman has made a surprising habit of sometimes bucking the establishment.

Huntsman did so again when he accepted the nomination as U.S. ambassador to China offered by Democratic President Obama. A former deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for East Asia and the Pacific and ex-U.S. ambassador to Singapore, Huntsman learned to speak Mandarin while on Mormon mission to Taiwan during college. He used his language skills to great effect while leading trade trips to China as governor.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Utah governor (2005-2009); Chairman and CEO, Huntsman Family Holdings Co. (2003 to 2004); U.S. Trade Ambassador (2001-2003); President, Huntsman Cancer Foundation (1995 to 2001)
Birthday: March 26, 1960
Hometown: Palo Alto, Calif.
Alma Mater: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1987; Attended University of Utah
Spouse: Kaye Huntsman

Religion: Mormon
Office: East Office Building, Suite E220, P.O. Box 142220, Salt Lake City, 84114
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Path to Power

Huntsman is the son of Jon Huntsman Sr., billionaire industrialist, philanthropist and founder of Utah's largest company, the Huntsman Corporation. The eldest of nine children, Huntsman Jr. spent much of his childhood in California and Washington, D.C., where his father served as a special assistant to President Richard Nixon (R).

After moving to Utah and dropping out of high school to play guitar in a rock band, Huntsman eventually enrolled in classes at the University of Utah. Soon after matriculating, however, he left on a two-year Mormon mission to Taiwan, where he learned to speak fluent Mandarin. He entered the University of Pennsylvania following his return to the U.S., completing his B.A. in 1987.

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Political Start

Though he had served as a legislative intern for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), Huntsman gained his first real political experience as a staff assistant under President Ronald Reagan, a job he won with the help family friend and U.S. Sen. Jake Garn (R).

He left D.C. in 1983 to become an executive at Huntsman Corp., but returned in 1989 to serve as deputy assistant secretary for the Trade Development Bureau of the Commerce Department under President George H.W. Bush (R). In 1990, Huntsman was nominated as deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for East Asia and the Pacific. Two years later, he was named U.S. ambassador to Singapore, becoming the youngest head of a U.S. diplomatic mission in a century.

Huntsman left his ambassadorship at the end of the first Bush administration and was appointed in 1995 as president of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, a charity founded by his father. In 2001, he once again returned to Washington, this time to serve as U.S. trade representative and U.S. trade ambassador under President George W. Bush (R). During one of his father's visits to D.C. in this period, Huntsman first expressed his intention to run for governor, a post Huntsman Sr. had himself sought briefly in 1988.

In 2003, Huntsman returned to Utah and was named CEO of Huntsman Corp. His 2004 gubernatorial campaign was initially based in the company's headquarters but later moved to separate offices before the race intensified. "Jon Jr. was very ultra-sensitive to that and knew that would be a real negative in the eyes of voters," Jason Chaffetz, Huntsman's campaign manager, later said. Huntsman Sr. met with the campaign once a month and conducted several out-of-state fundraisers but kept his distance from the campaign in public.

Gubernatorial Races

Huntsman was an early favorite in the 2004 Republican primary for governor against Utah Speaker of the House Nolan Karras (R), and the scant policy differences between them made for an undramatic race. After defeating Karras with 66 of the vote, Huntsman pivoted to Democratic nominee Scott Matheson (D), a former U.S. attorney and dean of the University of Utah Law School. Though he, too, shared many of Huntsman's political views, the GOP nominee's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, his advocacy of school vouchers and his focus on job creation helped carry him to a 58 to 41 percent victory in the general.

Huntsman has worked to avoid any appearance of entanglement with his father's business interests, including removing himself from a debate over the use of state funds for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

In summer 2006, Huntsman became an early backer of John McCain's campaign for the presidency, surprising many who expected the governor to follow his father's lead in endorsing fellow Mormon Mitt Romney. The announcement contributed to speculation that McCain might tap Huntsman as his running mate.

In 2008, Huntsman's sky-high popularity helped him win easy reelection over challenger Bob Springmeyer (D), collecting almost 78 percent of the vote.

Within a month and a half of beginning his second term, however, Huntsman twice found himself the subject of national media attention: first for voicing support of civil unions, then for blasting congressional Republicans as irrelevant. "I don't even know the congressional leadership," Huntsman told the Washington Times. "I don't listen or read whatever it is they say because it is inconsequential - completely."

Huntsman has been mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate.He is married to Mary Kaye Huntsman; together they have seven children, including one adopted from India and another child adopted from China.

The Issues

In his first term as Utah governor, Huntsman developed a reputation for being low-key and friendly with legislators. He brought to bear a variety of reforms popular among Utahns, including a "flatter" income tax rate, a school voucher program and the nullification of drivers' licenses held by undocumented immigrants in favor of "driving privilege" cards.

In 2006, he signed legislation banning the transport of mustard gas and certain forms of radioactive waste across the state. During a trade trip Huntsman took to China that year, a Chinese official remarked to the former diplomat: "You're not the first governor who has come to promote tourism, but you're definitely the first governor who came to China to promote your state in Mandarin Chinese."

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Social Issues

In February 2009, Huntsman made the surprising announcement that he would support changing Utah's constitution to allow same-sex unions. The governor's statements represented an about-face from just four years earlier, when his avid support for the amendment that banned the partnerships helped lift him to a resounding electoral victory. Huntsman's change of heart sparked outrage in the socially conservative state - where, according to one Salt Lake Tribune poll, opposition to the practice runs as high as 70% - while advocates of same-sex unions hailed the declaration as a welcome, if unexpected, boost for their cause.

Huntsman's record on abortion now faces a similar test. In the past, the governor has been a reliable supporter of anti-abortion rights causes, including his signature of a 2006 law requiring parental consent for teenagers to get an abortion. In February 2009, however, the state legislature sent a bill to Huntsman's desk that would increase the charge for performing an illegal abortion to second-degree felony homicide, and the governor has so far declined to say whether he'll sign it.

Education

Huntsman has been a consistent and vocal opponent of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), calling it an unfunded mandate and arguing that it "should be jettisoned out of the classroom" for intruding on Utah's right to control its public schools. In 2005, he signed a bill giving Utah's education standards priority over the requirements of NCLB, despite a warning from the Department of Education that the move would jeopardize $76 million in federal aid to the state.

In 2007, Huntsman helped pass an 18% increase in education spending, including funding for all-day kindergarten and raises for teachers. In the same year, he championed a bill that opened an expansive school voucher program to public school and low-income private school students, drawing praise from school choice advocates across the country.

Tax Reform

Utah's tax code has seen significant shifts in Huntsman's four years as governor. In 2006, he signed $20 million of business tax cuts into law, though failed to pass the broader tax reforms he had proposed. But in 2007, Huntsman pushed $220 million in tax cuts past the legislature along with a plan to use a 5% single-rate personal income tax system in 2008 and beyond.

The Economy

Huntsman successfully advocated for $18 million in tourism promotion in his first year in office, has pressed for economic development funding in his budgets and traveled to China to promote trade and tourism in Utah.

In February 2009, Huntsman announced that he would seek the necessary changes to Utah's unemployment insurance to unlock needed funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the Obama's $800 billion economic stimulus package. However, Huntsman stressed that "The purpose of the stimulus money should be to provide a necessary boost right now, not to grow government in an unsustainable and soon-to-be unfunded way."

The Network

Huntsman's closest associations are with his father, Jon Huntsman Sr., and his brother, Peter Huntsman, now the CEO of the Huntsman Corporation. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who defeated Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), in the 2010 elections, was his general counsel in the governor's office; and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was his 2004 gubernatorial campaign manager.

He endorsed John McCain for president early on in his bid and was mentioned as a potential running mate.

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