SPEAKERS
Governor Matt Blunt
Governor Matt Blunt was born in Greene County and spent his early years in the town of Strafford, near Springfield. He learned at a young age the values of faith, family, and hard work. He attended Missouri public schools and graduated from Jefferson City High School. Blunt is a sixth generation Missourian.
Prior to his election as Governor, Blunt served as Missouri's 37th Secretary of State, represented the 139th Legislative District of Greene County in the Missouri House of Representatives, and worked in private business. Upon his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1993, he began a naval career that has spanned 14 years, including more than five years on active duty. bluntHe serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserve.
Governor Blunt served in Operation Support Democracy, which involved the United Nations blockade of Haiti. He also participated in the interdiction of illegal Cuban immigrants and drug interdiction missions off the coast of South America. Blunt was awarded several military commendations, including four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
On October 9, 2001, Matt Blunt became the first statewide elected official in the history of Missouri to be called into active military duty. He served for six months in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation's military response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He was promoted to his present rank subsequent to his return to the U.S.
The people of Missouri elected Matt Blunt their 54th Governor on November 2, 2004. Blunt carried 101 of the state's 114 counties. He campaigned on a platform pledging to make education the state's top budget priority; create new family-supporting jobs by strengthening Missouri's economy and entrepreneurial climate; expand access to high-quality, affordable health care; and help family budgets, farms, and small businesses by holding the line on job-killing tax increases.
The Governor has made major strides on each issue in only a few months, providing effective leadership for the most successful and productive legislative session in many years.
Governor Blunt submitted a balanced budget to the Missouri General Assembly that is providing a $158 million increase in state aid for public schools and no new taxes on working families. Blunt's budget puts children, schools, and taxpayers first. Under his leadership, the state also has enacted litigation reform to address the health care crisis that was hurting families by forcing doctors to leave the state or end their practices. Blunt also is implementing regulatory reform to employer businesses to do what they do best: create new jobs, expand our economy, and build a future of economic opportunity for all Missourians.
Pledging in the campaign and in his Inaugural address to honor and strengthen Missouri's values, Blunt endorses new pro-life legislation to protect unborn children; is appointing men and women with sound values and strong credentials to the state judiciary; won passage of widely hailed legislation to fight the plague of meth production that endangers our children; and signed bills honoring Missouri's veterans, ensuring that that this and future generations will honor the contributions of these men and women to our great state and to America.
In leading Missouri in a new and constructive direction, the Governor has ended the liberal tax-and-spending policies that wrecked the state budget. Blunt ended the former administrationís anti-child policy of cutting aid to schools and stopped the practice of taking dollars from classrooms and putting them into social welfare programs that were growing uncontrollably. After only one legislative session, Missourians know they have a Governor who will do what he promised, with no new taxes, more for schools, and fiscally responsible state budgets.
An active duty veteran and current Reserve officer, Blunt is a member of the American Legion and the Missouri Farm Bureau. Matt and his wife, Melanie, were married in March of 1997. Their first child, William Branch, was born March 9, 2005. They have a home in Springfield and attend a Baptist Church near their home.
