Former Governor Bob Holden of Missouri

From 2001 until 2005, Bob Holden served as governor of the state of Missouri. As the elected leader of the 17th most populous state, Governor Holden presided over a $19 billion annual state government budget on behalf of 5.7 million Missouri residents. Missouri is rich in agricultural resources and is home to major biotechnology research centers, automobile assembly plants, leading financial services companies and world-renowned universities.

As governor, Holden was known as both an effective business administrator and as a compassionate defender of Missouri’s elderly and school children. Under Governor Holden’s leadership, Missouri earned an AAA credit rating for its public debt obligations. Few states enjoy this level of confidence among investors and financial rating agencies. During his term, Holden improved life especially for Missouri’s children and senior citizens. He saved from closure public health care programs serving more than 80,000 Missouri children. He secured increased funding for schools. He enacted a program to help Missouri’s elderly citizens purchase prescription drugs (the first such U.S. state program) and enacted Missouri’s first comprehensive Women’s Health Initiative.

During his term as governor, Bob Holden repeatedly demonstrated his commitment and effectiveness as a leader of economic development. During the four years of his governorship the United States suffered a net loss of jobs. However, Missouri ranked among the top 10 states in job creation. Under Governor Holden, Missouri led the nation in development and use of tax credits to promote historic building rehabilitation, an effort that has sparked a revitalization of the central business districts of St. Louis and Kansas City and other areas. In 2003, he led a task force that persuaded the Ford Motor Company to keep its Hazelwood assembly plant in suburban St. Louis in operation, and he persuaded Ford to add new employment at the Ford Claycomo plant in suburban Kansas City. During Bob Holden’s term as governor, a record number of new businesses were created in Missouri.

Prior to his term as governor, Holden served two terms as state treasurer. As the elected official responsible for investing and safeguarding Missouri’s treasury, Bob Holden reached milestones such as being the first state treasurer to earn more than $1 billion in investment income for the taxpayers of Missouri.

Following a career in public service spanning more than 25 years, former Missouri Governor Bob Holden now is a private sector leader in the fields of education and international economic development.

Governor Holden is chairman of The Holden Group, LLC, where he advises public and private sector clients on business development and international trade strategies.  The Holden Group’s projects include proposals for the Midwest Governors Association, private developers, an automotive company, a major airport and a technology/education proposal that is international in scope.

Governor Holden’s interest in international trade and in fostering economic bonds between the Midwest United States and the international business community is reflected in his leadership of the Governor Bob Holden Public Policy Forum @ Webster University. As a visiting professor, Governor Holden lectures on public policy and leadership throughout the worldwide Webster campus network. Governor Holden is also serving as a Dole Fellow at the Dole Institute on the campus of the University of Kansas.

Governor Holden is vice chairman of the new Midwest U.S.-China Association featuring senior advisors, Adlai Stevenson, former U.S. senator, Walter Mondale, former U.S. vice president, and Bill Daley, former U.S. secretary of Commerce. The Association works with all Midwestern governors to improve economic cooperation and stimulate business growth between the Midwestern states and China.

Although he was born in Kansas City, Governor Holden was raised on a farm near the tiny town of Birch Tree in the Ozark Hills of southern Missouri. He received his early education in a one-room country schoolhouse before eventually graduating from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in political science. He has attended special courses for government executives at the John. F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Bob Holden met his wife, Lori Hauser Holden, during his first campaign for public office. They have two sons, Robert Holden and John D. Holden.