Former President�Donald Trump�has chosen North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head the Interior Department. Some things to know about the two-term Republican governor of a sparsely populated state:

Burgum’s background is in business

Burgum, 67, grew up in tiny Arthur, North Dakota, population 328. He earned a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and his master�s of business administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

He went on to become a wealthy software executive. He led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum stayed on as a vice president until 2007. He’s also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.

He beat a longtime GOP officeholder to become governor

In 2016, Burgum ran for governor, his first campaign for elected office. He touted a message of��reinventing� government�as the state dealt with a massive revenue shortfall.

In a major upset,�Burgum defeated�North Dakota’s longtime attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary. He handily won his first term in the strong Republican state, which has about 784,000 residents.

He was easily�reelected in 2020.

Burgum took a CEO’s approach to leading

Burgum has taken a business-oriented bent as governor of North Dakota, where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed�income tax cuts,�reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and�higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a �data-driven� approach to governing, advocated for a�Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library�in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.

Burgum and his wife, Kathryn, have been public about her recovery from addiction, and as governor he has prioritized�resources for addiction treatment.

Burgum is known as a policy wonk who works long hours and is highly inquisitive.

His own presidential bid was short-lived

Burgum�ran for president�from June to December 2023. He campaigned on priorities of energy, economy and national security, but�dropped out�after his bid failed to resonate.

He appeared in two Republican debates � including the first, which he attended after�hurting his Achilles tendon�playing basketball. He drew attention for his�campaign offering�$20 gift cards to people who would donate $1 to his campaign so he would have enough individual donors to make the debate stage.

In January, before the Iowa caucuses,�he endorsed Trump.�The same month, he�declined to seek�a third term as governor.

Burgum has navigated crises as governor

When he entered office in December 2016, he dealt with the final months of the sometimes-chaotic�protests�of the�Dakota Access oil pipeline.�He’s led the state through�terrible droughts�and�crippling storms.

He was the face of North Dakota’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, holding dozens of press conferences, many of them daily in early 2020, including an emotional�plea about face masks. He and his wife�publicly received�their COVID vaccinations in 2021.

Last year, amid his presidential campaign, Burgum�called a special session�for the Legislature�to deal with a budget mess�weeks after the state Supreme Court�voided a crucial bill, putting some state funding in jeopardy.

(AP)