Daniels, Mitch (1949-…), a Republican, served as governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Earlier in his career, he held positions in the administrations of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
Mitchell Elias Daniels, Jr., was born in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 1949. His family moved to the Indianapolis area in 1959. Daniels earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 1971. That same year, he worked on the reelection campaign of Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar. He then went to work on Lugar’s staff.
In 1976, Lugar was elected to the U.S. Senate, and Daniels continued to serve on Lugar’s staff. Daniels earned a degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979. In 1983 and 1984, he was the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. From 1985 to 1987, Daniels served as an adviser to President Reagan. Daniels later worked as a lawyer and as an executive of a public policy research group. From 1990 to 2000, Daniels served in a number of positions for Eli Lilly and Company, an Indianapolis-based maker of prescription drugs.
From 2001 to 2003, Daniels served in the Bush administration as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. In 2004, Daniels won election as Indiana’s governor. As governor, he helped balance the state’s budget. He also worked to increase the efficiency of state government agencies. He was reelected in 2008. Daniels was the president of Purdue University from 2013 to 2022.
