Chet Culver
Chet Culver | |
|---|---|
 Culver in 2010 | |
| 41st Governor of Iowa | |
| In office January 12, 2007 – January 14, 2011 | |
| Lieutenant | Patty Judge |
| Preceded by | Tom Vilsack |
| Succeeded by | Terry Branstad |
| 29th Secretary of State of Iowa | |
| In office January 15, 1999 – January 12, 2007 | |
| Governor | Tom Vilsack |
| Preceded by | Paul Pate |
| Succeeded by | Michael Mauro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chester John Culver January 25, 1966 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Mariclare Thinnes (m. 1993) |
| Relatives | John Culver (father) |
| Education | Virginia Tech (BA) Drake University (MA) |
Chester John Culver (born January 25, 1966) is an American politician who served from 2007 through 2011 as the 41st governor of Iowa. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 29th Secretary of State of Iowa from 1999 to 2007. He was elected governor in the 2006 Iowa gubernatorial election and ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2010, losing to Terry Branstad.
While governor, he was also elected as the Federal Liaison for the Democratic Governors Association, serving from 2008 to 2009. In this role, he represented DGA's perspectives to the United States Congress and presidential administration. He founded the Chet Culver Group, an energy sector consulting firm, in 2011 after he left public office. As of 2026, he is the most recent Governor of Iowa from the Democratic Party. He was appointed to be a member of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation's board of directors in 2012 by President Barack Obama, serving until 2019, and was re-appointed by President Joe Biden on May 23, 2022.