Rick Perry in June 2011.
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| Date of birth | March 4, 1950(age 66) | | Place of birth | Paint Creek, Texas | | Birth name | James Richard Perry | | Political party | Republican Party (since 1989)
Democratic Party (until 1989) | | Spouse | Anita Thigpen | | Children | Griffin
Sydney | | Residence | West Austin, Texas
(Temporary residence since 2007, during repairs to the Texas Governor's Mansion) | | Alma mater | Texas A&M University | | Profession | Military Officer, Farmer, Politician | | Religion | Christian (evangelical) | | Service/branch | United States Air Force | | Years of service | 1972 � 1977 | | Rank | Captain | | Assumed office | December 21, 2000 | | Lieutenant | Bill Ratliff (2000 � 03)
David Dewhurst (since 2003) | | Preceded by | George W. Bush | | In office | January 19, 1999 - December 21, 2000 | | Governor | George W. Bush | | Succeeded by | Bill Ratliff | | Preceded by | Bob Bullock | | In office | January 15, 1991 - January 19, 1999 | | Governor | Ann Richards
George W. Bush | | Succeeded by | Susan Combs | | Preceded by | Jim Hightower | | In office | 1985 - 1991 | | Succeeded by | John Cook | | Preceded by | Joe Hanna |
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James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. With a tenure in office to date of , Perry is the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor, and the second longest serving current U.S. governor after Terry Branstad of Iowa.
Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011. Perry is the longest serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).
Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina. In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass. On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. Political observers and public opinion polls place him as a front-runner in the race.
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