(1958-08-23) August 23, 1958 (age 65) Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party
Republican
Spouse
Crissy Garrett
(m. 1981)
Children
3
Education
Emory University (BA)
Signature
Website
Government website
William Edward Haslam[1] (/ˈhæzləm/; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee.
He was born in Knoxville and graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career in business, joining his father, Jim Haslam, who was the founder of Pilot Corporation. Haslam rose to president of Pilot Corp in the 1990s, after his brother Jimmy Haslam became the company's CEO. Haslam then left Pilot and from 1999 to 2001 was the CEO of the e-commerce and cataloging division at the department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue. He then became a consultant at Saks and later served on the board of directors at Harold's Stores, Inc. He is a co-owner of a minor league baseball team, the Tennessee Smokies, and is set to become majority owner of the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators by 2025.
He was elected Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee in the 2003 Knoxville mayoral election with 52% of the vote. He was reelected in the 2007 Knoxville mayoral election, winning 87% of the vote, and served until 2011. After incumbent Governor Phil Bredesen was term-limited, Haslam declared his candidacy for the office in January 2009. He defeated U.S. Representative Zach Wamp and Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey in the Republican primary with 47% of the vote and went on to defeat Democratic businessman Mike McWherter with 65% of the vote in the 2010 general election.
A 2015 Forbes article estimated Haslam's net worth at $2 billion, making him the nation's wealthiest elected official at that time.[2] He was the wealthiest state governor in America, until Democrat J. B. Pritzker of Illinois took office in January 2019.[3][4]
In the fall of 2019, Haslam became a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.[5]
^"Knoxville News Sentinel profile on Haslam". Knoxnews.com. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
^Alexander, Dan (21 January 2015). "Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam Is New Billionaire, Richest Politician In America". Forbes. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
^"Governors' races have become contests between bajillionaires". The Economist. 19 October 2017.
^"Pritzker takes over as Illinois governor". WIFR. January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
^Ebert, Joel. "Former Gov. Bill Haslam, historian Jon Meacham to teach Vanderbilt University course on leadership". The Tennessean.
William Edward Haslam (/ˈhæzləm/; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee...
as the Pilot Oil Corporation. Haslam, who lives in his native Knoxville, Tennessee, is the elder brother of BillHaslam, former Governor of Tennessee...
other son Bill is a former Governor of Tennessee. Haslam was born in 1930 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Melitta (Fry) and James Arthur Haslam. His father...
336 per year. This is the fourth highest U.S. gubernatorial salary. BillHaslam and his predecessor, Phil Bredesen, both were independently wealthy before...
Alexander named Hagerty and former governor BillHaslam as the "most obvious" candidates. On July 11, 2019, Haslam announced that he would not run for the...
Tennessee BillHaslam would purchase shares in the club and become majority owner over the course of several years. Haslam’s brother, Jimmy Haslam, is the...
from 2011 to 2019 and her husband, BillHaslam, served as Governor of Tennessee for the same amount of time. Haslam was born Crissy Garrett in November...
2014, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican Governor BillHaslam was re-elected to a second term with 70.3% of the vote, defeating his...
of 67. After renewed interest in her case in 2013, Tennessee Governor BillHaslam commuted her original sentence to 15 years and Brown was released on...
District of New Jersey (2002–2008) (former candidate for president) BillHaslam, Governor of Tennessee (2011–2019), chair of the Republican Governors...
Representatives voted 70–26 in favor of the bill. On May 23, 2011, Governor BillHaslam signed the bill into law. On May 31, 2011, it became Public Chapter...
Governor BillHaslam was term-limited, and is prohibited by the Constitution of Tennessee from seeking a third consecutive term. Republican candidate Bill Lee...
Ties to the Romney Campaign". TIME. "Mitt Romney Announces Governor BillHaslam as State Chairman and Full Slate of Tennessee Delegates". The American...
Representative Henry Brown, U.S. Representative from SC-01 (2001–2011) Governors BillHaslam, Governor of Tennessee (2011–2019); chair of the Republican Governors...
from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2012. "Governor BillHaslam Dedicates Tennessee's 54th State Park at Cummins Falls". TN.gov. Newsroom...
Slatery served as BillHaslam's campaign treasurer when Haslam ran for mayor of Knoxville, and as chief legal counsel during Haslam's governorship. The...
Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-05-14. "Gov BillHaslam 2015 inauguration". Tennessean.com. 2015-01-17. Retrieved 2020-04-03...
Alexander 1979–1987 Don Sundquist 1995–2003 BillHaslam 2011–2019 Fred Thompson Bill Frist Don Sundquist Howard Baker Bill Brock Winfield Dunn Lamar Alexander...
In May 2015, Tennessee governor BillHaslam signed Senate Bill 280 into law, against his earlier opposition. The bill legalized the possession and use...
a bill exempting certain firearms from federal regulations, allowing the bill to become law without his signature, but he had vetoed a similar bill earlier...
Ag-Gag Bill in a letter to Tennessee Governor BillHaslam. Presley cited her and Elvis's love of horses and expressed her concern that the bill would hinder...
seeking a third consecutive term. Knoxville mayor and Republican nominee, BillHaslam was elected with 65.0% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Mike...
endorsements as a result of the release of the video, including Governors BillHaslam and Robert J. Bentley; Representatives Bradley Byrne, Jason Chaffetz...
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