Haley Barbour, Founding Partner of BGR Group, returned to BGR in January 2012 after serving two consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi, including two years as the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).

Governor Barbour began his political career in 1968, dropping out of college to work on Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign; in 1976, he ran Gerald Ford’s fall campaign in the Southeast. In 1982, he ran for U.S. Senate in Mississippi but ultimately lost to incumbent John C. Stennis. Governor Barbour later served as Political Director of the Reagan White House and worked on the George H.W. Bush campaign. In 1987, he cofounded the government affairs firm that later became BGR Group.

From 1993 to 1997 Governor Barbour served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, managing the 1994 Republican surge to GOP control of both Houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years.

In 2003, he was elected Governor of Mississippi, assuming office in January 2004. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, Governor Barbour received national recognition from the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council for his swift response to the worst natural disaster in American history. For his efforts to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast, he received the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award.

A native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, Governor Barbour attended the University of Mississippi, where he received his JD in 1973. When not in Washington, Governor Barbour resides in Yazoo City with his wife Marsha. They have two sons and five grandchildren.