Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
Douglas James Burgum was born in August 1956 in Arthur, North Dakota. He earned an undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University. He received an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He started a chimney-sweep business as an undergrad.
Burgum was a management consultant at a firm in Chicago before helping to launch the accounting software company, Great Plains Software. He became vice president of marketing for the business. He acquired a controlling interest and eventually took the company public. He sold the company in 2001 to Microsoft and became an executive in its business solutions group.
Burgum then co-founded a venture capital company connected to technology and science. He also founded a real-estate development firm.
Burgum was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016. He was reelected in 2020. In 2023, he ran for president rather than seek a third gubernatorial term. He suspended his campaign after failing to qualify for the third debate for the national party rules for donations and polling.
President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior in November 2024. The Senate confirmed him on January 30, 2025, and he was sworn in the following day.
Burgum is married to Kathryn Helgaas. He is divorced from Karen Stoker, with whom he has three children.
In the News…
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced an agreement with TotalEnergies to redirect capital from offshore wind projects to natural gas projects. The company has also pledged not to develop new offshore wind projects in the U.S. over concerns for national security.
Secretary Burgum stated, “Offshore wind is one of the most expensive, unreliable, environmentally disruptive, and subsidy-dependent schemes ever forced on American ratepayers and taxpayers.”
The interior secretary continued, “We welcome TotalEnergies’ commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans’ monthly bills while providing secure U.S. baseload power today—and in the future.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Burgum today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
