Inspiration And Expert Advice: Famous People

Mike Huckabee Biography

Claim to Fame: former Republican Governor of Arkansas; 2008 Presidential candidate
DOB: 1955
Diabetes Type: 2

Born in Hope, Arkansas, Mike Huckabee was first elected Governor of Arkansas Boys State in 1972. He graduated magna cum laude from Ouachita Baptist University completing his 4-year degree in just over 2 years, and then he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Huckabee was pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Arkadelphia, Texarkana, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was President of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention from 1989 to 1991, and also served as President of a religious-oriented television station.

In 1993 Huckabee was elected to the post of Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. Huckabee, as the only Republican in statewide office, expanded the part-time position and actively used it as a platform to reach the public. He was re-elected in 1994.

On July 15, 1996, Huckabee was sworn in as Governor of Arkansas to fill the vacancy created by Governor Jim Guy Tucker's resignation due to a felony conviction in the Whitewater scandal. Soon after taking office, Huckabee signed legislation creating a health insurance program designed to provide insurance to children of families who could not qualify for Medicaid but could not afford private insurance. He signed legislation to cut taxes, and simplified the automobile registration procedure, which had long been a source of complaint from the average citizen.

In November of 1998, Huckabee was elected to a full four-year term, receiving the highest percentage of votes for a Republican seeking statewide office in Arkansas history. His tenure successes include leading campaigns for a massive bond program to pay for major road reconstruction; dedicating via constitutional amendment 1/8 of one cent of the state sales tax to improvement of the state's park system and natural resources; and convincing the public to funnel 100 percent of the state's tobacco settlement revenues into the state's healthcare system, rather than into the general fund.

In November of 2002 he was re-elected to his second and final four-year term. By the end of his term, Huckabee will have the third-longest tenure of any Arkansas Governor

Huckabee has also co-authored four books:

• Character is the Issue, a memoir (inspired by the crisis surrounding the incidents prior to his taking office as governor),
• Kids Who Kill, a book about juvenile violence (inspired by the Jonesboro massacre, which took place during his tenure as governor),
• Living Beyond Your Lifetime, a guide for leaving a personal legacy, and
• Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork, a health and exercise inspirational guide (based on his personal health experience; Huckabee lost over 110 pounds after his doctors informed him that he had Type 2 diabetes and would probably not live more than 10 years if he did not lose weight).

Governor Huckabee is married with 3 children. He was a candidate for President in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Read an excerpt from Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Watch Mike Huckabee talk about fitness in Arkansas.

Learn more about Mike Huckabee's 2008 campaign agenda.