Dirk Kempthorne

Dirk Kempthorne co-chairs BPC’s Commission on Political Reform. He served as a senator from Idaho from 1993 to 1998 and as the governor of Idaho from 1999 to 2006. He also served as the secretary of the interior from 2006 to 2009. He is currently president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.

Kempthorne was elected mayor of Boise, Idaho in 1985 and served for seven years before being elected to the Senate for one term. During his two terms as governor, Kempthorne achieved the largest Indian Water Rights settlement in Idaho’s history, ending 150 years of dispute. As President George W. Bush’s secretary of the interior, he was charged resurrecting the department’s tradition of responsible stewardship of public lands.

In addition to his accomplishments as a public servant, Kempthorne served as chairman of the National Governors Association and the Western Governors Association, and president of the Council of State Governments.

He graduated from the University of Idaho in 1975 with a degree in political science.