Bill Halter

Infobox_Lt_Governor
name= Bill Halter

---

caption=
order= 14^th
office=Lieutenant Governor
state=Arkansas
term_start=January 9, 2007
governor= Mike Beebe
predecessor= Winthrop Paul Rockefeller
successor= Incumbent
birth_date= birth date and age|1960|11|30
birth_place= Little Rock, Arkansas
death_date=
death_place=
party= Democrat
profession= Economist, Management Consultant
spouse= Shanti Patching
footnotes=

William A. "Bill" Halter (born November 30, 1960) is the lieutenant governor of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. He succeeded the late Republican Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, who served in the position for the preceding decade.

In 1993, Halter began service in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), part of the Executive Office of the President. In his six years with President Clinton's OMB, the U.S. annual federal budget deficit of $290 billion was transformed into a $125 billion surplus and federal civilian employment was reduced to its lowest level since the Kennedy Administration.

After serving in the OMB for six years he was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in 1999 as the Deputy Commissioner (later, also Acting Commissioner) of Social Security.

Academics and business

Halter studied Economics and Political Science at Stanford University and received an A. B. with Honors and Distinction in 1983 as well as being named a 1981 Truman Scholar. [ [http://www.truman.gov/scholar_listing/scholar_listing_list_more.htm?year=1981 The H. Truman Scholarship Foundation | Meet Our Scholars ] ] He received a Master of Philosophy in Economics from St John's College, Oxford in 1986 as a Rhodes Scholar. He is a trustee emeritus of Stanford University, having served on its board of trustees for seven years and having chaired the Stanford Committee on Academic Policy.

His official website [ [http://billhalter.com/MeetBill Meet Bill Halter] ] notes, "Not a career politician, Halter’s business background offers Arkansas leadership with the experience and know-how needed to expand economic development and attract new jobs for Arkansans. Before entering public service, he was a Management Consultant with McKinsey and Company where he advised companies in a range of industries and coauthored a study on the management practices of successful companies. Currently, Bill Halter is a member of the Board of Directors of two public companies in biotechnology and information technology: Threshold Pharmaceuticals...and Akamai Technologies...He previously served on the Board of InterMune,.. Xenogen,...and webMethods." [ [http://ltgovernor.arkansas.gov/bills_bio.html Bill Halter's bio] ]

Political career

In the run-up to the 2006 Arkansas elections, Halter initially ran for Governor of Arkansas but dropped out in March 2006 and instead ran successfully for Lt. Governor. He won a Democratic primary election run-off against Tim Wooldridge and then defeated Jim L. Holt of Springdale, a former conservative Republican state legislator and minister, in the general election. [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300176.html?referrer=delicious Washington Post] ]

In 2007, there was speculation that Halter would run for the United States Senate against incumbent Mark Pryor in 2008. [ [http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/03/20/week_in_review/news/tuesday/news04.txt S W Times] ]

References

External links

* [http://ltgovernor.arkansas.gov/ Office of the Lieutenant Governor]
* [http://www.billhalter.com/ Official Campaign Website]