Mark Sanford was elected as South Carolina’s 115^th governor on November 5, 2002.  He was sworn in and took office on January 15, 2003.

With an eye on efficiency, cost-savings and value to the taxpayer, Governor Sanford continues to focus on efforts in four core areas - keeping South Carolina competitive, bringing fiscal responsibility to state government, promoting an “ownership society” and improving the state’s quality of life.  He has undertaken a top-to-bottom review of South Carolina's governmental structure. In addition to holding in-depth budget hearings with over thirty individual state agencies, Gov. Sanford's Cabinet agencies have already saved taxpayers millions of dollars with innovative new initiatives designed to streamline operations and eliminate waste and duplication in government. For example, after making the Department of Motor Vehicles a cabinet agency the DMV is now offering Saturday office hours and online services to better provide for its customers. Wait times at the DMV are down from 66 minutes to 15 minutes and all with roughly half the general funds requested in the past.

Gov. Sanford, who campaigned on opening up South Carolina's political process, also signed landmark campaign finance reform and Commerce Department disclosure reform bills in 2003, two measures that have brought much needed sunlight and accountability to state government. The governor holds "Open Door After 4" meetings every month in his office, chatting one-on-one with individual South Carolinians and listening to their questions and concerns. The governor also travels across the state holding regular "Neighborhood Office Hours" to meet with citizens.

Prior to Gov. Sanford’s election as governor, he lived on the South Carolina coast with his wife, Jenny, and their four young sons, Marshall, Landon, Bolton and Blake.  He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives with no previous political experience. He was rated #1 in the U.S. Congress by Citizens Against Government Waste in 1995, 1997 and 1999 for his votes to protect the taxpayer before stepping down in 2001 to honor a term limits pledge.

Gov. Sanford learned the themes of hard work and frugality with two brothers and a sister on their family farm near Beaufort, S.C. He graduated from high school in Beaufort before attending Furman University in Greenville, S.C., where he received a B.A. in business. He later received an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and went on to work in real estate finance and investment in New York and Charleston, S.C.

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