Birthday

n Romney was born on March 12, 1947, in Detroit.

Education

n Romney received his B.A. with highest honors from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, he was awarded an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Pre-governing career

n Romney was the vice president at Bain & Company, a Boston-based management consulting firm, from 1978 to 1984. In 1984, Romney founded Bain Capital, an investment company that founded, acquired or invested in hundreds of companies. He was also president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Governing career

n Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002. One of his priorities was to reform the education system so people could compete for good jobs in the global economy of the future. In 2004, Romney set up the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a full four-year scholarship to any Massachusetts public university or college. In 2006, he proposed and signed into law a private, market-based reform that ensures every Massachusetts citizen will have health insurance, without government takeover or raising taxes.

Declared candidacy

n Romney declared his presidential candidacy on Jan. 3, 2007.

Family life

n Romney and his wife Ann have been married for 36 years. They have five sons, five daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.

Religion

n Mormon