John Kitzhaber, M.D., was sworn in as governor of Oregon on January 10, 2011.

After graduating from college, Kitzhaber returned to Oregon to study medicine at the University of Oregon Medical School (now OHSU). In Roseburg, he practiced as an emergency room doctor from 1974 to 1988.

Kitzhaber was elected to the Oregon legislature in 1978. During his first session as a legislator, his peers chose him to lead as president of the Oregon State Senate. As senate president, Kitzhaber is remembered most notably for bringing legislators and interest groups together to pass the Oregon Health Plan. In 1994, he was elected governor and reelected in 1998. Following his term as governor, Kitzhaber led several organizations that work with doctors, hospital administrators, and Oregonians in communities across the state to reform the health care system.

In 2010, Kitzhaber was elected to a third term as governor and was reelected in 2014. On February 18, 2015, Governor Kitzhaber resigned from office.

Kitzhaber earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and graduated from the University of Oregon Medical School.