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John Hickenlooper
Former Governor of Colorado; Former 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate; Scientist & Businessman
John Hickenlooper is the former governor of Colorado, former geologist and businessman. He ran for president of the United States in the 2020 elections.
Hickenlooper grew up outside of Philadelphia, the youngest of four children. He attended Wesleyan University and received a bachelor’s in English and a master’s degree in Geology.
Hickenlooper moved to Colorado in 1981 to pursue a career in geology. In 1986, a market shift cost John and thousands of other geologists their jobs. He not only lost his job, but also his profession, and was out of work for two years.
Hickenlooper decided to start his own business and, using a library book on how to write a business plan, opened a brewpub (restaurant/brewery) in an abandoned warehouse district. Rent was cheap in this forgotten corner of Denver, costing only one dollar per square foot per year.
Hickenlooper successfully ran for mayor in 2003 and served for nearly eight years. Earlier in his career, he was a geologist.
He was elected governor of Colorado in 2010 and held the position from 2011-2019. Hickenlooper serves in leadership positions with the National Governors Association and the Western Governors’ Association. He is also vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association.
In 2019 he announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
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