Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election, losing to the then incumbent president, Barack Obama.

Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan by George and Lenore Romney, he spent over two years in France as a Mormon missionary. He married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout his adult life, Romney served as bishop of his ward and later as a stake president for an area covering Boston and many of its suburbs. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In 1971 Romney graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University (BYU) and in 1975 he received a JD–MBA degree from Harvard.[2] He became a management consultant and in 1977 joined Bain & Company in Boston. As Bain's chief executive officer (CEO), he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

After stepping down from Bain Capital and his local leadership role in the LDS Church, Romney was the Republican nominee in the 1994 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. After losing to five-term incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as president and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney helped develop and later signed a health care reform law (commonly called "Romneycare") that provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek reelection in 2006, focusing instead on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Though he won several primaries and caucuses, Romney ultimately lost the nomination to Senator John McCain. Romney's considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190–250 million, helped finance his political campaigns before 2012, when he again ran for and won the Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first Mormon to be a major party's nominee. He lost the election to incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama, losing the Electoral College by a margin of 206–332 and the popular vote by 47%–51%, almost five million votes.

After reestablishing residency in Utah, Romney announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Orrin Hatch in the 2018 election; he defeated state representative Mike Kennedy in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee Jenny Wilson in the general election. In doing so, he became only the third person ever to be elected governor of one state and U.S. senator for another state (the others are Sam Houston and William Bibb). Romney was sworn in on January 3, 2019. In February 2020, Romney was the only Republican senator to vote to convict President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial,[3] and in February 2021, he joined six other Republicans in voting to convict in Trump's second impeachment trial.[4]
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Williams, Jordan (February 13, 2021). "Romney on impeachment vote to convict: 'Trump incited the insurrection'". The Hill. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
Leibovich, Mark (February 5, 2020). "Romney, Defying the Party He Once Personified, Votes to Convict Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
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Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 59–62, 104, 113.
Miroff, Nick (July 21, 2011). "In besieged Mormon colony, Mitt Romney's Mexican roots". The Washington Post.
Burnett, John (January 22, 2012). "Mexican Cousins Keep Romney's Family Tree Rooted". NPR. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 52, 70.
Roberts, Gary Boyd (1998). Notable Kin: An Anthology of Columns First Published in the NEHGS NEXUS 1986–1995, Volume 2. Boston: Carl Boyer, 3rd. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-936124-20-9.
Potter, Mitch (January 23, 2012). "Mitt Romney has Canadian roots". Toronto Star.
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Kaleem, Jaweed (August 29, 2012). "Mitt Romney Holds Mormon Faith Close Through Political Rise". The Huffington Post.
Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 104, 113.
Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 14–15.
Gell, Jeffrey N. (October 21, 1994). "Romney Gains Momentum As He Keeps On Running". The Harvard Crimson.
Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 15–16.
Candee, Marjorie Dent (ed.) (1958). Current Biography Yearbook 1958. New York: H. W. Wilson Company. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-8242-0124-1.
Swidey, Neil; Paulson, Michael (June 24, 2007). "The Making of Mitt Romney: Part 1: Privilege, tragedy, and a young leader". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007. Also available from HighBeam. Also available as "Mitt Romney: the beginning". Deseret Morning News. July 1, 2007. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007.
Horowitz, Jason (May 10, 2012). "Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents". The Washington Post.
Greenberger, Scott S. (June 12, 2005). "From prankster to politician, Romney deemed a class act". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009.
Tumulty, Karen (May 10, 2007). "What Romney Believes". Time. Archived from the original on May 12, 2007.
Martelle, Scott (December 25, 2007). "Romney's running mate". Los Angeles Times.
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Vickers, Marcia (June 27, 2007). "The Republicans' Mr. Fix-it". Fortune.
Parker, Ashley; Kantor, Jodi (May 10, 2012). "Bullying Story Spurs Apology From Romney". The New York Times.
Rucker, Philip (May 10, 2012). "Mitt Romney apologizes for high school pranks that 'might have gone too far'". The Washington Post.
Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, pp. 27–29.
Conroy, Scott; Strickler, Laura (June 7, 2012). "At Stanford, Romney got his bearings in a year of change". CBS News.
Kranish, Michael (June 24, 2012). "Mitt Romney's prankster ways continued in college". The Boston Globe.
Ngai, Edward (August 22, 2012). "Mitt Romney led the charge as a Big Game prankster in 1965". The Stanford Daily.
"The Making of Mitt Romney: Part 2: Photo 3". The Boston Globe. June 18, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 73–74.
Kirkpatrick, David D. (November 15, 2007). "R