Brian Edward Sandoval ( SAN-də-vawl; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019.A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began his political career in the early 1990s. In 1998 he was appointed to be a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission and later served as the commission's chairman from 1999 to 2001. A Republican, Sandoval ran and won the position of Nevada Attorney General and served from 2003 until 2005, when President George W. Bush nominated Sandoval to serve as judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Sandoval ran for governor in 2010. He defeated incumbent governor Jim Gibbons for the Republican nomination and later defeated Democratic nominee Rory Reid in the general election. He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Democrat Bob Goodman in the state's largest electoral landslide. Sandoval was barred by term limits from running for a third term in 2018. He was succeeded by Democrat Steve Sisolak. Since October 2020, Sandoval has served as the 17th president of the University of Nevada, Reno.