Timothy James Walz ( WAWLZ; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician, former U.S. Army non-commissioned officer, and retired educator who has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Minnesota's 1st congressional district from 2007 to 2019. Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz was a member of the Army National Guard, and worked in agriculture, manufacturing, and teaching after high school. He later graduated from Chadron State College and Minnesota State University, Mankato. He moved to Minnesota in 1996. Before running for Congress in 2006, he served for 24 years in the Army National Guard and as a social studies teacher in the Mankato school district. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Minnesota's 1st congressional district in 2006, defeating six-term Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He was reelected five times, retiring in 2019 after being elected governor. Walz represented a large, mostly rural section of southern Minnesota situated along the border with Iowa. On November 6, 2018, Walz was elected governor, defeating the Republican nominee, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. Walz was reelected in the 2022 Minnesota gubernatorial election, defeating Republican nominee Scott Jensen.