Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty (/pəˈlɛnti/; born November 27, 1960) is president and CEO of Financial Services Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based industry advocacy group. He was a Republican politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota (2003–2011). He previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1993–2003), where he was majority leader for two terms. In 2011 he entered the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and later was a potential vice presidential nominee before serving as co-chair of Mitt Romney's campaign.