Inaugurated to a second term on January 4, 2007, Governor John Lynch is continuing to bring a spirit of bipartisan cooperation to the State House and working to make real progress on the issues important to New Hampshire families – improving education, keeping the economy strong, reducing health care costs, ensuring public safety and protecting the environment.

Gov. Lynch is working on initiatives to increase New Hampshire’s graduation rate to direct more state education aid to the communities that need it most; to expand the number of children with access to health insurance; to make health care more affordable and accessible; to protect children from sexual predators; to preserve New Hampshire’s environment; and to strengthen New Hampshire’s economy.

In his first term Gov. Lynch kept his promise to bring Democrats, Republicans and Independents together to address New Hampshire’s major challenges. He joined with bipartisan coalitions of legislators to pass legislation to stabilize health care costs for small businesses; to eliminate a projected $300 million budget deficit and add $50 million to the Rainy Day Fund; and to create one of the toughest and most comprehensive laws in the country to protect children from sexual predators

Gov. Lynch’s commitment to putting the interests of people first is an extension of his work as a business and community leader.

As the President and CEO of Knoll, Inc., a national furniture manufacturer, he transformed a company losing $50 million a year into one making a profit of nearly $240 million. Under his leadership, Knoll created new jobs, gave factory workers annual bonuses, established a scholarship program for the children of employees, created retirement plans for employees who didn’t have any, and gave workers stock in the company.

Gov. Lynch has also served as chair of the University System Board of Trustees, where he worked to keep tuition increases to a minimum; as director of Admissions at the Harvard Business School, where he made ethics one of the criteria for admissions; and as president of the Lynch Group, a business-consulting firm in Manchester.

Long a community leader, John Lynch served on the board of Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and on the board of the Capitol Center for the Arts. He is the past president of the UNH alumni association, and a longtime coach of youth soccer, hockey, softball and baseball.

Gov. Lynch was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on November 25, 1952, the fifth of William and Margaret Lynch’s six children and attended the local public schools. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father ran a local Boys’ Club.

Working his way through college, Gov. Lynch earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1974. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

He and his wife of 29 years, Susan, live in Hopkinton, and have three children, Jacqueline, a college student, Julia, a high school senior, and Hayden, an eighth grader.