Tom Wolf
Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023.[1] He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and later as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from April 2007 to November 2008.
Not to be confused with Tom Wolfe.
Tom Wolf
A member of the Democratic Party, Wolf won his party's nomination for governor of Pennsylvania in 2014 and defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the general election by a margin of almost 10 percentage points. He was reelected in 2018. Wolf was succeeded by Democrat Josh Shapiro in 2023.
Early life and education[edit]
Wolf was born and raised in Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania, the son of Cornelia Rohlman (née Westerman) (1923–2018) and William Trout Wolf (1921–2016), a business executive.[2][3][4] His hometown was named after his ancestor, who was the town's postmaster.[5]
He was raised Methodist.[6]
Wolf attended his local public school through 10th grade and graduated from The Hill School, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1967.[7] He went on to receive a B.A. in government,[8] magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1972, an M.Phil. from the University of London in 1978,[9] and a Ph.D. in political science[10] from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.[11] While a student at Dartmouth, Wolf took a leave of absence and joined the Peace Corps, with which he spent over two years in India.[12][13][14]
After earning his Ph.D., his dissertation on the United States House of Representatives was named the best of 1981 by the American Political Science Association.[15] Wolf turned down an opportunity to interview for a tenure-track faculty position at Harvard University to begin his career at The Wolf Organization as manager of a True Value store owned by the company.[15]
He met his wife, Frances, in London, when they were both students. They married in 1975 and have two adult daughters.[16]
Personal life[edit]
In 1975, Wolf married Frances Donnelly, an oil painter.[92] The couple has two children and resides in York, Pennsylvania. In 2023, he announced that he and his wife were moving to Philadelphia.[93]
On February 24, 2016, Wolf announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because it was diagnosed early, he said it would not hinder his ability to work.[94] After treatment, Wolf's spokesperson announced in January 2017 that Wolf's physician had given him a "clean bill of health".[95]