Peter Cooke (politician)

Peter Stryker Cooke (born March 7, 1949) is an American businessman, politician and retired Army Reservist. In 2012, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Utah.

For the Kenyan sailor, see Peter Cooke (sailor).
Peter Cooke
Personal details
Born
Peter Stryker Cooke

(1949-03-07) March 7, 1949
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Heather Nelson
Children5
EducationUtah State University, Logan (BA, MA)
United States Army War College
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Rank Major General

Early life

Cooke was born in Miami, Florida. Cooke's father was a pilot for Pan American Airlines and his family traveled frequently. Cooke graduated from Frankfurt American High School in 1967.[1] Cooke moved to Utah from Germany to attend the Utah State University (USU) forestry program. Instead, however, Cooke earned a bachelor's degree in 1971 and a master's degree in 1973 from USU in political science. During his time at USU, Cooke was a member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).[2][3]

Career
See also: 2012 Utah gubernatorial election

After graduating from USU, Cooke served in the United States Army Reserves. In 2009 he was awarded the Army Community of Excellence Award.[4] After 39 years in the military, he retired with the rank of major general. He served as commander of the 96th (reserve) Regional Readiness Command before his retirement.[2][3]

Cooke ran for a congressional bid in 1978, but was not elected. Under Governor Scott M. Matheson, Cooke served as the director of economic development for Utah.[2] In 2012 Cooke declared his candidacy for Governor of Utah.[5]

Cooke was called as Mission President for the Washington DC North Mission for three years starting in June 2013.[6]

References
  1. "MEET PETE | PETER COOKE FOR GOVERNOR". Archived from the original on 2012-11-05.
  2. Gehrke, Robert (29 February 2012). "Gubernatorial candidate Peter Cooke says Utah lacks, needs leadership". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. "Peter Cooke". Utah Democrats. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  4. Woods, Caralee (May 2, 2012). "Record turnout at the Utah Democratic State Convention". Southern Utah News. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  5. McEntee, Peg (29 February 2012). "Democrat Peter Cooke launches fiery run for Utah governor". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  6. "2 widely-known Utahns called as new mission presidents".
Party political offices
Preceded by
Peter Corroon		 Democratic nominee for Governor of Utah
2012		 Succeeded by
Mike Weinholtz
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