Gayle F. McKeachnie is a Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Utah

Lieutenant Governor of Utah

The Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Utah was created in 1975. There have only been seven Lieutenant Governors in Utah's history. Prior to the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's office, the succession to the Governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary of State...

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Education

Gayle McKeachnie received his B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from the College of Southern Utah

Southern Utah University

Southern Utah University, or SUU, is located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah, by the citizens of Cedar City.During its history, the school has been known as:...

 and his J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

. For a time, Lieutenant Governor McKeachnie was an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

's J. Reuben Clark Law School

J. Reuben Clark Law School

The J. Reuben Clark Law School is a professional graduate school located in Provo, Utah at Brigham Young University. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, Jr.—former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and LDS Church General Authority—and its charter dean was former...

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Public office

Gayle McKeachnie was elected to four terms in the Utah State House of Representatives. From 1985-86 he served as the majority whip for the Republican Party. After his service in the state legislature, McKeachnie served as the chairman of the Board of trustees for Utah State University

Utah State University

Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....

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It was while serving as a university trustee that McKeachnie became Utah's fifth Lieutenant Governor. In October, 2003, Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt resigned his office, having been appointed to a position in the Bush Administration

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. Governor Leavitt was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Olene S. Walker

Olene S. Walker

Olene Smith Walker was Utah's 15th Governor. She was sworn into office on November 5, 2003, shortly before her 73rd birthday, as Utah's first, and, to date, only female governor. She is a member of the Republican Party....

, and to fill the vacancy that she had left in the office of Lieutenant Governor, Governor Walker appointed Gayle McKeachnie.

The Walker-McKeachnie administration was short lived, however. In May 2004, at the Utah State Republican Convention, Governor Walker failed to win her party's nomination to seek a full term, and in January 2005, both she and her lieutenant governor, Gayle McKeachnie, left office.

Today

Today the former lieutenant governor continues to be deeply involved in Utah politics and policies. He is renowned in Utah as an expert on rural issues, including gas and oil-field discoveries. His expertise in both rural and energy issues makes him a highly sought-after advisor. McKeachnie served in the Huntsman administration

Jon Huntsman, Jr.

Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...

 as the leader of Rural Affairs and continues to do so in the Herbert administration. McKeachnie is also a close confidante of his successor as Lieutenant Governor, Gary Herbert, now the Governor.

McKeachnie also currently serves as a member of the Board overseeing the School and Institutional Trust Lands Association.