David Duane Freudenthal was born October 12, 1950, in Thermopolis, Wyoming, the seventh of eight children. His parents, Lewis Franklin Freudenthal and Lucille Iola Love Freudenthal were Wyoming natives who farmed west of Thermopolis. Freudenthal graduated from Hot Springs County High School in Thermopolis in 1969 and attended Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1973 with a degree in economics. During his college years, to help pay for his education, Freudenthal worked as a member of the National Brotherhood of Boilermakers and Blacksmiths.

Following college graduation, Freudenthal returned to Wyoming where he worked as an economist in the Wyoming Department of Economic Planning and Development and later served as State Planning Director in the administration of Governor Ed Herschler. In 1977 he entered law school at the University of Wyoming College of Law. After graduating with a law degree in 1980, he began practicing law in Cheyenne. On November 8, 1980, Dave married Nancy Dell Roan, also an attorney, in Cheyenne.

From 1980 and 1994, in addition to his law practice, Freudenthal was active in many organizations including the Wyoming Student Loan Corporation, the Education Policy Implementation Council, the Wyoming Community Foundation, the State Economic Development and Stabilization Board, the Laramie County Economic Action Board, and the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce.

In 1994, Freudenthal was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming. The appointment was confirmed later that year by the U.S. Senate. He served in that office until 2001.

In August 2002, he won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and later that year, Freudenthal defeated Eli Bebout, the Republican nominee. In 2006 he was re-elected, defeating Republican candidate Ray Hunkins. In 2010, Freudenthal announced that he would not be seeking a third term as governor. Following the end of his term, he returned to the law and in June 2011 joined Crowell & Moring's Environment & Natural Resources Group.

Dave and Nancy Freudenthal are parents of four children, Don, Hillary, Bret, and Katie.

The David D. Freudenthal Gubernatorial Papers

• Message to Legislature, 2003
• Message to Legislature, 2004
• Message to Legislature, 2005
• Message to Legislature, 2006
• Message to Legislature, 2007
• Message to Legislature, 2008
• Message to Legislature, 2009
• Message to Legislature, 2010

Additional Resources

• "Outgoing Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal credits success to family, co-workers," by Joan Barron, Casper Star Tribune, January 2, 2011. (accessed July 2015)