Eric Robert Greitens is an American politician and former Navy SEAL who served as the 56th Governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018.Born and raised in St. Louis, Greitens earned a doctorate from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. During his four tours of duty as a U.S. Navy SEAL officer, he rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, commanded a unit targeting Al-Qaeda, and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Later, after serving as a White House Fellow, Greitens founded a non-profit organization, The Mission Continues, to serve veterans. Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.Greitens joined the Republican Party in 2015 after having been a Democrat. He ran for Governor of Missouri as a Republican in 2016. After defeating three opponents in the Republican primaries, he faced state Attorney General Chris Koster, whom he defeated in the general election.One of Greitens's signature accomplishments during his time in office was signing Missouri's right-to-work law, which was later repealed by statewide referendum. His tenure as Governor was marred by controversy, including multiple allegations of campaign finance and open records statute violations. In February 2018, Greitens was indicted and arrested on felony invasion of privacy charges relating to alleged actions associated with an affair in which he had engaged prior to becoming Governor; the charges were later dropped. On June 1, Greitens resigned from office as the Missouri legislature was considering impeachment.
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10. April 1974
