Encyclopedia · Biography
Ron DeSantis
American Republican politician, former Navy lawyer and governor of Florida
Personal details
- Full name
- Ronald Dion DeSantis
- Born
- September 14, 1978 · Jacksonville, Florida
- Parents
- Ronald Daniel DeSantis and Karen Rogers DeSantis (reported biographies)
- Education
- Dunedin High School (1997); Yale University, B.A. history (2001); Harvard Law School, J.D. (2005)
- Religion
- Roman Catholic (reported in 2023 profile)
- Spouse
- Casey DeSantis (m. 2009)
- Children
- Madison, Mason and Mamie
- Military
- U.S. Navy JAG officer, active duty 2004–2010; Navy Reserve thereafter (official historical chronology)
- Political party
- Republican
- Public service
- U.S. House (2013–2018); Florida governor (2019– )
Ron DeSantis is an American Republican politician who has served as governor of Florida since 2019.
Early life, education and teaching
DeSantis was born in Jacksonville and raised in Dunedin, Florida. He attended Dunedin High School, graduated from Yale in 2001, briefly worked as a history teacher and coach, then received his law degree from Harvard in 2005. He married television journalist Casey DeSantis; they have three children.
Military and legal service
DeSantis was commissioned as a U.S. Navy lawyer and served on active duty from 2004 to 2010, including deployment to Iraq in support of a Navy SEAL mission. He subsequently worked as a federal prosecutor and held a Navy Reserve commission.
Congress and governorship
He represented Florida’s sixth district from 2013 to 2018 and was listed among the House Freedom Caucus’s nine founders in January 2015. He won Florida’s 2018 gubernatorial election, took office in January 2019 and was reelected in 2022. He unsuccessfully sought the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
References
Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.