Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who is president and CEO of Financial Services Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based industry advocacy group. He was a Republican politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota (2003-2011). He previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1993-2003), where he was majority leader for two terms.
State budget
Pawlenty was elected in 2002 on a platform of balancing the state's budget without raising taxes. He emphasized his campaign and first term with the Taxpayers League of Minnesota slogan "no new taxes." His governorship was characterized by a historically low rate of spending growth. According to the Minnesota Management and Budget Department, general-fund expenditures from 2004 to 2011 increased an average of 3.5 percent per two-year term, compared to an average of 21.1 percent from 1960 to 2003 (these numbers, however, are not inflation-adjusted). University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs said that slowing down state spending and opposing tax increases were the "signature issue" of Pawlenty's governorship.  In his first year as governor, Pawlenty inherited a projected two-year budget deficit of $4.3 billion, the largest in Minnesota's history. After a contentious budget session with a Democrat-controlled Senate, he signed a package of fee increases, spending reductions, and government reorganization which eliminated the deficit. The budget reduced the rate of funding increases for state services, including transportation, social services, and welfare. It also enacted a perennial proposal to restructure city aid based on immediate need, rather than historical factors. In negotiations the governor agreed to several compromises, abandoning a desired public employee wage freeze and property tax restrictions.  During his second term, Pawlenty erased a $2.7-billion deficit by cutting spending, shifting payments, and using one-time federal stimulus money. His final budget (2010-2011) was the state's first two-year period since 1960 in which net government expenditures decreased. Pawlenty has claimed this as "the first time in 150 years" that spending has been cut, but fact-checkers have disputed this claim as no public budget records prior to 1960 are known to exist.  Pawlenty has been criticized by some for providing a short-term budget solution but coming up short in his long-term strategy as governor. The state department of Management and Budget reports that the two-year budget starting in July 2011 is projected to come up $4.4 billion short. Former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson, a Republican, criticized Pawlenty's budget strategy: he borrowed more than $1 billion from the tobacco settlement (money set aside for health care), borrowed more than $1.4 billion from K-12 education funding, borrowed more than $400 [million] from the Health Care Access Fund for low-income families, among other short-term shifts in accounting. The result was a $5-billion deficit, the seventh largest in the United States. Minnesota property taxes rose $2.5 billion, more than the previous 16 years combined, and Moody's lowered the state's bond rating. Carlson told Time, "I don't think any governor has left behind a worse financial mess than he [Pawlenty] has." Pawlenty responded, "My friend governor Arne Carlson is, of course, now an Obama and John Kerry supporter."

Q: What significance did the state budget have in Pawlenty's life?
A: Pawlenty was elected in 2002 on a platform of balancing the state's budget without raising taxes.

Q: What office was he elected to?
A: " His governorship

Q: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
A: In his first year as governor, Pawlenty inherited a projected two-year budget deficit of $4.3 billion, the largest in Minnesota's history.

Q: For how many years did he serve as governor?
A: His final budget (2010-2011)
Did he serve a second term?
During his second term,
During his second term,