Eric Greitens

Eric Robert Greitens (; born April 10, 1974) is an American politician, humanitarian, author, and former Navy SEAL who was the 56th governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018.Born and raised in St. Louis, Greitens received 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 being a White House Fellow, Greitens founded a nonprofit organization, The Mission Continues, to benefit veterans. In 2013 Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.Greitens joined the Republican Party 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 One of Greitens's signature accomplishments in office was signing Missouri's right-to-work law, which was later repealed by statewide referendum. In February 2018, Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner charged Greitens with a felony invasion of privacy charge relating to alleged actions associated with an affair he had had before becoming governor; all charges were later dropped. On June 1, he resigned from office. Since leaving office, Greitens has returned to the U.S. Navy Reserve and is reported to be working on a book about his Jewish faith.