Here is a look at the life of former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

Personal: Birth date: October 22, 1947

Birth place: Yazoo City, Mississippi

Birth name: Haley Reeves Barbour

Father: Jeptha F. Barbour, Jr., a lawyer

Mother: LeFlore (Johnson) Barbour

Marriage: Marsha (Dickson) Barbour (1971-present)

Children: Sterling; Haley Reeves, Jr. (goes by "Reeves")

Education: University of Mississippi, JD, 1973.

Religion: Presbyterian

Other Facts: Barbour was widely commended for his response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

He downplayed the effects of the 2010 BP oil spill on the Mississippi coast, and encouraged tourists to visit.

Has been called "the anti-Obama" by Newsweek.

Was the valedictorian of the class of 1965 at Yazoo City High School.

His great-great-great-great grandfather, Walter Leake, was Mississippi's third governor and one of Mississippi's first two U.S. senators.

Timeline: 1968 - Leaves The University of Mississippi to work as a field organizer for Richard Nixon's presidential campaign.

1969-1970 - Works as director of the Mississippi state census.

1973-1976 - Serves as executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party.

1976 - Southeastern coordinator for Gerald Ford's presidential campaign.

1981-1993 - Partner in the law firm Henry, Barbour & Decell.

1982 - Runs for a U.S. Senate seat but is defeated by incumbent Democrat John Stennis.

1984 - Joins the Republican National Committee.

1985-1986 - President Ronald Reagan's special assistant for political affairs.

1986 - President Reagan's deputy assistant for political affairs.

1986 - Founds Barbour, Griffith & Rogers, a lobbying firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Yazoo City, Mississippi.