John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948)[1] is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46th governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003.

Engler also served on the board of trustees of the Marguerite Eyer Wilbur Foundation, which funds many Kirk Center programs.

Previous board service included serving as a director of Dow Jones and Delta Air Lines and as a trustee of Munder Funds.

[8] In 2002, near the end of his final term, Engler and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality attempted to negotiate a consent order with Dow Chemical that would have resulted in a ninefold increase in the allowable levels of dioxins.

The consent order would have resulted in Dow not having to pay to clean up high levels of toxins in Midland, Michigan, near its plant there, as well as in the Tittabawassee flood plain, which had been contaminated by dioxins dumped into the river from the facility and from overflow from waste ponds.

After the election, Engler's close political ally Spencer Abraham, who narrowly lost his re-election bid for the Senate to Debbie Stabenow, was chosen as Bush's Secretary of Energy.

In 1990, Engler, then the state senate majority leader, challenged Governor James Blanchard in his bid for a third term.

Political observers viewed his bid as a long shot, and he trailed Blanchard by double digits in the polls the weekend before the election.

However, on election day, Engler pulled off the upset, defeating Blanchard by approximately 17,000 votes—a margin of less than one percentage point.

After leaving the governor's mansion in January 2003, Engler served as president of the state and local government sector of Electronic Data Systems.

[18] On January 30, 2018, Engler was named the interim president of Michigan State University to replace Lou Anna Simon, who was embroiled with the school in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal involving Larry Nassar.

[19][20] The appointment of Engler sparked controversy due to his previous handling of sexual misconduct as governor of Michigan.

Michelle Engler was named to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) board in 2001 by President George W. Bush, and re-appointed in 2002.