Philip Dunton Murphy is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2017 and narrowly reelected in 2021. From 2009 to 2013, Murphy served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany under President Barack Obama.
Murphy had a 23-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he held several high-level positions and accumulated considerable wealth before retiring in 2006. He is involved in many civic organizations and philanthropic pursuits. He served as finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee in the mid-late 2000s under Howard Dean. During his ambassadorial tenure, Murphy dealt with international fallout from the United States diplomatic cables leak.
While planning to run for governor of New Jersey, Murphy and his wife Tammy Murphy launched New Start New Jersey, a progressive organization. He defeated Republican then-Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno in the 2017 gubernatorial election with 56% of the vote. In December 2019, Murphy became the chairperson of the Democratic Governors Association, a position he held for a year. He was reelected in an unexpectedly close race in 2021, defeating Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli with 51.2% of the vote. Murphy is the first Democratic governor of New Jersey to win a second term since Brendan Byrne did so in 1977. In July 2022, Murphy became the first National Governors Association chair from New Jersey.
