Warner, Mark Robert

Warner, Mark Robert, 1954–, U.S. politician, b. Indianapolis, grad George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1977), Harvard Law School (J.D., 1980). After settling in Virginia and working as a congressional staff member, Warner founded (1989) a successful venture capital fund that invested in technology companies, serving as its managing director until 2002. A moderate Democrat, Warner managed L. Douglas Wilder's successful 1989 Virginia gubernatorial campaign and served (1993–95) as Virginia Democratic party chairman from 1993 to 1995. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1996. In 2001 Warner was elected governor of Virginia, becoming a popular leader who worked the Republican legislature to avert a fiscal crisis and enact tax reforms.