Jon Huntsman, Jr. - Personal Life

Personal Life

Huntsman has eight brothers and sisters, and he and his wife, Mary Kaye, have seven children: Mary Anne (b. 1985), Abigail (b. 1986), Elizabeth (b. 1988), Jon III (b. 1990), William (b. 1993), Gracie Mei (b. 1999; adopted from China), and Asha Bharati (b. 2006; adopted from India).

Huntsman is a distant relative (third cousin, once removed) of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney; Romney's great-great-grandfather, the early Mormon missionary Parley Pratt, is Huntsman's great-great-great-grandfather. Their relationship has been reported to be one of rivalry. After a scandal erupted over the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Romney and Huntsman were both considered to take over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the games. After intense lobbying, Romney was chosen, and the Huntsman family was "livid", and in 2011 Huntsman said he was "being used" and Romney's selection was "precooked". As Romney prepared his 2008 presidential run, he began consulting Huntsman on foreign policy and trade issues. Huntsman's father signed on as a finance chair for Romney's campaign, and it was expected that Huntsman would endorse Romney; instead, Huntsman backed John McCain and became one of the McCain campaign's national co-chairs. According to New York Magazine, sources within Romney's 2008 campaign said Huntsman had promised to endorse Romney; Huntsman denied this. Huntsman's father also came to regret his support for Romney. New York wrote that after this, "The generations-long ties between the Huntsman and Romney tribes were informally, but conclusively, severed." Huntsman was sharply critical of Romney in the 2012 presidential primary race.

He is a self-proclaimed fan of the progressive rock genre and played keyboards during high school in the band Wizard. On July 30, 2007, he attended a concert by progressive metal band Dream Theater. Later that day, Huntsman signed a proclamation creating "Dream Theater Day" on that date for the state of Utah. Huntsman also joined REO Speedwagon on the piano for two songs during their concert at the Utah State Fair on September 16, 2005. Huntsman is a fan of riding motocross, and he helped in pushing outdoor sporting activities and outdoor tourism for the State of Utah.

Huntsman has been awarded six honorary doctorate degrees, including an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Snow College in 2005, an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Westminster College in 2008, an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Utah in 2010, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, and an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Southern New Hampshire University in 2011. He has been recognized as a Significant Sig by Sigma Chi.

In 2007 he was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the BSA. He is a founding director of the Pacific Council on International Policy and has served on the boards of the Brookings Institution Asia Policy Board, the Asia Society in New York, and the National Bureau of Asian Research.