Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel

Clint Zweifel was sworn in as Missouri's 45th State Treasurer on Jan. 12, 2009.  At 35, Treasurer Zweifel is Missouri's youngest State Treasurer in more than a century.  He was elected Nov. 4, 2008, winning by more than 92,000 votes. Zweifel's strategic priorities for the State Treasurer's Office include rebuilding the economy and putting Missourians back to work, increasing college affordability, furthering open government and renewing the promise of affordable and responsible homeownership.

Upon taking office, Zweifel focused on creating and retaining Missouri jobs and reinvesting in communities by championing Invest in Missouri.  The legislation targets economic development by reinvesting more than $1 billion in Missouri communities.  The legislative package expands the Missouri Linked Deposit Program, which provides low-interest loans to small businesses and farms.  Invest in Missouri also provides taxpayers a fair return on state investments for the first time in more than half a century.  The legislation passed the legislature without receiving one "no" vote, and was signed into law.

Zweifel pushed for college affordability through use of the MOST 529 College Savings Program, which his office administers.  He led efforts to provide incentives to encourage more Missourians to use the program to save for college education.  Additionally, he worked to expand awareness of the plan and its benefits, including tax deductions and tax-free capital gains.  MOST 529 has more than $1 billion in assets, with more than 117,000 account owners.

As State Treasurer, Zweifel oversees the management of the state's investments.  His office manages $20 billion in annual state revenues, directs the state's banking services and oversees Missouri's $3.5 billion investment portfolio.  The State Treasurer's Office is responsible for safeguarding $550 million in unclaimed assets turned over to the state by banks, businesses, insurance companies and government agencies, and aggressively tries to locate owners. 

Zweifel serves as chair of the Missouri Higher Education Savings Program Board, which oversees MOST 529: Missouri's College Savings Plan, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and the Missouri Investment Trust.  In addition, he sits on the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System and the Missouri Cultural Trust Board.

Prior to serving as State Treasurer, Zweifel represented the 78^th District in the Missouri House of Representatives for six years.  His district covered parts of northwest St. Louis County, including parts of Bridgeton, Hazelwood and Florissant.

Zweifel won election to the House in 2002 by a 67-vote margin among more than 13,000 votes cast.  He won again in 2004 with 70 percent of the vote, and was uncontested in 2006.  While in the House, Zweifel led policy strategy and developed real solutions to help Missouri families.  He created proposals on early-childhood education, higher education, helping seniors cope with property taxes and guarding citizen privacy. 

Focusing on college affordability, Zweifel developed and sponsored Missouri Promise.  The legislation guaranteed any child in Missouri a four-year college degree by expanding the A+ Program.  Missouri Promise allowed any student who graduated from an accredited A+ high school to then go to a two-year community college free of charge.  If the student maintained the required grades and completed community service while at the community college, he or she would be eligible to complete a four-year degree at any Missouri public university or college at no cost.

In the House, Zweifel was the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee and the Special Committee on Tax Reform.

Treasurer Zweifel was born Nov. 3, 1973, in St. Louis, and grew up in nearby Florissant. His dad is a retired union carpenter and his mom is a hairdresser.  Zweifel graduated from Hazelwood West High School in 1992.

Zweifel was the first member of his family to attend college.  He graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science in 1996.  In 2001, he graduated from UMSL with a Master of Business Administration.  While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Zweifel was Vice President of the UMSL Student Government Association.

Treasurer Zweifel worked for Teamsters Local 688 in the St. Louis area before he was elected Treasurer.  While there, he worked with members to plan out their retirements.  He is married to Janice, and they are parents to two wonderful girls, Selma and Elma.  They reside in Columbia.