Dennis M. Daugaard (born June 11, 1953) is an American politician who has been the 32nd Governor of South Dakota since January 2011.

Daugaard (pronounced DEW-guard) was raised on a family farm near Garretson, South Dakota by his mother and father who were both deaf. The family descends from immigrants from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. While growing up, sign language was the main method of communication in his home. Daugaard went to a one-room country school as a child but then attended high school in the town of Dell Rapids and graduated in 1971.

Daugaard then attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion where he was advised by William O. Farber. Professor Farber also advised former USD students Tom Brokaw and Al Neuharth. Daugaard graduated USD in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Government and went on to attend the prestigious Northwestern University School of Law where he earned a Juris Doctor in 1978. Daugaard paid his way through law school, driving a bus through the downtown loop and working as a security guard.

Marion Michael "Mike" Rounds (born October 24, 1954) is an American politician. Rounds served as the 31st Governor of South Dakota. Rounds was first inaugurated on January 7, 2003, having been elected on November 5, 2002, and was re-elected on November 7, 2006. His term expired in January 2011.

Rounds currently serves as a member of the Governors' Council at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Rounds, the eldest of eleven siblings, was born in Huron, South Dakota and has lived in Pierre, the state capital, since he was three years old. He was named for an uncle, Marion Rounds, who was killed in the Pacific theater during the Second World War.

Several members of the Rounds family have been involved in state government. His father, Don Rounds, worked at various times as state director of highway safety, a staffer for Rural Electrification Administration, and executive director of the South Dakota Petroleum Council. Rounds's brother, Tim Rounds, is a member of the South Dakota State Legislature representing District 24, which includes Pierre.