text: On January 24, 2023, it was announced that Branstad would take over as the new president of the World Food Prize Foundation.
  Early life
  Branstad was born in Leland, Iowa. His father was Edward Arnold Branstad, a farmer; his mother was Rita (née Garland). Branstad's mother was Jewish, and his father was a Norwegian American Lutheran. Branstad was raised Lutheran and later converted to Catholicism. He is a second cousin of US Attorney-General Merrick Garland.
  Education
  Branstad received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Iowa in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in 1974. He was drafted after college and served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 as a military policeman in the 503rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bragg. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service; he once recalled that he arrested actress Jane Fonda for coming onto the post at Arlington National Cemetery, where she was planning to attend an antiwar protest.
  Early political career
  Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 and was the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1979 to 1983, the year he was first elected governor.
  Governor of Iowa