Mitt Romney: Mitt Romney. Writer: Mitt's Office. Willard Mitt Romney, the multimillionaire financier who was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and a Republican Presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012, was born on March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan, to businessman George Romney and his wife, Lenore Romney (née Lafount). At birth, he was named Willard Mitt after his father's best friend and hotelier, J. Willard Marriott, plus his father's cousin,...