Douglas James Burgum was born on August 1, 1956, in the small town of Arthur, North Dakota. He was raised on a farm alongside his two siblings, and his father, a World War II veteran, operated a grain elevator. When Burgum was a high school freshman, his father passed away from a brain tumor.

Burgum attended North Dakota State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in university studies. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and served as student body president. During his senior year, he started a chimney-sweeping business in Fargo. He graduated in 1978 and then attended Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, graduating with his MBA in 1980.

Burgum then moved to Chicago to work as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. In 1983, he mortgaged a section of farmland inherited from his father to invest in the fledgling Fargo-based company Great Plains Software, which developed accounting software. In return, he acquired a 2.5 percent stake in the company and became its vice president of marketing. Burgum later became CEO of Great Plains Software. The company went public in 1997, and four years later, it sold to Microsoft for more than $1 billion in stock.

After selling Great Plains Software, Burgum went to work for Microsoft as a senior vice president, a position he held for six years. In 2007, he co-founded the Kilbourne Group, a real estate development firm, and in 2008, he helped establish Arthur Ventures, a private equity firm. In 2009, Governor John Hoeven awarded Burgum the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, North Dakota’s highest civilian honor, recognizing his business leadership and philanthropic efforts.

In 2016, Burgum ran for governor of North Dakota, despite having no political experience. He campaigned as part of the anti-establishment wave that helped Donald Trump win the presidency and won the Republican primary and the general election.

Burgum served for two terms as governor of North Dakota and enacted major income tax cuts and pushed for increased energy production. He was conservative on social issues, signing a near-total abortion ban and supporting controversial legislation regarding transgender rights. He decided not to seek reelection when his term ended in 2024.

In 2023, Burgum announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president, emphasizing his business background and economic record while downplaying his positions on social issues. However, his campaign failed to gain traction, and he dropped out near the end of 2023, endorsing Donald Trump. In 2024, many speculated that Trump might choose Burgum as his running mate, but he ultimately selected US Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

After Trump won the 2024 election, he nominated Burgum as Secretary of the Interior. On January 30, 2025, the Senate confirmed him in a 79–18 vote. As secretary, Burgum committed to fulfilling President Trump’s call for increased domestic fossil fuel production.