House Education Committee Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, will not seek re-election to the Idaho Legislature, according to a report by Betsy Russell of the Spokane Spokesman Review.

DeMordaunt told Russell he will not seek a fourth term because he wants to focus on his work in the private technology sector.

All 105 lawmakers serve two-year terms and are up for election in 2016. Republican and Democratic candidates face  primary elections on May 17; the general election follows on Nov. 8.

DeMordaunt rose quickly in legislative ranks, assuming the Education Committee chairmanship in 2013, in just his second term in office. That same year, he was a member of Gov. Butch Otter’s task force on education, and he’s been instrumental in implementing the recommendations of the task force.

DeMordaunt speaks four languages and earned a pair of master’s degrees, in international business and Middle Eastern studies from the University of South Carolina and the American University in Cairo, Egypt, respectively. He put the brakes on a lucrative international business career to serve in the Legislature.

Click here to read our profile on DeMordaunt.