Tammy Duckworth

Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician. She is a United States senator from  Illinois. She was a U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first Asian American woman elected to Congress in Illinois, the first disabled woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand.

Early life
Duckworth was born on March 12, 1968, in Bangkok, Thailand, to an American father, Franklin Duckworth, and his Thai wife, Lamai Sompornpairin. Her father, who died in 2005, was a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

After moving to Illinois, Duckworth began a PhD program at Northern Illinois University. She completed a PhD in human services at Capella University School of Public Service Leadership in March 2015.

Military service
Duckworth was working toward a Ph.D. in political science at Northern Illinois University when she was deployed to Iraq in 2004. 

She lost her right leg near the hip and her left leg below the knee from injuries sustained on November 12, 2004, when a helicopter she was co-piloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents. She was the first American female double amputee from the Iraq War. The explosion severely broke her right arm and tore tissue from it, causing major surgery to repair it. 

Duckworth received a Purple Heart on December 3 and was promoted to the rank of major on December 21 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she was presented with an Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal. She retired from the Illinois Army National Guard in October 2014 as a lieutenant colonel.

U.S. House of Representatives
Duckworth was sworn into office on January 3, 2013.

On April 3, 2013, Duckworth publicly returned 8.4% ($1,218) of her congressional salary for that month to the United States Department of Treasury in solidarity with furloughed government workers.

On June 26, 2013, during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Duckworth received national media attention after questioning Strong Castle CEO Braulio Castillo on a $500 million government contract the company had been awarded based on Castillo's disabled veteran status. Castillo had injured his ankle at the US Military Academy's prep school, USMAPS, in 1984.

U.S. Senate
Duckworth ran for the United States senate seat against the current senator Mark Kirk in the 2016 Illinois senate elections. On November 8, 2016, she defeated Kirk in his bid for re-election to his U.S. Senate seat.

In April 2018, Duckworth gave birth to her daughter Maile, making her the first U.S. Senator to give birth while in office.

In July 2020, she became one of the finalists for Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 election.

Personal life
Duckworth has been married to Bryan Bowlsbey since 1993. They met during Duckworth's participation in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and served together in the Illinois Army National Guard. Duckworth and Bowlsbey have two daughters: Abigail, born in 2014, and Maile, born in 2018. Maile's birth made Duckworth the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office. Former Senator Daniel Akaka helped the couple name both girls; Akaka died on April 6, 2018, three days before Maile was born.

References

Other websites

 Official U.S. House website 
 Tammy Duckworth for Senate

Duckworth participates in panel discussion, Returning Veterans at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library

Category:1968 births
Category:Living people
Category:United States senators from Illinois
Category:United States representatives from Illinois
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Politicians from Bangkok
Category:University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni
Category:21st-century American politicians
Category:American military personnel of the Iraq War
Category:Military people from Illinois
Category:American military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)