U.S.
Español
Arabic
Here's a look at the life of former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Personal:
Birth date: June 10, 1971
Birth date: June 10, 1971
Birth place: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Birth name: Piyush Jindal
Father: Amar Jindal, engineer
Mother: Raj (Gupta) Jindal
Marriage: Supriya (Joly) Jindal (October 1997-present)
Children: Slade, 2006; Shaan, 2004; Selia, 2002
Education: Brown University, B.S., Biology and Public Policy, 1991; Oxford University, M.A., Literature, 1994 (Rhodes scholar)
Religion: Born Hindu, converted to Roman Catholicism
Other Facts:
First Indian-American elected to Congress since 1956.
First Indian-American elected to Congress since 1956.
First Indian-American governor in the United States.
Son Shaan was born with a heart defect and had surgery as an infant.
Bobby Jindal delivered son Slade at home before the EMTs could arrive.
As a boy, he insisted on being called Bobby after his favorite character in "The Brady Bunch."
Timeline:
1994-1995 - Associate at consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
1994-1995 - Associate at consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
1996-1998 - Secretary of the Health and Hospitals Department for the State of Louisiana. Jindal restructures Louisiana's Medicaid program from bankruptcy to surplus.
1998 - Appointed executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare created by Congress in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
1999-2001 - President of the University of Louisiana System.
2001-2003 - Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.
2003 - Runs for governor of Louisiana. Wins Republican primary but loses a runoff against Democrat Kathleen Blanco.
2004 - Elected to the US House of Representatives and serves two terms.
October 20, 2007 - Elected governor of Louisiana with 54% of the vote in the primary, winning 60 of 64 parishes.
2009 - Delivers the Republican response to President Barack Obama's first address to Congress.
October 22, 2011 - Re-elected to a second term as governor with 65.8% of the vote in the open primary, winning 64 of 64 parishes.
November 2012 - Is named chairman of the Republican Governors Association for 2013.
May 18, 2015 - Jindal announces that he is establishing a presidential exploratory committee.
June 24, 2015 - Jindal announces he is running for president on social media. He later makes a formal announcement at an event in Kenner, Louisiana.
October 20, 2015 - Jindal's book "American Will: The Forgotten Choices That Changed Our Republic" is published.
January 11, 2016 - Leaves the office of governor as John Bel Edwards is inaugurated as his successor.
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal waves to the crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, where he spoke on February 26, 2015.
Hide Caption
1 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal talks with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley before President Barack Obama addressed members of the National Governors Association at the White House on February 23.
Hide Caption
2 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (center) campaign with Florida Gov. Rick Scott on November 3, 2014, in The Villages, Florida.
Hide Caption
3 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal, a gun rights advocate, speaks during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting Leadership Forum on April 25, 2014 in Indianapolis.
Hide Caption
4 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal greets President Obama at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans on November 8, 2013.
Hide Caption
5 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Following Hurricane Isaac, which hit Louisiana in August 2012, Jindal takes part in a briefing with President Obama, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana (left) and Saint John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom in the Emergency Operations Center in LaPlace, Louisiana.
Hide Caption
6 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal campaigns for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on May 24, 2012.
Hide Caption
7 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry walk together after a Perry presidential campaign meet-and-greet in Muscatine, Iowa, on December 21, 2011.
Hide Caption
8 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal speaks with workers and fishermen involved in the cleanup effort of the BP oil spill on a command post boat in Barataria Bay on June 15, 2010, off Grand Isle, Louisiana.
Hide Caption
9 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal listens to reporters' questions in Venice, Louisiana, on May 12, 2010, after the BP oil spill, which has been called the largest environmental disaster in American history.
Hide Caption
10 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal shakes hands with Marine Corps veteran Elmo Norton after speaking to delegates at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on April 9, 2010.
Hide Caption
11 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal, his wife Supriya and children attend the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory parade on February 9, 2010.
Hide Caption
12 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal tours reconstruction efforts at Jackson Barracks, the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, with then-President George W. Bush on August 20, 2008.
Hide Caption
13 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal speaks at St. David's Catholic Church in New Orleans with Sen. John McCain during the Arizona senator's bid for president in 2008.
Hide Caption
14 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal takes the oath of office on January 14, 2008 -- becoming the country's first Indian-American governor -- while his wife Supriya holds the Bible.
Hide Caption
15 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal speaks to the media at a rally in Covington after his victory in the 2007 gubernatorial race.
Hide Caption
16 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
After he lost the gubernatorial race in 2003, Jindal ran for a seat in the U.S. House and served in Congress from 2005 until his inauguration as governor in 2008. Here, he joins Sen. Mary Landrieu and other members of the Louisiana congressional delegation at a press conference to discuss relief and recovery legislation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Hide Caption
17 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal concedes defeat in the 2003 Louisiana governor's race at his election headquarters, with wife Supriya and 2-year-old daughter Selia-Elizabeth at his side.
Hide Caption
18 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
Jindal shakes hands with his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, at the Louisiana gubernatorial debate in 2003.
Hide Caption
19 of 20
Photos: Bobby Jindal's career in politics
While campaigning for his first gubernatorial campaign in November 2003, Jindal gets a high-five from young supporter in Shreveport.
Hide Caption
20 of 20
