 |
Amy KlobucharAmerican politician, US Senator
Date of Birth: 25.05.1960
Country:  USA |
Content:
Childhood and Education
Amy Klobuchar was born in Plymouth, Minnesota, on May 25, 1960. Her father was a journalist for the StarTribune newspaper, and her mother was an elementary school teacher. Klobuchar attended public school in Plymouth before graduating with high honors from Yale University in 1982 and the University of Chicago Law School. Her thesis on the construction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was published as a book in 1986.
Legal Career
After graduating from law school, Klobuchar practiced law in Minneapolis. In 1993, she married John Bessler, with whom she has one child. In 1998, she was elected Hennepin County Attorney and re-elected in 2002. During her tenure, Klobuchar served as president of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association.
U.S. Senate
In 2006, Mark Dayton announced that he would not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate. Klobuchar raised over $9 million to run and defeated Republican Mark Kennedy, 58% to 38%. She took office on January 3, 2007. Klobuchar was re-elected in 2012 (65% to Kurt Bills' 35%). She was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota (women had previously only been appointed to the post).
Senatorial Record
During her tenure in the Senate, Klobuchar has established herself as a liberal Democrat who generally supports her party while engaging in bipartisan negotiations. She helped negotiate funding to rebuild the Mississippi River bridge that collapsed in August 2007. Klobuchar has also supported numerous farm bills for agricultural states and taken a special interest in veterans' affairs. She has been involved in major revisions to Senate ethics rules, international trade initiatives, and bills to enhance funding for science and technology, and education.
2020 Presidential Race
After Donald Trump took office, Klobuchar raised concerns about his ties to Russia and called for an investigation into those ties. In late December 2016, she traveled to the Baltic States and Ukraine with Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, where she said she learned of Russian influence in elections in Lithuania and Estonia. Several publications, including The New York Times and The New Yorker, have mentioned Klobuchar as a possible candidate in the 2020 presidential election.
