The Honorable Michele Bachmann

In 2006, Michele Bachmann emerged from state politics to become the first Republican woman from Minnesota elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. By her third term, she had become a national figure in the Republican Party and a founding member of the congressional Tea Party Caucus.  Bachmann’s ambitious conservative agenda made her one of the most prominent opponents of the Barack Obama administration during her time in Congress and encouraged her bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. 

She received a B.A. in Political Science and English from Winona State University in 1978. In 1986, Bachmann received a Juris Doctor degree from Oral Roberts University. Two years later, she completed a Master of Law in taxation at the College of William & Mary.  She worked for four years as a lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel in St. Paul, Minnesota.  

Bachmann and her husband have five children. They also worked with a private foster care agency to house 23 children in their home during the 1990s. Bachmann’s children were homeschooled and also attended private Christian schools, and her political career stemmed from her interest in education reform.