|preceded=[[Kathleen Blanco]]
|succeeded=[[John Bel Edwards]]
|office2=[[U.S. Representative]] for [[Louisiana]]'s 1st congressional districtCongressional District<br> (suburban [[New Orleans]])
|term_start2=January 3, 2005
|term+end2term_end2=January 14, 2008
|preceded2=[[David Vitter]]
|succeeded2=[[Steve Scalise]]
}}
'''Piyush Jindal''', known as '''Bobby" Jindal''' (born June 10, 1971), is the immediate past [[governor]] of [[Louisiana]]. He was elected October 20, 2007 and sworn into office on January 14, 2008. At the time, he was the youngest American governor in office.<ref>"Jindal ... made history in 2007 when, at 36, he was elected the nation's first Indian-American governor and became the youngest governor in office." [https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/24/sotn.jindal.speech/index.html?iref=mpstoryview (CNN)]</ref> On June 25, 2015, Jindal announced his candidacy for the [[Republican Party|Republican]] nomination in the [[2016 presidential election]].<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/politics/bobby-jindal-announces-bid-for-president.html?_r=0</ref>
==Background==
In 1994, Jindal went to work for McKinsey and Company as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies before entering public service. In 1996, he was appointed Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). There were many issues that needed resolving during his tenure, not the least of which was the growing deficit in Louisiana's Medicaid program. During Jindal's tenure as DHH Secretary, he rescued Louisiana's Medicaid program from bankruptcy, childhood immunizations increased, Louisiana ranked third best nationally in health care screenings for children, and new and expanded services for elderly and disabled persons were offered.
In 1998, Jindal was appointed Executive Director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. As Executive Director, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Commissioncommission, whose work continue to be the driving force behind much of the ongoing debate on how to strengthen and improve Medicare.
At the conclusion of the Commissioncommission's work, Jindal was appointed President of the University of Louisiana System, the 16th largest higher education system in the country. While serving as Presidentpresident, Jindal worked to establish areas of excellence at each individual institution.
==Political career==
President [[George W. Bush]] appointed Jindal to serve as Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2001. In that position, he served as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He later resigned from the position in 2003 to return to Louisiana and run for Govenor. In that race, Jindal went from being a relatively unknown candidate for Governor, to receiving the most votes in the primary election. However, with 48 percent of the vote in the runoff, he lost the election.
In 2004 he was elected to the 109th United States Congress representing the First District of Louisiana. In Congress he was elected Freshman Class President and served on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the House Committee on Homeland Security, and the House Committee on Resources. He also served as Assistant Majority Whip. He was re-elected to Congress in November 2006 with 88 percent of the vote majority.
===Gubernatorial highlights===
On January 22, 2007, Jindal announced his candidacy for governor. Polling data showed him with an early lead in the race, and he remained the favorite throughout the campaign. He defeated eleven opponents in the nonpartisan blanket [[primary]] held on October 20, including two prominent [[Democratic Party|Democrats]]. He went on to win the gubernatorial election with 54 percent of the vote and carried Jindal was criticized by [[liberal]]s for his plans to reject portions of economic stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits to those who would not ordinarily qualify for the funds.<ref>"Jindal rejects unemployment money (for those who normally wouldn't get it) in the stimulus," ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' date missing.</ref> Jindal was criticized for a speech he gave in response to President [[Barack H. Obama]], when Jindal questioned the use of some stimulus money, including volcano monitoring.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,500267,00.html|title="Geologist Erupts at Jindal's Volcano Question"|publisher=FOX News Channel|date=Undated}}</ref>
In his first term as governor, with the political consultant [[Timmy Teepell]] as chief of staff and [[Jimmy Faircloth]] as executive counsel, Jindal obtained passage of legislation to assist in the recovery from [[Hurriance Katrina|Hurricanes Katrina and Rita]]. He also obtained the passage of legislation to bring significant offshore energy revenues to Louisiana and legislation to prevent the Federal Emergency Management Agency from taxing certain recovery grants as income.
[[Image:Jindal2.jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|Governor Jindal with his wife]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
[[Category:Republican Governors]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Catholics]]