Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi
Official portrait, 2019
52nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Paul Ryan
Succeeded by	Kevin McCarthy
In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Dennis Hastert
Succeeded by	John Boehner
House positions House Minority Leader In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019 Whip Steny Hoyer Preceded by John Boehner Succeeded by Kevin McCarthy In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 Whip Steny Hoyer Preceded by Dick Gephardt Succeeded by John Boehner Leader of the House Democratic Caucus In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2023 Deputy Steny Hoyer Preceded by Dick Gephardt Succeeded by Hakeem Jeffries House Minority Whip In office January 15, 2002 – January 3, 2003 Leader Dick Gephardt Preceded by David Bonior Succeeded by Steny Hoyer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
Incumbent
Assumed office June 2, 1987
Preceded by	Sala Burton
Constituency	5th district (1987–1993) 8th district (1993–2013) 12th district (2013–2023) 11th district (2023–present)
Chair of the California Democratic Party
In office February 27, 1981 – April 3, 1983
Preceded by	Richard O'Neill
Succeeded by	Peter Kelly
Personal details
Born	Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro (1940-03-26) March 26, 1940 (age 85) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Paul Pelosi ​ (m. 1963)​
Children	5, including Christine and Alexandra
Relatives	Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. (father) Thomas D'Alesandro III (brother)
Education	Trinity College, Washington (BA)
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (2024)
Signature
Website	House website Campaign website
Pelosi's voice Pelosi speaks on the death of former ambassador Richard Holbrooke Recorded December 18, 2010

This article is part of a series about Nancy Pelosi
Early life Early career Political positions U.S. Representative from California Early tenure Minority Leader First tenure Second tenure Later career Electoral history 52nd Speaker of the House 100-Hour Plan 2007 SOTU Address 2020 SOTU Address Trump impeachments First Second January 6 Capitol attack 2021 Joint session address 2022 SOTU Address Visit to Taiwan Personal life Awards and honors Writings Know Your Power The Art of Power
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Nancy Patricia Pelosi (/pəˈloʊsi/ pə-LOH-see; née D'Alesandro; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first woman elected U.S. House speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress, heading the House Democrats from 2003 to 2023. A member of the House since 1987, Pelosi represents California's 11th congressional district, which includes most of San Francisco. She is the dean of California's congressional delegation.

The daughter of congressman Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., Pelosi was born and raised in Baltimore. She graduated from Trinity College, Washington, in 1962 and married businessman Paul Pelosi the next year. They moved to New York City before settling down in San Francisco with their children. Focused on raising her family, Pelosi entered politics in the 1960s as a volunteer for the Democratic Party. After years of party work, rising to chair the state party, she was first elected to Congress in a 1987 special election. Pelosi steadily rose through the ranks of the House Democratic Caucus to be elected House minority whip in 2001^[1] and elevated to House minority leader a year later.^[2]

In the 2006 midterm elections, Pelosi led the Democrats to a majority in the House for the first time in 12 years and was subsequently elected Speaker. She was the first woman to hold the office.^[3] Until 2021, Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the presidential line of succession in U.S. history. During her first speakership, Pelosi was a major opponent of the Iraq War as well as the Bush administration's attempts to partially privatize Social Security. She then helped pass the Obama administration's landmark bills, including the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the 2010 Tax Relief Act. Pelosi lost the speakership after the Republican Party retook the majority in the 2010 midterm elections, but retained her role as leader of the House Democrats.

In the 2018 midterms, Democrats regained majority control of the House, and Pelosi was again elected speaker. This made her the first former speaker to reclaim the gavel since Sam Rayburn in 1955. During her second speakership, the House impeached President Donald Trump twice, first in December 2019 and again in January 2021; the Senate acquitted Trump both times. She contributed to the passage of the Biden administration's principal bills, such as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. In the 2022 midterms, Republicans narrowly retook control of the House, ending her tenure as speaker. She subsequently retired as House Democratic leader, and was succeeded by Hakeem Jeffries.