Tammy Duckworth

Tammy Duckworth
Official portrait, 2017
United States Senator from Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017 Serving with Dick Durbin
Preceded by	Mark Kirk
Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 21, 2021 Serving with Ken Martin, Gretchen Whitmer and Henry R. Muñoz III
Chair	Jaime Harrison
Preceded by	Grace Meng
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th district
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Joe Walsh
Succeeded by	Raja Krishnamoorthi
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
In office April 24, 2009 – June 30, 2011
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Lisette M. Mondello
Succeeded by	Michael Galloucis
Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs
In office November 21, 2006 – February 8, 2009
Governor	Rod Blagojevich Pat Quinn
Preceded by	Roy Dolgos
Succeeded by	Daniel Grant
Personal details
Born	Ladda Tammy Duckworth (1968-03-12) March 12, 1968 (age 56) Bangkok, Thailand
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Bryan Bowlsbey ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	2
Education	University of Hawaii at Manoa (BA) George Washington University (MIA) Northern Illinois University Capella University (PhD)
Signature
Website	Senate website
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army United States Army Reserve Illinois Army National Guard
Years of service	1992–1996 (reserve) 1996–2014 (guard)
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	106th Aviation Regiment, 28th Infantry Division[1]
Battles/wars	Iraq War (WIA)
Awards	Purple Heart Air Medal Army Commendation Medal Dame Grand Cross (First Class) of the Order of the Crown of Thailand[2]
Tammy Duckworth's voice Tammy Duckworth speaks on food insecurity among military families Recorded September 14, 2022

Ladda Tammy Duckworth^[3] (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.

Born in Bangkok, Thailand and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Duckworth was educated at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. A combat veteran of the Iraq War, she served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot. In 2004, when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents, she lost both legs and some mobility in her right arm. She was the first female double amputee from the war.^[4] Despite her injuries, she was awarded a medical waiver to continue serving in the Illinois Army National Guard for another ten years until she retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2014.^[5]

Duckworth ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006, then served as director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and as assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Duckworth was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served two terms. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Kirk.^[6]

Duckworth is the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, the first person born in Thailand elected to Congress, the first woman with a disability elected to Congress, the first female double amputee in the Senate, and the first senator to give birth while in office. She is the second Asian American woman to serve in the Senate, after Mazie Hirono.^[7]