Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic Congresswoman, is the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Before becoming the speaker, Pelosi was the House Minority Whip and Minority Leader.http://pelosi.house.gov/about/biography.shtml Pelosi was re-elected as Speaker of the House on January 6, 2009.http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/pelosi-reelected-speaker-unanimously-backed-by-dems-2009-01-06.html

After the election held on November 2, 2010, Pelosi won her twelfth term in the House of Representatives.http://www.keenobservers.com/5253/ca-election-voting-for-pelosi-results-and-california-election-results-2010/ She represents California's eighth district and won with 80 percent of the vote.http://pelosi.house.gov/about/http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/11/05/131099087/nancy-pelosi-to-run-for-democratic-leader However, she will lose her position as Speaker of the House since the Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives during the 2010 elections.http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/11/05/131099087/nancy-pelosi-to-run-for-democratic-leader According to a message on Pelosi's Twitter account, she will run for House Minority Leader. The statement has been confirmed by her press office.http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/05/5414095-pelosi-i-am-running-for-dem-leader

Pelosi was born on March 26, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 In 1962, Pelosi graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 Both her father and brother were former mayors of Baltimore, Maryland.http://pelosi.house.gov/about/biography.shtml Pelosi became involved with Democratic Party at an early age and rose up in the party ranks, serving as a California representative to the Democratic National Committee from 1976 to 1996.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 She won her first election for California’s Eighth District in 1987 and made her way to a public office.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 As a member of the United States Congress, she has served on the Appropriations Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 In 2002, Pelosi was selected to be the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, making her the first woman in history to do so.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487

Pelosi resides in San Francisco, California and has five children and eight grandchildren.http://www.biography.com/articles/Nancy-Pelosi-38487 Her daughter, Christine Pelosi, is a political activist and chairs the California Democratic Party Platform Committee.http://www.politico.com/arena/bio/christine_pelosi.html

When Pelosi became the Speaker of the House of Representatives, she and the new majority Democratic Party set about a number of reforms in the "first hundred" business hours. The house condemned President Bush's troop surge plan for Iraq, passed a bill to increase the minimum wage and passed new ethics guidelines for members of Congress.http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/p000197/ She has a record of supporting abortion rights, gun control and increases in medicare benefits.http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/p000197/ Pelosi also advocates for civil rights such as gay marriage.http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/p000197/

Pelosi met with Pope Benedict XVI in February 2009 during her trip to Italy. Pelosi has been criticized by Catholic leaders for supporting abortion rights.http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-02-18-pope_N.htm The Pope released a statement after the private meeting. He said that he had talked to Pelosi about "the dignity of human life from conception to natural death".http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-02-18-pope_N.htm According to the statement, Benedict told Pelosi that all Catholics should work for "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-02-18-pope_N.htm