John Boehner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Boehner
Official portrait, 2009
53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 5, 2011 – October 29, 2015
Preceded by	Nancy Pelosi
Succeeded by	Paul Ryan
House Minority Leader
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Whip	Roy Blunt Eric Cantor
Preceded by	Nancy Pelosi
Succeeded by	Nancy Pelosi
Leader of the House Republican Conference
In office January 3, 2007 – October 29, 2015
Preceded by	Dennis Hastert
Succeeded by	Paul Ryan
House Majority Leader
In office February 2, 2006 – January 3, 2007
Speaker	Dennis Hastert
Whip	Roy Blunt
Preceded by	Roy Blunt (acting)
Succeeded by	Steny Hoyer
Chair of the House Education Committee
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2006
Preceded by	William F. Goodling
Succeeded by	Howard McKeon
Chair of the House Republican Conference
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Leader	Newt Gingrich
Vice Chair	Susan Molinari Jennifer Dunn
Preceded by	Dick Armey
Succeeded by	J. C. Watts
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 8th district
In office January 3, 1991 – October 31, 2015
Preceded by	Buz Lukens
Succeeded by	Warren Davidson
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 57th district
In office January 3, 1985 – December 31, 1990
Preceded by	Bill Donham
Succeeded by	Scott Nein
Personal details
Born	John Andrew Boehner (1949-11-17) November 17, 1949 (age 74) Reading, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Deborah Gunlack ​ (m. 1973)​
Children	2
Education	Xavier University (BA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1968 (8 weeks)

John Andrew Boehner (/ˈbeɪnər/ BAY-nər; born November 17, 1949) is a retired American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015.

Early life and education

Boehner was born in Reading, Ohio, the son of Mary Anne (née Hall; 1926–1998) and Earl Henry Boehner (1925–1990), the second of twelve children. His father was of German descent and his mother had German and Irish ancestry. He grew up in modest circumstances, sharing one bathroom with his eleven siblings in a two-bedroom house in Cincinnati. He started working at his family's bar at age 8, a business founded by their grandfather Andy Boehner in 1938. He has lived in Southwest Ohio his entire life.

Boehner attended Cincinnati's Moeller High School and was a linebacker on the school's football team, where he was coached by future Notre Dame coach Gerry Faust. Graduating from Moeller in 1968, when United States involvement in the Vietnam War was at its peak, Boehner enlisted in the United States Navy but was honorably discharged after eight weeks because of a bad back. He earned his B.A. in business administration from Xavier University in 1977, becoming the first person in his family to attend college, taking seven years as he held several jobs to pay for his education.

Early career

Shortly after his graduation in 1977, Boehner accepted a position with Nucite Sales, a small sales business in the plastics industry. He was steadily promoted and eventually became president of the firm, resigning in 1990 when he was elected to Congress.

From 1981 to 1984, Boehner served on the board of trustees of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio. He then served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1985 to 1990.

U.S. House of Representatives

Boehner in 1993

2006 portrait of Boehner

Speaker Boehner greets U.S. President Barack Obama before the 2011 State of the Union Address

Boehner introducing then-president George W. Bush in Troy, Ohio in 2003

Speaker Boehner meets with President Obama at the White House during the 2011 debt ceiling increase negotiations

Boehner speaking at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference

Speaker Boehner looks at the National Mall from the Speaker's balcony at the U.S. Capitol for one final time before leaving office

A member of the Republican Party, Boehner served 13 terms as the U.S. representative for OH's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. The district included several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton.

Boehner addresses the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) while serving as House Minority Leader

Following the election of President George W. Bush, Boehner was elected as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, serving from 2001 until 2006. There he authored several reforms including the Pension Protection Act and a successful school choice voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C.

Boehner and Senator Ted Kennedy authored the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which was signed by President George W. Bush in 2002. Boehner said that it was his "proudest achievement" in two decades of public service. Boehner was friends with Kennedy, also a Catholic, and every year they chaired fundraisers for cash-strapped Catholic schools.

Boehner served as the House Minority Leader from 2007 until 2011, and House Majority Leader from 2006 until 2007. In January 2011, he was first elected Speaker and then re-elected twice. Boehner resigned from the House of Representatives in October 2015 due to opposition from within the Republican conference.

Later career

Boehner's political memoir, entitled On the House: A Washington Memoir, was published by St. Martin's Press on April 13, 2021.

In September 2016, Squire Patton Boggs, the third-largest lobbying firm in the U.S., announced that Boehner would join their firm. It was also announced that he would become a board member of Reynolds American.

Personal life

Boehner and his wife Debbie were married in 1973, and lived in the Wetherington section of West Chester Township, Ohio. They have two daughters, Lindsay and Tricia. Boehner has been known to be emotional and cry during noteworthy events.

On May 15, 2016, Boehner was awarded the Laetare Medal, considered the highest honor for American Catholics, by the University of Notre Dame. The medal was awarded to Joe Biden at the same time.

Honors

•  Japan:
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (14 March 2017)

Electoral history

Congressional elections

• Note: vote percentages may not total 100% because of rounding.

Speaker of the House elections

• Note: vote percentages may not total 100% because of rounding.

• Boehner received a majority of the votes cast, and thus won the election, but failed to obtain a majority of the full membership (218).

See also

In Spanish: John Boehner para niños