Johanns, << JOH hanz, >> Mike (1950-…), a Republican from Nebraska, was a United States senator from 2009 to 2015. He had earlier served as Nebraska’s governor and as secretary of agriculture in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush.
Michael Owen Johanns was born on June 18, 1950, in Osage, Iowa. He received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota, in 1971. In 1974, he earned a law degree from Creighton University. Johanns then worked as a lawyer in a private practice in Nebraska.
In 1983, Johanns was elected to the Board of Commissioners for Lancaster County, Nebraska. He later served on the Lincoln City Council. He was elected as Lincoln’s mayor in 1991 and reelected in 1995. Johanns won election as governor of Nebraska in 1998, taking office in 1999. He was reelected in 2002. In 2005, Johanns resigned as governor to become U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Bush. He stepped down from the post in 2007.
In 2008, Johanns won election to the U.S. Senate. He served on the chamber’s Banking and Agriculture committees. Johanns did not seek reelection to his Senate seat in 2014.
