Jindal, Bobby (1971-…), is a United States politician. A member of the Republican Party, Jindal served as the governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. Jindal, whose parents were born in India, became the first Indian American governor of a U.S. state. Prior to his election as governor, Jindal had served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Piyush Jindal was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 10, 1971. As a boy, he took the nickname “Bobby” from a character on the popular television show “The Brady Bunch.” In 1991, he graduated from Brown University with bachelor’s degrees in biology and public policy. He then attended Oxford University in England on a Rhodes Scholarship. While at Oxford, Jindal studied health care policy. He later worked for a business consulting firm.
In 1996, Jindal was named secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. In 1998, he became the executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. The commission had been created by the U.S. Congress as a part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. In 1999, Jindal was appointed president of the University of Louisiana System. In 2001, President George W. Bush named Jindal assistant secretary of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services.
Jindal won the most votes in the open primary for Louisiana governor in 2003, but he lost a runoff election to Democrat Kathleen Blanco. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004. He was reelected in 2006. In 2007, Jindal was elected governor of Louisiana. He was reelected in 2011. Term limits in Louisiana prevented him from seeking a third term, and he stepped down from office in January 2016.
As governor, Jindal focused on reforms to Louisiana’s education, health care, and transportation systems. He also became known for his conservative positions on such issues as abortion and gun control. Jindal served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2013. Also in 2013, Jindal proposed a plan that would reform Louisiana’s tax structure by replacing personal and corporate income taxes with increased sales taxes. He soon withdrew the plan, however, under criticism from legislators and business groups. In 2015, Jindal campaigned for the 2016 Republican nomination for president of the United States. He dropped out of the race in November 2015, however, while trailing his fellow candidates in public opinion polls and fund-raising.
