John Bel Edwards | |
|---|---|
| 56th Governor of Louisiana | |
| In office January 11, 2016 – January 8, 2024 | |
| Lieutenant | Billy Nungesser |
| Preceded by | Bobby Jindal |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Landry |
| Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives | |
| In office January 9, 2012 – December 10, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jane Smith |
| Succeeded by | Gene Reynolds |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 72nd district | |
| In office January 14, 2008 – December 10, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Robby Carter |
| Succeeded by | Robby Carter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 16, 1966 Amite, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Donna Hutto |
| Alma mater | U.S. Military Academy Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1988–1996 |
| Unit | 25th Infantry Division 82nd Airborne Division |
John Bel Edwards (born September 16, 1966) is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician. He was the Governor of Louisiana from 2016 to 2024. He was elected on November 21, 2015. He was a member of and the Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives, having represented the 72nd District from 2008 through 2016.
Edwards was born in Amite City, Louisiana. Many of his family members have been police officers, and in the 19th century they owned a lot of slaves. Edwards was an officer in the United States Army then a lawyer before he decided to run for governor.
The 1860 U.S. Federal Census – Slave Schedules shows that Edwards' great-great-great grandfather Daniel Edwards, a resident of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, owned 57 slaves. That same census showed that Daniel Edwards' son, Gov. Edwards' great-great grandfather Nicholas Stone Edwards, a resident of nearby Ward 1 in Washington Parish, Louisiana, owned 33 slaves. … The Edwards family was one of the largest slave holding families in Louisiana in 1860, and was near the top one percent of slave holding families in the entire country at that time, according to data provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, 1970.