John Bel Edwards

Governor

On January 11, 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards was sworn in as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.� �The governor grew up in Amite, Louisiana as one of eight children.� With four Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs in his lineage, he learned the importance of public service at an early age.� Governor Edwards graduated in 1988 from the United States Military Academy at West Point.� The governor served eight years as an Airborne Ranger on active duty with the United States Army and commanded a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.� He went on to graduate Order of the Coif from Louisiana State University Law Center and set up a civil law practice in his home town of Amite.� In 2008, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 72, where he served for eight years until the voters of Louisiana elected him governor in November 2015.� Governor Edwards and his wife, First Lady Donna Edwards, have three children: Samantha Bel, Sarah Ellen, and John Miller.