Bobby Jindal Bio
Piyush “Bobby” Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. A Republican, he represented Louisiana’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House from 2005 to 2008 and chaired the Republican Governors Association from 2012 to 2013. He was the first Indian American elected governor in U.S. history and later mounted a short-lived campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
After leaving the governor’s office, Jindal moved into the private sector, working as an adviser to the global investment firm Ares Management and joining the board of directors of the telehealth company LifeMD in 2022. He continues to participate in public policy debates and Republican Party strategy.
Early Life and Background
Bobby Jindal was born on June 10, 1971, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His parents, Amar Jindal and Raj Jindal, emigrated from Punjab, India, before his birth and settled near Louisiana State University, where his mother planned to begin graduate studies in nuclear physics. His father worked as a civil engineer, while his mother eventually moved into information technology. Jindal grew up alongside a younger brother, Nikesh, in a Hindu household that later shaped his interest in public service.
Jindal attended Baton Rouge Magnet High School, where he competed in math tournaments as a member of Mu Alpha Theta. Outside the classroom, he played tennis at a local community center, started small ventures such as a computer newsletter and a mail-order software company, and worked in the concession stands at LSU football games. He graduated from high school in 1988 and converted to Christianity during his teenage years, later being baptized into the Catholic Church during his first year at Brown University.
Path to US Politics
After high school, Jindal enrolled at Brown University, where he was admitted to the Program in Liberal Medical Education, an eight-year combined baccalaureate and medical program. He led the College Republicans student group and was named a USA Today Academic All-Star before graduating in 1992 with dual honors in biology and public policy. Although accepted at Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, he chose to attend New College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning an MLitt in political science with an emphasis on health policy in 1994.
Following Oxford, Jindal turned down a D.Phil. program and joined the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. He then interned in the office of Representative Jim McCrery of Louisiana, where he produced an extensive report on Medicare’s financial challenges. That work brought him to the attention of state leaders and helped launch his career in public administration and electoral politics.
Bobby Jindal Career
Early Career (1993–2003)
In 1993, Representative Jim McCrery introduced Jindal to Louisiana Governor Mike Foster. Three years later, Foster appointed him Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, an agency representing about 40 percent of the state budget. Jindal was 24 at the time. During his tenure, Louisiana’s Medicaid program moved from a $400 million deficit into surpluses totaling $220 million over three years.
In 1998, Jindal received the Samuel S. Beard Award for greatest public service by an individual 35 years old or under from the Jefferson Awards. The following year, at age 28, he became the youngest president of the University of Louisiana System, which served over 80,000 students. In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated him to serve as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously.
Breakthrough (2003–2007)
In 2003, Jindal ran for governor of Louisiana and finished first in the nonpartisan blanket primary with 33 percent of the vote, earning endorsements from the Times-Picayune, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, and outgoing Governor Mike Foster. In the runoff, he lost to Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who received 52 percent of the vote. The campaign elevated Jindal to a statewide figure and a rising star within the Republican Party.
After the 2003 race, Jindal ran for Louisiana’s 1st congressional district in 2004 and won with 78 percent of the vote, becoming the second Indian American elected to Congress. He won reelection in 2006 with 88 percent of the vote and served as House assistant majority whip from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, he returned to the governor’s race and defeated eleven opponents in the blanket primary with 54 percent of the vote, becoming the first Indian American elected governor in U.S. history without a runoff.
Republican Era (2008–2016)
Jindal took the oath of office as the 55th governor of Louisiana on January 14, 2008, becoming the youngest sitting governor in the country at 36. He was the first non-white governor of Louisiana since P. B. S. Pinchback during Reconstruction and the first non-white governor to be elected. In 2008, he was ranked among the nation’s most popular governors with a 77 percent approval rating.
During his first term, Jindal oversaw one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history ahead of Hurricane Gustav in 2008, an effort credited with reducing fatalities and earning bipartisan praise. He signed sweeping education reforms, including changes to teacher evaluations, tenure, and pensions, while also vetoing more than 250 earmarks in his first state budget. In 2011, he won reelection with about 66 percent of the vote and received the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Notable Events and Milestones
In 2009, Jindal declined $98 million in federal unemployment insurance funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, citing concerns about future tax obligations on businesses. He refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a decision that a Commonwealth Fund study estimated cost Louisiana $1.65 billion in federal health care assistance. On June 24, 2015, Jindal announced his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination but suspended his campaign in November 2015 and endorsed Marco Rubio.
Bobby Jindal Career Wins
Bobby Jindal’s electoral record includes a congressional victory, a landslide gubernatorial reelection, and historic firsts as the youngest head of the University of Louisiana System and the first Indian American elected governor in U.S. history. He chaired the Republican Governors Association from 2012 to 2013 and earned recognition from national organizations for his early work in state government.
Election Highlights
Jindal won Louisiana’s 1st congressional district in 2004 with 78 percent of the vote and was reelected in 2006 with 88 percent. In the 2007 gubernatorial blanket primary, he captured 54 percent of the vote, the first time a non-incumbent won the governorship outright. He then dominated the 2011 reelection cycle with roughly 66 percent of the vote in the blanket primary, avoiding a runoff entirely.
Other Achievements
Jindal received the Samuel S. Beard Award in 1998 for public service by an individual 35 years old or under and the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award from ALEC in 2011. During his governorship, Standard & Poor’s raised Louisiana’s bond rating and credit outlook from stable to positive in 2009, citing strong state management and a commitment to streamlining government.
Bobby Jindal Family
Family Background and Heritage
Bobby Jindal is the elder son of Amar Jindal and Raj Jindal, both Punjabi immigrants from India who settled in Baton Rouge before his birth. His father worked as a civil engineer and his mother pursued a career in information technology, eventually serving as information technology director for the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Jindal’s younger brother, Nikesh, attended Dartmouth College and Yale Law School and supported his brother’s political campaigns.
Personal Life
Bobby Jindal married Supriya Jolly in 1997. Supriya Jindal was born in New Delhi, India, and moved to Baton Rouge as a child. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and an M.B.A. from Tulane University and founded The Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children. The couple has three children: Selia Elizabeth, Shaan Robert, and Slade Ryan. The family has lived in Kenner, Metairie, and Baton Rouge, and Jindal enjoys hunting in Louisiana.