Jonathan Nez (born May 26, 1975) is a

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

politician who served as the 9th

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

and as a

Navajo Nation Council The Navajo Nation Council ( nv, Béésh bąąh dah siʼání) is the legislative branch of the Navajo Nation government. The council meets four times per year, with additional special sessions, at the Navajo Nation Council Chamber, which is in Wi ...

delegate. Earlier in his career, Nez served as a council delegate representing Tsah Bii Kin, Navajo Mountain, Shonto, and Oljato Chapters. He is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge

Eli Crane Elijah James Crane (born January 3, 1980) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Arizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Crane served in the United States Na ...

in 2024 to represent

Arizona's 2nd congressional district Arizona's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona. For election purposes, it is now located in the northeast corner of the state. For representational purposes until January 2023, it is located ...

Early life and education

Nez was born in

Tuba City, Arizona Tuba City ( nv, ) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-de ...

, and attended

Northland Pioneer College Northland Pioneer College (NPC) is a public community college serving the communities of northeastern Arizona. Campuses are located in four of the largest Navajo County communities: Holbrook, Show Low, Snowflake, and Winslow. Five centers are l ...

and

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

(NAU). He attained both a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from NAU.

Early political career

Jonathan Nez and Jake Steinfeld at Holbrook Fitness Center

Earlier in his career, Nez served as vice president of the Navajo Nation's Shonto chapter. He also served as a delegate to the Navajo Nation Council, where he represented the Oljato, Ts'ah Bii' Kin,

Navajo Mountain , photo = NavajoMtn (cropped).jpg , photo_caption = Navajo Mountain and Lake Powell, looking southeast from the Kaiparowits Plateau , elevation_ft = 10348 , elevation_ref = , prominence_ft = 4226 , prominence_ref = , listing = , locati ...

, and Shonto chapters. In 2015, he was elected

Vice President of the Navajo Nation The office of Vice-President of the Navajo Nation was created in 1991 following restructuring of the Navajo Nation government. The president and vice president are elected every four years. The Navajo Nation Vice-President shall serve no more tha ...

in a ticket led by

Russell Begaye Russell Begaye is a Navajo politician who served as the 8th president of Navajo Nation from May 2015 to January 2019. He was the second New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo Presidency. Early life and education Born in Shiprock, New Mexico, B ...

. He was formally sworn into office on May 12, 2015.

President of the Navajo Nation (2019–2023)

On November 6, 2018, Nez was elected

President of the Navajo Nation The President of the Navajo Nation is the head of state of the Navajo Nation. The office was created in 1991 following restructuring of the national government. The President and Vice President are elected every four years. The Navajo Nation Pres ...

by a margin of 33.07% of the vote versus former President

Joe Shirley Jr. Joe Shirley Jr. (born December 4, 1947) is a Navajo politician who is the only two-term President of the Navajo Nation. He served as president from 2003 to 2011. He lives in Chinle, Arizona, and is Tódích'íi'nii, born for Tábaahá. Person ...

Shirley had received the endorsement of Begaye and also boasted high name recognition owing to his former tenure. As president, Nez oversaw the Navajo Nation's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. By September 2021, the Navajo Nation's COVID-19

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

rate was higher than in most other parts of Arizona. Nez unsuccessfully campaigned for reelection in 2022, losing to challenger

Buu Nygren Buu Nygren (born December 25, 1986) is the 10th President of the Navajo Nation. Nygren-Montoya received 34,890 votes, defeating the Nez-Abeyta campaign who received 31,339 votes in the 2022 election. He was sworn in on January 10, 2023, his ...

. During the campaign, Nez endorsed the legalization of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

on the Navajo Nation.

U.S. national politics

Nez was an early primary supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and served on the Hillary for America Arizona Leadership Council. Nez was selected as one of seventeen speakers to jointly deliver the

keynote A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

address at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

. He was one of the electors for Arizona in 2020 for the presidential election. On October 16, 2023, Nez announced his candidacy for

, currently held by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

2022 vehicle ramming incident

Nez and his family were nearly struck when an SUV drove through a parade in

Gallup, New Mexico Zuni: ''Kalabwaki'' , settlement_type = City , nickname = "Indian Capital of the World" , motto = , image_skyline = Gallup, New Mexico.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption ...

. In total, fifteen people were left injured. Nez later reflected on the event saying "You would think it would never happen here. I’m sorry to say it happened here in Gallup, New Mexico." and "it was a difficult time for us".

References

External links

Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nez, Jonathan 1975 births 2020 United States presidential electors 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American politicians Arizona Democrats Living people Native American people from Arizona Northern Arizona University alumni People from Tuba City, Arizona Presidents of the Navajo Nation Vice Presidents of the Navajo Nation