Michael Owen Johanns ( ; born June 18, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

from 2009 to 2015. He served as the 38th governor of Nebraska from 1999 until 2005, and was chair of the Midwestern Governors Association in 2002. In 2005, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the Secretary of Agriculture, where he served from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold that position. Born in Osage, Iowa, Johanns is the graduate of

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, (SMUMN) is a private Catholic university with an undergraduate residential college in Winona, Minnesota; graduate and professional programs in Winona, the Twin Cities, and Rochester; and various course del ...

and Creighton University School of Law. He began his career as an attorney working in private practice before clerking for the

Nebraska Supreme Court The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each jus ...

. Elected to the Lancaster County Board as a Democrat in 1983, Johanns served there until 1987, and was elected to the

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

City Council in 1988. He was elected the 47th mayor of Lincoln in 1991 and reelected in 1995. In Nebraska's 1998 gubernatorial election, Johanns defeated Democratic political aide Bill Hoppner, and in 2002 he was reelected over insurance executive Stormy Dean. In 2008, Johanns ran for the Republican nomination to replace retiring U.S. Senator

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)Scott Kleeb Scott Michael Kleeb (born August 23, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. He is the former CEO and President of Energy Pioneer Solutions, a company that created and then sold a new data-driven model for energy efficiency issues that f ...

. He was sworn in on January 3, 2009; along with

Jim Risch James Elroy Risch ( ; born May 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as lieutenant governor of Idaho under governors Dirk Kem ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, he became only one of two new Republican senators sworn into the

111th United States Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

. On February 18, 2013, Johanns announced that he would not run for reelection to a second term in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, and was succeeded by fellow Republican

Ben Sasse Benjamin Eric Sasse ( ; born February 22, 1972) is an American politician and academic administrator serving as the junior United States senator for Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Plainview, Nebraska, Sa ...

Early life, education and legal career

Johanns was born in Osage, Iowa, the son of Adeline Lucy ( née Royek) and John Robert Johanns. His father was of German and some Luxembourgian ancestry, and his maternal grandparents immigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He grew up living and working on his family's farm. He graduated from Osage Community High School in 1968 and went on to study at

in Winona, where he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Communications in 1971. Johanns earned his Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law, and joined the Nebraska State Bar Association in 1974. After his graduation, he clerked for

Judge Hale McCown from 1974 to 1975, before practicing law for Cronin and Hannon in

O'Neill, Nebraska O'Neill is a city in Holt County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Holt County. History O'Neill was platted in 1874. It was named for one of its founders, John O'Neill. O'Neill was ...

from 1975 to 1976. He was a partner at Nelson, Johanns, Morris, Holdeman, and Titus, a law firm he founded in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

in 1976, where he practiced until 1991.

Early political career

Johanns served on the Lancaster County Board from 1983 to 1987 as a Democrat. In 1988, he was elected as a Republican to the Lincoln City Council, where he served from 1989 to 1991. On May 7, 1991, he was elected the 47th Mayor of Lincoln, defeating incumbent Mayor Bill Harris, with 54% of the vote. He took office as Mayor on December 3, 1991. In 1995, Johanns won reelection with no opposition, becoming the first Mayor of Lincoln to do so since the 1950s. He was succeeded by Dale Young, who was appointed by the Lincoln City Council.

Governor of Nebraska

Elections

1998

Johanns began campaigning early in Nebraska's 1998 gubernatorial election, holding his first campaign event in October 1995. The early start led to a slow, steady build-up in name recognition and organizational support, and an advantage of small donors over his Republican opponents, Nebraska State Auditor John Breslow and U.S. Representative Jon Lynn Christensen. Johanns visited all of Nebraska's 93 counties, traveling over 100,000 miles. Christensen, a two-term representative who promised not to serve more than three terms in the House, was seen as a surprise candidate in the gubernatorial election, as he had to give up his seat on the powerful

House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

. Christensen (who saw backing from the

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...

), and Breslow ran their campaigns on a staunch

social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...

message and were seen as trying to "outconservative" and outdistance one another, while Johanns was seen as an attractive candidate for moderate voters. Christensen was seen as the early frontrunner, though his lead fell dramatically in the final weeks after he made public comments that he signed an affidavit after he and his first wife divorced, saying that her adultery broke up their marriage. He also saw backlash from comments he made about his second wife (

Tara Dawn Holland Tara Dawn Holland (born October 2, 1972) is an American beauty pageant contestant, who was Miss America 1997. Education Holland attended Florida State University and was selected for membership in Omicron Delta Kappa in 1993. In December 2002 ...

, Miss America 1997), that he got her to swear that she was a virgin who was "saving herself for marriage." His campaign also vigorously attacked Johanns in a flier for allowing "obscene and racist" broadcasts to air on Lincoln's public access cable channel. The broadcasts showed a man urinating in public; though Johanns tried to stop the program, the airing was protected by a federal lawsuit. The flier was condemned by Republican members of Nebraska's congressional delegation, with then-Senator

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946) Though the race was seen as a "dead heat" the day before the primary, Johanns won with 40% of the vote, to Breslow's 29% and Christensen's 28%. The primary was seen as one of the most expensive in Nebraska history, with Breslow spending $3.8 million ($2.5 million of his own money), Christensen spending $1.8 million and Johanns spending $1.7 million. Incumbent Ben Nelson, a popular Democrat in the staunchly

red state Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

, was term-limited after serving two terms as governor, leaving the Democratic field open. Bill Hoppner won the Democratic nomination, defeating lawyer and former member of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...

Jim McFarland. Hoppner, an attorney who previously served as the chief of staff to senators J. James Exon and Bob Kerrey, had never won an election before; he had run for governor and was defeated by Nelson in the 1990 primary. On November 3, 1998, Johanns and his running mate, David I. Maurstad, defeated Hoppner and his running mate, Pam Bataillon, in the general election, by a margin of 54% to 46%.

2002

Johanns won reelection in 2002 by a landslide, defeating Democrat Stormy Dean by a margin of 69% to 27%, thus becoming the first Republican governor of Nebraska to be reelected since Victor E. Anderson in 1956.

Tenure

During his first term, Johanns focused on direct property tax relief. He succeeded in enacting a total of $85 million in such relief. Johanns was a supporter of Initiative 413, amending Nebraska's constitution to limit state government spending, and adjusting tax revenue increases to the rate of inflation. In 2002 Johanns signed legislation raising the state's cigarette tax by 50 cents per pack; from 34 to 84 cents. Johanns proposed another 20 cents increase in cigarette taxes, saying that "I don't think you're going to get much debate that medical costs are higher when you smoke. Cigarette and tobacco use may be a choice, but every one of us pays for its use, either with our health or our pocketbooks, or both." Johanns led agriculture trade missions to Japan, China,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Australia,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He signed legislation increasing state gasoline taxes by 1.25 cents for ethanol incentive funding, raising $1.5 million annually for Nebraska's Ethanol Production Incentive Cash Fund. Johanns served as the chairman of Governors' Ethanol Coalition in 2001. Johanns was known for his strong stance on

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ing bills. In 1999 Johanns vetoed 26 bills in only five days, more than any previous governor in Nebraska history. In 2003 Johanns vetoed the entire $5.4 billion two-year Nebraska state budget. He said that he "could not accept a budget that raised taxes to grow government at a time when the state must cut spending," and called for a nearly 10% cut in every state government program. Johanns vetoed legislation increasing the pay of members of the

, though the veto was overridden by the legislature; he also vetoed legislation authorizing teacher salary increases. During the 1999 legislative session, the Nebraska Legislature passed a moratorium of executions in a 27 to 21 vote, becoming the first state in the nation to send such a proposal to the governor's desk. The bill set bans on all executions for two years, while a study to see if the death penalty was being applied fairly in the state took place. Though the bill prevented executions from taking place, it did not exempt the sentencing of the death penalty in new cases. Johanns, who is a proponent of the

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, vetoed the bill a week after its passage; calling the bill "poor public policy" that would "at a minimum be utilized to advance further unnecessary criminal appeals by those currently sentenced to death row in Nebraska." The veto of the bill was condemned by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

, the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. In 1999, Johanns saw criticism from the groups People For the American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union for signing a proclamation declaring May 22, "March for

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Day," in honor of a fundamentalist Christian group in Nebraska. Critiques said that Johanns was "violating the neutrality of religions that is required of his office. He was endorsing

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

over all other religions, sending an impermissible message to Nebraskans of other faiths or of no faith that their beliefs are disfavored by the Government." Johanns also endorsed "Back to the Bible Day," though he refused to issue a proclamation for Earth Religion Awareness Day, a day requested by

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

groups. Johanns said that "I wouldn't hesitate to sign a proclamation for the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

faith,

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

, whatever. So long as it doesn't require me to sign something I personally don't agree with." Johanns previously refused to sign a proclamation for LGBT Pride in 1997, citing his Christianity. Johanns twice served as the chair of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

's Committee on Economic Development and Commerce from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. In July 2001, he was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States to serve on the banks Advisory Committee, and in 2003 served as the chairman of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership. Johanns succeeded Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as chair of the Midwestern Governors Association in 2002.

United States Secretary of Agriculture

On December 2, 2004, Johanns was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace outgoing Secretary of Agriculture

Ann Veneman Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005, and was the firs ...

. As a result, he scrapped plans to run against Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (his predecessor as governor) in the 2006 election. In his announcement nominating Johanns as agriculture secretary, President Bush explained that he chose him to replace Veneman for his support of ethanol and biodiesel and for his knowledge in foreign trade; calling him "a man of action and of complete integrity." Johanns was confirmed in a voice vote by the Senate on January 20, 2005, hours after Bush's second inauguration. He tendered his resignation as Governor of Nebraska on that day, and was sworn in the next day. The Department of Agriculture under Johanns received criticism for being too slow to perform additional tests on cows suspected of having

mad cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

U.S. Senate

2008 election

On September 20, 2007, Johanns resigned as the Secretary of Agriculture and announced on October 10, 2007 that he would run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat vacated by Senator

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946) defeating Democratic nominee

Scott Kleeb Scott Michael Kleeb (born August 23, 1975) is an American businessman and politician. He is the former CEO and President of Energy Pioneer Solutions, a company that created and then sold a new data-driven model for energy efficiency issues that f ...

in the general election.

Tenure

Johanns' time in the Senate was low-key: he never appeared on one of the

Sunday morning talk shows A Sunday morning talk show is a television program with a news/ talk/ public affairs–hybrid format that is broadcast on Sunday mornings. This type of program originated in the United States, and has since been used in other countries. Overview T ...

. He voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and opposed cap-and-trade legislation. He was a member of the " Gang of Eight" that tried to negotiate a federal deficit reduction deal in 2011 and was pivotal in re-routing the proposed route of the

Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alber ...

. Johanns received an award from the

National Multiple Sclerosis Society The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking fo ...

for his work to support funding for autoimmune disease research.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry ** Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology ** Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support *

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, d ...

** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions ** Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development ** Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, Ranking Member * Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation ** Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security ** Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet ** Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion ** Subcommittee on Science and Space ** Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security * Committee on Veterans' Affairs * Committee on Indian Affairs * Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.

Caucus memberships

* International Conservation Caucus *

Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

Caucus (co-chair) * Sportsmen's Caucus

Millennium Challenge Corporation

In December 2015, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

nominated Johanns to be a member of the board of directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. This nomination was confirmed by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate in February 2016. In March 2019, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

nominated him for a second term on the board.

Personal life

Johanns married his first wife, Connie Johanns, in 1972. They had two children together: a son, Justin and a daughter, Michaela. He also has five grandchildren. Johanns and his wife divorced in 1985, and in 1986 he married Stephanie Armitage, a former Lancaster county Commissioner and Nebraska state senator.

References

External links

*
White House biography (archived)

USDA biography
* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Johanns, Mike 1950 births American people of German descent American people of Luxembourgian descent American people of Polish descent Catholics from Nebraska County supervisors and commissioners in Nebraska Creighton University School of Law alumni George W. Bush administration cabinet members 21st-century American politicians Governors of Nebraska Living people Mayors of Lincoln, Nebraska Nebraska city council members Nebraska Democrats Nebraska lawyers Nebraska Republicans People from Osage, Iowa Republican Party governors of Nebraska Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska Saint Mary's University of Minnesota alumni United States Secretaries of Agriculture Catholics from Iowa