Short Bio

Niki Tsongas is currently serving her first term as a Member of the US House of Representatives representing the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts.  She is the first woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Massachusetts in 25 years.  The Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts includes the old industrial cities of Haverhill, Methuen, Lawrence and Lowell in the Merrimack Valley as well as the Boston suburbs of Concord, Acton, Wayland and Sudbury.

Rep. Tsongas was elected in a special election on October 16th, to succeed Marty Meehan, who resigned to become the Chancellor of UMass-Lowell.  She currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Budget Committee.  Before her election to Congress, Rep. Tsongas served as the Dean of External Affairs at Middlesex Community College, the largest community college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

Growing up in a military family, Rep. Tsongas has lived across the United States, post-war Germany, and she graduated from an American High School in Japan.  Congresswoman Tsongas earned her bachelors degree from Smith College and she has a law degree from Boston University.  While in college, she spent a summer in Washington, D.C. where she met her future husband, former Fifth District Congressman, US Senator, and Presidential Candidate, Paul Tsongas. 

Sadly, Paul Tsongas passed away in 1997 after a well-known fight with complications from cancer treatments.  Inspired by their life together, Niki has continued her dedication to public service, building on what she and Paul had accomplished.

Congresswoman Tsongas has three daughters, Ashley, Katina and Molly.