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Biography
U.S. Congressman Tim Walz is currently serving his first term representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District. The First Congressional District spans the southern part of Minnesota – from the South Dakota border in the west to the Wisconsin border in the east.
Walz proudly serves the people of southern Minnesota on three committees in the United States House of Representatives: Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure and Veterans Affairs. He also is one of nine House members to serve on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and was the President of the Democratic Freshman Class.
Tim Walz was born in West Point, Nebraska and is the son of a public school administrator and community activist. Walz spent his summers with his extended family working on their farms. In 1982, he graduated from Butte High School with 24 classmates.
As a child, Tim’s parents instilled in him the values of hard work and community service. Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at the young age of 17, and retired 24 years later as Command Sergeant Major. Before retiring, Walz served overseas with his battalion in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Walz is the highest ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress.
In 1989, Walz earned a B.S. in social science education from Chadron State College in Nebraska. That year he earned the title of Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the Year.
Walz spent 1989-1990 teaching high school in China as a part of the first government sanctioned groups of American educators to teach in China through a program at Harvard University.
When he returned from China, Walz began teaching high school in Nebraska. While in Nebraska, Walz met his wife Gwen Whipple. Married in 1994, Tim and Gwen Walz moved back to Gwen’s native southern Minnesota where both began teaching and coaching at Mankato West High School. Walz is presently on unpaid leave from Mankato West High School while he serves in the United States Congress.
Walz completed his master's degree in educational leadership in 2001 and is nearly finished with his doctorate at St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. His approach to teaching has gained him recognition as the 2002 Minnesota Ethics in Education award winner, 2003 Mankato Teacher of the Year, and the 2003 Minnesota Teacher of Excellence as well as being named the Outstanding Young Nebraskan by the Nebraska Junior Chamber of Commerce for his service in the education, military, and small business communities.
Congressman and Mrs. Walz live in Mankato with their two young children, Hope and Gus.
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