Niki Tsongas

Vocation

Family

American politician with noted spouse, Paul Tsongas, also a politician. She has been a member of the US House of Representatives since 2007. Niki was the eldest of four daughters in a military family which moved quite a lot, depending on dad's assignments. She graduated from Smith College, but not before spending the summer of 1967 in Washington, DC, where she met and fell in love with Paul Tsongas, then a congressional intern. They married in 1969 and lived in Lowell, MA where his career bloomed. She worked for a charitable organization. In 1974 their first daughter, Ashley, was born, followed in 1977 by daughter Katrina. She supported her husband in his political ambitions, helping his campaigns and raising the children. A third daughter, Molly, arrived in 1982. In 1983, her husband was diagnosed with cancer, and a fatal recurrence of the disease hit in 1996. He died in 1997. In the meantime, Niki earned her law degree from Boston University, started an all-female law practice, devoted much of her time to charitable and civic organizations and became the Dean of External Affairs at Middlesex Community College. In 2007 she launched a congressional bid of her own for a a vacated seat in the US House of Representatives and won the election on October 16, 2007. Link to Wikipedia biography