Pete Buttigieg

Date of Birth: January 19, 1982

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Biography

Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg, commonly known as Pete Buttigieg, is an American politician and former military officer who has served as the United States Secretary of Transportation since February 3, 2021. Born in South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg is the son of Joseph Buttigieg, a professor at the University of Notre Dame, and Jennifer Anne Montgomery. He attended Harvard University, where he majored in history and literature, and later studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). Buttigieg’s political career began in his hometown of South Bend, where he was elected mayor in 2011 at the age of 29, making him one of the youngest mayors in the country. During his tenure, he focused on urban development, economic revitalization, and infrastructure improvements. He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. In 2019, Buttigieg announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2020 election. Though he did not secure the nomination, his campaign gained significant attention and he became known for his articulate speech and progressive policies. As the first openly gay candidate to win presidential primary delegates, he made history and brought significant visibility to LGBTQ+ issues in American politics. Following the election of Joe Biden, Buttigieg was nominated and confirmed as the Secretary of Transportation, making him the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history to be confirmed by the Senate.

5 Interesting Facts about Pete Buttigieg

1. Pete Buttigieg is a polyglot; he speaks several languages including Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, Maltese, Arabic, Dari, and French.

2. He is the first openly gay person to be confirmed to a Cabinet position in the United States.

3. Buttigieg’s memoir, “Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future,” became a New York Times bestseller.

4. He married his husband, Chasten Glezman, in a private ceremony in June 2018.

5. During his military service, Buttigieg was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his counterterrorism work in Afghanistan.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Pete Buttigieg

1. “The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.”

2. “Freedom means the freedom to marry the person you love.”

3. “The reality is, there’s no single policy that can make our country fairer, but we can make a start by acknowledging our shared values and working together.”

4. “Good policy, like good science, should be evidence-based.”

5. “The purpose of politics is not to win elections, but to make people’s lives better.”