1. Lisa Murkowski was born May 22, 1957, to Frank and Nancy Murkowski in Ketchikan, Alaska.
2. Murkowski grew up in various Alaska cities as the family moved repeatedly for her father's banking career. Her father later became a U.S. senator and also Alaska's governor.
3. She earned a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University in 1980 and a law degree from Willamette University in 1985. After practicing law, she was elected in 1998 to the Alaska House of Representatives, where she served until late 2002.
4. In 1987, Murkowski married Verne Martell, a small-business owner from Anchorage. They have two sons.
5. Murkowski's father, Frank, appointed her to his vacant Senate seat when he became governor in 2002. She served out her father's term and was elected for her first full term in 2004.
6. A third-generation Alaskan, she is the first native to represent the state in the Senate.
7. She became the state's sixth U.S. senator since Alaska gained statehood in 1959.
8. In March 2009, she fell more than 300 feet while skiing at the state's Alyeska Resort. Despite painful injuries, she made it back to Washington the next day--in time to vote for a $410 billion spending bill that included nearly $200 million for Alaska projects.
9. Murkowski has consistently fought to open her state's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas drilling.
10. This year, former Gov. Sarah Palin backed Murkowski's GOP primary challenger, Joe Miller. A rumored rivalry between Murkowski and Palin dates back to Palin's defeat of Murkowski's father in the 2006 Alaska Republican gubernatorial primary.
Sources:
- juneauempire.com
- murkowski.senate.gov
- bioguide.congress.gov
- National Governors Association
Reader Comments Read all comments (1)
Dante Alighieri of AK 5:37PM August 31, 2010