Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library

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Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet was born August 18, 1947 in Manchester, New Hampshire.  He is the second child of Edward Benjamin Bartlet and Patricia Ann Wittington.  Edward Bartlet was an instructor in History, and later Headmaster at the prestigious St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, from which Jed Bartlet graduated in 1960.  Patricia Bartlet was a teacher in the Concord Public Schools.  Jonathan Bartlet, the President's older brother, is a farmer in rural New Hampshire.

Bartlet graduated summa cum laude in American Studies, with a minor in Theology, from the University of Notre Dame in 1964.  He was awarded his Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1967.  He joined the Economics department at Boston College following his graduation for LSE.  Jed Bartlet returned to New Hampshire in the fall of 1971 as Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, where we remained until he entered national politics in 1987.  While at Dartmouth, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.  He shared the 1989 Nobel Prize for Economic Science with Professor Yosh Takahashi of Japan.  He is the author of the book Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations, published in 1988.

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Jed Bartlet married Abigal Ann Bennington, whom he had met while at Notre Dame in June, in 1967 in Boston, where she was attending Harvard Medical School.  The Bartlet's have three daughters: Elizabeth Anne Westin (husband is Douglas Westin, daughter Annie and son Augustus); Eleanor Emily Faison (husband is Victor Faison, daughter Abigal); Zoey Patricia Young (husband is Charles Young).

From 1975 to 1985, Jed Bartlet served four years on the New Hampshire State Board of Education and six years in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.  In 1987, he stood for election to the United States House of Representative for New Hampshire's First Congressional District.  He was elected to three consecutive terms in 1988, 1990, and 1992.  Congressman Bartlet served on the House Judiciary and Budget Committees and Chaired the House Budget Subcommittee on Procurement.

Retiring from the House to run for Governor, Jed Bartlet was elected New Hampshire Governor in 1994 and again in 1996.  Governor Bartlet oversaw a rapid expansion of the State's economy during his two terms.  75,000 new jobs were created by an influx of high-tech companies moving to New Hampshire.  The State's GDP increased 15% during his four years in the State House.  He also signed into state law the Historic Barn and Bridges Preservation Act.

In the fall of 1997, writing the slogan "Bartlet for America" on a cocktail napkin, Leo McGarry launched Jed Bartlet's campaign for the Presidency. U.S. Senator John Hoynes of Texas, joined the ticket as Vice President.  In the 1998 Presidential Election, the Bartlet-Hoynes ticket defeated the Republican ticket of Governor John Westmoreland of New Jersey and Senator Jason Wells of Colorado with just 48 percent of the vote, 48 million popular votes and a 303–235 margin in the Electoral College.

In the 2002 Presidential Election the Bartlet-Hoynes ticket defeated Florida Governor Robert Ritchie and his running mate, Governor Jeff Heston of Wyoming.  Jed Bartlet was reelected by over 10 million votes and received 394 electoral votes.

Jed Bartlet's accomplishments as President include granting amnesty to illegal immigrants from the Americas, appointing the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and first female Chief Justice, negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, creating millions of new jobs, providing strong support for alternative energy, and orchestrating a Social Security reform plan.  Major legislation signed: Gun Control Bill; Family Wellness Act; Foreign Ops Bill.  Major legislation President Bartlet vetoed were the Marriage Recognition Act and the Death Tax Elimination Act.

Following the 2006 election of Congressman Matthew Santos of Texas to the Presidency, Jed Barlet retired to the Bartlet family farm in Hooks Crossing, New Hampshire.  As Professor of Economics Emeritus He has been a personal envoy for President Santos on a number of occasions: in the Sudan in 2008; at the United Nations Famine Eradication Conference in 2009; as an advisor at the G-8 Summit in 2010. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on several occasions for his work in the Middle East peace process.  In 2010 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. He is presently writing his memoirs, to be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Fall 2012.