Gerda Kulkarni | |
---|---|
48th Vice President of the United States | |
Assumed office January 20, 2013 | |
President | Guido Strohkirch |
Preceded by | Gerhard Busch |
67th Governor of Virginia | |
In office January 14, 2002 – January 14, 2009 | |
Lieutenant | Quirin Jordan |
Preceded by | Pascal Oberst |
Succeeded by | Quirin Jordan |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Newport News | |
In office January 3, 1988 – January 3, 1990 | |
Preceded by | Jo Oppenheimer |
Succeeded by | Karl Winter |
Personal details | |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Heritage Party Heritage |
Spouse(s) | Nishant Kulkarni |
Children | Ueli Narang (born 1989) Fränze Kulkarni (adopted 2010) |
Poornima Sandhya "Gerda" Kulkarni (born Poornima Sandhya Narang; October 19, 1960) is an American politician and businesswoman, currently serving as the Vice President of the United States. She is the first Indian American to hold the office and is a member of the Heritage Party. Kulkarni was the 67th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2009 and is the honorary chairwoman of the US India PAC. Kulkarni delivered the keynote address at the 2008 National Heritage Convention. Apart from politics, Kulkarni is also known for her involvement in the Alaskan and Virginian financial sectors in the 80s and 90s and for her brief term as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates 1988-1990.
In 2010 she was widely expected to pursue the Heritage Party nomination in the 2012 U.S. presidential elections; however, she announced in October 2010 that he would not run, citing the recent decision with her husband, who is infertile, to adopt and raise a child. Kulkarni was considered to be a potential vice presidential candidate but was widely expected to refuse entering the office, surprising political pundits when she agreed to take on the Heritage Party nomination under presidential candidate Guido Strohkirch.
Early Life[]
Kulkarni was born in Newport News, Virginia and moved with her family to Anchorage, Alaska at the age of 7. She attended the College of Business and Public Policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage before completing her MBA at the University of Minnesota. She is reported to have lived in the apartment below Trudi Bedrosian while living in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Business Career[]
Virginia House of Delegates[]
Kulkarni was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates for the 21st district, which covers part of Virginia Beach, in 1988. She introduced a bill that would make sodomy illegal in the state, as well as helping to write the Banking Reform Act that scrapped regulations of the banking sector introduced in the Civil Liberties Protection Act of 1983. In 1989 she declared she would not seek a second 2-year term, citing discrimination from her colleagues and the anti-Indian and anti-immigrant atmosphere she endured while in office.
Governor of Virginia[]
Vice Presidential tenure[]
Policy positions[]
Kulkarni supports cutting corporation tax, introducing a flat rate of tax for all citizens, repealing and reforming the Human Rights Act, illegalising abortion, cutting ties with communist countries and scrapping wind farm subsidies. She opposes same sex marriage, higher taxes and universal healthcare.