Michael Owen "Mike" Johanns is an Republican American politician who has been the junior United States Senator from Nebraska since 2009. Previously he was the 38th Governor of Nebraska from 1999 to 2005 and was United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold the position. On November 4, 2008, Johanns was elected to the United States Senate for the state of Nebraska, becoming one of only two new Republican senators heading into the 111th United States Congress. In 2002 Johanns served as a Chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. He is... expected to become Nebraska's senior senator upon the conclusion of retiring Senator Ben Nelson's term in January of 2013. Johanns was born in Osage, Iowa, the son of Adeline Lucy and John Robert Johanns. His father was of German ancestry, and his maternal grandparents immigrated from Poland. He grew up living and working on his family's farm. After graduating from high school, Johanns went on to study at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota in Winona. He earned a law degree from Creighton University.
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