Profile Text
Birth Name: James Michael Johnson
Place of Birth: Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Date of Birth: January 30, 1972
Ethnicity: Sicilian Italian (maternal grandfather), English, Cajun French, Scottish, Irish, Dutch
Mike Johnson is an American attorney and politician. He has been Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative, and Leader of the House Republican Conference, both, since October 25, 2023. He has also been a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana, since January 3, 2017, Chair of the Republican Study Committee, from January 3, 2019 to January 3, 2021, and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, from January 3, 2021 to October 25, 2023. He is the shortest-serving congressperson to be elected Speaker in 140 years, and the first Speaker from Louisiana. Closely tied to Christian conservative organizations, he has been an attorney for Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom; founded non-profit legal ministry Freedom Guard, designed to represent Christian clients in lawsuits; and has been a professor at the evangelical Christian Liberty University. He has also worked as an attorney in private practice.
Speaker Johnson is the son of Jeanne and James Patrick Johnson, a firefighter. His father founded the Percy R. Johnson Burn Foundation, a non-profit named after a fellow firefighter. Mike is married to pastoral counselor, family lecturer, and schoolteacher Kelly Lary Johnson. The couple has five children.
Speaker Johnson is an evangelical Christian.
Speaker Johnson’s paternal grandfather was Raymond Ralph Johnson (the son of Garner James Johnson and Julie Cecelia Brossette/Brosset). Raymond was born in Louisiana. Garner was the son of Andrew Jackson Johnson and Martha Elizabeth “Lizzie” Cash. Julie was the daughter of Leon Jerome Brossette and Harriet Rachal.
Speaker Johnson’s paternal grandmother was Betty Joyce Richmond (the daughter of Boyce Adrian Richmond and Marie Leta Dollard). Betty was born in Louisiana. Boyce was the son of Davis Cornwell Richmond and Mary Etta Wood. Speaker Johnson’s great-grandmother Marie was the daughter of Cash George Dollard and Marie Devarenne.
Speaker Johnson’s maternal grandfather was Nunzio “Newt” Messina (the son of Salvatore Nunzio “Sam” Messina and Rosa Cicero). Speaker Johnson’s grandfather Nunzio was born in Louisiana, to Italian parents, from Palermo, Sicily. Salvatore was the son of Giovanni Batista Messina and Maria Provenza. Rosa was the daughter of Salvatore Cicero and Venera Maria Tumminello.
Speaker Johnson’s maternal grandmother was Rosa Andralene “Ann” Lester (the daughter of Andrew Lester and Nannie N. Burt). Rosa was born in Louisiana. Andrew was the son of Thomas Marion Lester and Mary E. Hendricks. Nannie was the daughter of Jarrett Thomas Burt and Elizabeth Janie Umphries.
Sources: Genealogy of Mike Johnson – https://gw.geneanet.org
Genealogy of Mike Johnson (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com