Valerie Biden Owens

Last updated

Valerie Biden Owens
Valerie Biden Owens (cropped).jpg
Owens in 2020
Personal details
Born
Valerie Biden

(1945-11-05) November 5, 1945 (age 79)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s)
Bruce Saunders
​
(divorced)​

John Owens
​
(m. 1975)​
Children3
Relatives Biden family
Education University of Delaware (BA)
Website Official website
Owens in South Korea with her sister-in-law Jill Biden, 2015 Jill Biden visits Seoul, South Korea (2015-07-18) 03.jpg
Owens in South Korea with her sister-in-law Jill Biden, 2015

Valerie Biden Owens (born November 5, 1945) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and former educator. She is the younger sister of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated her as alternate representative of the United States to the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. [1]

Contents

Owens has played a substantial role in all of her brother's political campaigns. She was the campaign manager during all of his Senate elections and for his 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns, as well as a senior advisor to his successful 2020 presidential campaign. [2] [3] Owens published her autobiography, Growing Up Biden, in 2022. [4] [5]

Biden Owens received a Presidential pardon from her brother, Joe Biden. [6]

Early life and education

She was born on November 5, 1945, in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" (née Finnegan; 1917–2010) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002). [7] Her brothers are Joe, Francis "Frank" Biden, and James "Jim" Biden. Her family is of Irish Catholic background. Biden's father was initially wealthy, but later suffered several financial setbacks; for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Joe Biden Sr. later became a successful used car salesman, maintaining the family in a middle-class lifestyle. [8]

Owens graduated from Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware in 1963, and went on to study at the University of Delaware, where she was on the dean's list and was homecoming queen, graduating in 1967. [9]

Career

President Joe Biden statement on pardoning members of his family (January 20, 2025)

My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,

I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.

That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.

Joe Biden,

After college, Owens was a teacher at Wilmington Friends School before focusing on politics. [9]

From 1997 until 2016, she served as executive vice-president of Joe Slade White & Company, a media consultant firm. Owens has worked with the Delaware service organization, Ministry of Caring, for over 35 years and sits on their Board of Directors. [10] [11]

She has worked extensively with Women's Campaign International to help teach women how to develop and grow their political skills. [12] [13] In 2013, Owens traveled with her brother Joe Biden to the Vatican City as an official U.S. delegate for the inauguration of Pope Francis. [14]

In 2014, Owens was a Resident Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. [15] In 2017, Owens was a featured speaker at a Ted Talk conference in Wilmington, Delaware. [16] Owens is vice-chair of both the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and the Biden Foundation. Owens returns to the University of Delaware periodically to give lectures on politics and her experiences as a woman on the campaign trail. [17]

She has traveled around the world as a motivational speaker, and teacher of leadership and communication seminars. She helped to found the Owens-Patrick seminar group. [18] Owens currently sits on the advisory board for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Policy Institute. [19]

Owens has played a substantial role in all of her brother's political campaigns dating back to his first campaign, for the New Castle County, Delaware council in 1970. Owens managed for Joe Biden's 1988 presidential campaign. [20] In 2008, Owens and Ashley Judd campaigned together in North Carolina at several events in support of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. [21]

Joe Biden mentioned her in his presidential acceptance speech on November 7, 2020. Owens was in attendance at the event in Wilmington, Delaware, where she also met Maya Harris, the sister of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. [22]

President Biden granted a Full and Unconditional Pardon to Owens, her husband John T. Owens, their brother: James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, and Francis W. Biden on 19 Jan 2025 A FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDON-James, Sara, Francis Biden and Valerie and John Owens=pardon-warrant-4-19-jan-2025 1.pdf
President Biden granted a Full and Unconditional Pardon to Owens, her husband John T. Owens, their brother: James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, and Francis W. Biden on 19 Jan 2025

On January 20, 2025, President Joe Biden issued a pardon for Valerie and her husband John Owens, along with their other siblings and their spouses. [23]

Personal life

Owens' first husband was Bruce Saunders, whom she married shortly after graduating college. [24] Bruce and Valerie moved in with Joe Biden and his two sons, Hunter and Beau, following the death of her sister-in-law Neilia in a car crash in December 1972. Valerie helped look after her nephews so that Joe could begin his first term as senator in 1973. Valerie and Bruce had both worked on Joe Biden's first Senate campaign in 1972. [25]

Owens is married to attorney John T. Owens, with whom she has three children: son Cuffe Owens, also an attorney, and two daughters, Missy Owens and Casey Owens Castello. John T. Owens was a friend of Joe Biden's during their law school years at Syracuse University. The two were wed in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Church Center for the United Nations in 1975. [26] [27] [28] [29] In October 2021, Cuffe Owens married reality TV star Meghan King. [30] They separated two months later and the marriage was later annulled. [31] [32]

Awards and honors

The University of Delaware bestowed an Honorary Doctorate of Law to her in 2018. [9] Harvard University honored her with their 'Women Inspiring Change" award in 2015. [33]
Ursuline Academy inducted her to their Distinguished Alumnae Hall of Fame in 2018. [34]

In 2021, Forbes listed Owens on their Impact List of 50 Women over 50 who are inspiring change in their communities through social entrepreneurship, law, advocacy and education. [35]

Related Research Articles

Ursuline Academy is a private school in Wilmington, Delaware, which offers Early Childhood and elementary school for both girls and boys, Middle, and Upper school classes for girls. Established in 1893 by the Ursulines, it is an independent, Catholic, college-preparatory school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beau Biden</span> American politician and lawyer (1969–2015)

Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. He was the eldest child of 46th U.S. president, Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden, served as the 44th attorney general of Delaware from 2007 to 2015, and was a major in the Delaware Army National Guard in the Iraq War. He died of glioblastoma at the age of 46 in 2015, at which time he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Delaware in the 2016 gubernatorial election. A portion of the 21st Century Cures Act was named the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot initiative after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States Senate election in Delaware</span>

The 2008 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Senator Joe Biden, who was also the Democratic nominee for vice president in the concurrent presidential election, faced Christine O'Donnell in the general election. Biden won re-election to a seventh term with 64.69% of the vote, his best-performing result in his senatorial career, while also being elected vice president. Biden took his oath of office in the Senate chamber with the rest of his colleagues on January 3, 2009, but resigned his seat on January 15, 2009, and assumed the vice presidency five days later. Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner appointed Ted Kaufman, a Democrat and longtime Biden advisor, to fill the vacant seat pending a 2010 special election in which O'Donnell once again ran unsuccessfully for the seat, losing to Democrat Chris Coons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Biden 1988 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 1988 presidential campaign of Joe Biden, a Democratic U.S. Senator from Delaware, began in June 1987. Originally, Biden was regarded as potentially one of the strongest candidates in the field. In September 1987, however, reports emerged that he had plagiarized a speech by the British Leader of the Opposition and Labour Party Leader, Neil Kinnock. Other allegations of past law school plagiarism and exaggerating his academic record soon followed and Biden withdrew from the race later that month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Biden</span> First Lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025

Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden is an American educator who served as the first lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025 as the wife of President Joe Biden. She previously served as second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 when her husband was vice president. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. She is believed to be the first wife of a vice president or president to hold a salaried job during the majority of her husband's tenure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family of Joe Biden</span>

The family of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, has family members who are prominent in law, education, activism and politics. Biden's immediate family cycle was the first family of the United States from 2021 to 2025. His immediate family circle was also the second family of the United States from 2009 to 2017, when Biden was vice president. Biden's family is mostly descended from the British Isles, with most of their ancestors coming from Ireland and England, and a smaller number descending from the French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Biden</span> American social worker and fashion designer (born 1981)

Ashley Blazer Biden is an American social worker, activist, and fashion designer. She served as the executive director of the Delaware Center for Justice from 2014 to 2019. Before her administrative role at the center, Biden worked in the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families. She founded the fashion company Livelihood, which partners with the online retailer Gilt Groupe to raise money for community programs focused on eliminating income inequality in the United States, launching it at New York Fashion Week in 2017. Biden's parents are President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 United States Senate election in Delaware</span>

The 1972 United States Senate election in Delaware was held November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican Senator J. Caleb Boggs ran for a third term in the United States Senate. Boggs faced off against Democrat Joe Biden, a New Castle County Councilman. Though Boggs was expected to easily win a third term, Biden narrowly defeated the incumbent on election day, even while fellow Democrat George McGovern lost Delaware by 20.4% in the concurrent presidential election. Biden's victory margin of 3,162 votes made this the closest U.S. Senate election of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Delaware</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Delaware took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose three representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shefali Razdan Duggal</span> American activist and diplomat (born 1971)

Shefali Razdan Duggal is an Indian-American political activist and diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands from 2022 to 2025. She was previously appointed by President Barack Obama to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which supervises the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, for a term which expired in January 2018.

Joe Biden is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Blunt Rochester</span> American politician (born 1962)

Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Delaware. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman, and first African American, to represent Delaware in both chambers of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jen O'Malley Dillon</span> American political strategist (born 1976)

Jennifer Brigid O'Malley Dillon is an American former political strategist who chaired Vice President Kamala Harris's unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign. She also chaired President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neilia Hunter Biden</span> First wife of President Joe Biden (1942–1972)

Neilia Hunter Biden was an American teacher. She was the first wife of Joe Biden, who would later become the 46th president of the United States. She died in a 1972 car crash with their one-year-old daughter, Naomi; their two sons, Beau and Hunter, were injured but survived the incident. Her death occurred six weeks after her husband's election to the U.S. Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biden Foundation</span> United States non-profit organization from 2017 to 2019

The Biden Foundation was a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the United States tax code that existed from 2017 to 2019. It was established by then former United States vice president Joe Biden and Jill Biden with the stated mission to "champion progress and prosperity for American families".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early life and career of Joe Biden</span>

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the 46th president of the United States, was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The oldest child in a Catholic family, Biden has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James.

Hallie K. Biden is an American school counselor, non-profit executive, and member of the Biden family. She worked as a school counselor at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, Delaware and at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware. In 2002, she married Beau Biden, a son of U.S. President Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden. They lived in Wilmington while her husband served as the Attorney General of Delaware.

James Brian "Jim" Biden is an American former nightclub owner, insurance broker, and political consultant. Biden is a brother of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States. He was his brother's chief fundraiser for his 1972 Senate campaign.

References

  1. ↑ "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  2. ↑ Gibson, Jenna; O'Keefe, Ed (March 12, 2020). "Biden taps new campaign manager as focus shifts to general election - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  3. ↑ Meet Joe Biden Sister, Vogue Magazine accessed 11/12/2020
  4. ↑ "Valerie Biden Owens, the president's sister, has a book deal". AP News. June 24, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Growing Up Biden". Celadon Books. June 24, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ Breuninger, Kevin (January 20, 2025). "Biden pardons his family in final minutes in office". CNBC. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ Sun, Baltimore. "Joseph Biden Sr., 86, the father of..." baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "The Frontline Interview: Valerie Biden Owens". FRONTLINE (Interview).
  9. 1 2 3 "University of Delaware Statement accessed 11/7/2020" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "Valerie Biden Owens Biography". www.bidenschool.udel.edu.
  11. ↑ "Joe Biden's Sister Isn't Running The Campaign This Time — And It's "Damn Frustrating"". BuzzFeed News. November 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ Saul, Stephanie (February 28, 2020). "Politics, Money, Siblings: The Ties Between Joe Biden and Valerie Biden Owens". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Parker, Ashley (October 1, 2008). "Biden Relies on His Closest Adviser, His Sister (Published 2008)". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ Biden plays the Catholic card accessed 11/9/2020
  15. ↑ "Valerie Biden Owens". The Institute of Politics at Harvard University.
  16. ↑ Owens, Valerie Biden (October 5, 2017). "The Contribution Code: Three B's That Make All the Difference" – via www.ted.com.
  17. ↑ Anastasi, Victoria (October 22, 2018). "Valerie Biden Owens on Girl Power | The Review" . Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  18. ↑ Bill Barrow (August 20, 2020). "Q&A: Valerie Biden Owens, from Joe's manager to proud sister" (Interview). Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Advisory Board Members | MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute at UNLV | University of Nevada, Las Vegas". www.unlv.edu. February 22, 2019.
  20. ↑ Viser, Matt. "Biden's sister, Valerie, at his side for 74 years — and for one final goal" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  21. ↑ Ashley Judd on the trail accessed 11/14/2020
  22. ↑ Phillips, Amber. "Analysis | Joe Biden's victory speech, annotated" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  23. ↑ Shear, Michael D. (January 20, 2025). "Biden Pardons 5 Members of His Family in Final Minutes in Office". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Joe Biden Credits His Sister With Rebuilding His Family After He Lost His Wife and Child". Oprah Daily. November 10, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ Biden Political Family, New York Times accessed 11/11/2020]
  26. ↑ "Bridal at U.N. For Miss Biden". The New York Times . October 12, 1975. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Statement from Vice President Joe Biden". The White House.
  28. ↑ Valerie Biden New York Times Wedding Announcement accessed 11/9/2020
  29. ↑ "Biden family does not own Dominion Voting Systems". AP NEWS. April 20, 2021.
  30. ↑ Melas, Chloe (October 12, 2021). "Cuffe Biden Owens, President Biden's nephew, marries former 'Real Housewives' star Meghan O'Toole King". CNN. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  31. ↑ Nardino, Meredith (December 28, 2021). "Inside Meghan King's Split From Husband Cuffe Owens: What Went Wrong?". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Meghan King Says She 'Learned Some Big Lessons' as Marriage to Cuffe Owens Is Officially Annulled". Peoplemag. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Valerie Biden Owens". March 2, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Alumnae Spotlights | Ursuline Academy". www.ursuline.org. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  35. ↑ "50 Over 50: Impact". www.forbes.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.

30. ↑ White House Archives for President Barack Obama 09/13/2016

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.