New Orleans Progressive Democrats
| Bill Jefferson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 2nd district |
|
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In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Lindy Boggs |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Cao |
| Member of the Louisiana Senate from the 5th district |
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In office January 1979 – January 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Frederick Eagan |
| Succeeded by | Diana Bajoie |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Jennings Jefferson March 14, 1947 Lake Providence, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Andrea Jefferson |
| Children | Jamila Jalila Jelani Nailah Akilah |
| Alma mater |
Southern University Harvard University Georgetown University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1969–1975 |
| Rank |
 Second Lieutenant
|
| Unit | United States Army Reserve |
William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson (born March 14, 1947) is an American former politician from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, which includes much of the greater New Orleans area. He was elected as Louisiana's first black congressman since the end of Reconstruction.
On November 13, 2009, Jefferson was sentenced to thirteen years in federal prison for bribery after a corruption investigation, the longest sentence ever given to a congressman. He began serving that sentence in May 2012 at a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Beaumont, Texas. He appealed his case after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on similar issues. In light of these findings, on October 5, 2017, Jefferson was ordered released, pending sentencing or other action, after a U.S. District judge threw out 7 of 10 charges against him. On December 1, 2017, Judge T. S. Ellis III accepted his plea deal and sentenced Jefferson to time served.
Jefferson was born in Lake Providence, the parish seat of East Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana, where he and his eight brothers and sisters worked alongside their father on their farm. He was also a heavy-equipment operator for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Jeffersons were among the few African-American families in the area who in the mid-20th century owned their land (as opposed to sharecropping). They were regarded with respect, but the family struggled in poverty.
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