18 Facts About Coleen Rowley

Coleen Rowley was born on December 20,1954 and is an American former FBI special agent and whistleblower, and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006.

Coleen Rowley lost the general election to Republican incumbent John Kline.

Coleen Rowley grew up in New Hampton, Iowa, and graduated valedictorian of her high school class in 1973.

Coleen Rowley's father was a letter carrier for 31 years.

In January 1981, Coleen Rowley became a special agent with the FBI and was assigned to the Omaha, Nebraska, and Jackson, Mississippi, divisions.

Failures identified by Coleen Rowley may have left the US vulnerable to the September 11,2001, attacks.

Coleen Rowley was one of many agents frustrated by the events that led up to the attacks, writing:.

In February 2003, Coleen Rowley wrote a second open letter to Mueller, in which she warned her superiors that the bureau would not "be able to stem the flood of terrorism that will likely head our way in the wake of an attack on Iraq".

Coleen Rowley jointly held the Time magazine Person of the Year award in 2002 with two other women credited as whistleblowers: Sherron Watkins from Enron and Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom.

In May 2005, Coleen Rowley announced that she was considering running against incumbent Representative John Kline for Minnesota's 2nd District seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2006.

Coleen Rowley had formerly voted and identified as a Republican, but on June 27,2005, she announced that she was entering the race as a DFLer, and on July 6 officially kicked off her campaign at her home.

Kline objected to the photo, and the Coleen Rowley campaign removed the image the same day and initiated an investigation.

Coleen Rowley visited the district during the campaign and held a rally for Rowley at the local VFW in Rosemount, while veterans protested outside.

Since 2003 Coleen Rowley has spoken publicly on ethics and ethical decision-making to various groups.

Coleen Rowley joined other whistleblowers on the June 2015 speaking tour "Stand Up for Truth" which went through London, Oslo, Stockholm and Berlin.

Coleen Rowley returned to lecture at her alma mater three times, in 2003,2004 and 2015.

Coleen Rowley authored a chapter in Patriotism, Democracy, and Common Sense: Restoring America's Promise at Home and Abroad.

Coleen Rowley has been a regular contributor at The Huffington Post since January 2006 and Rowley has written for The Guardian.