23 Facts About Kaohly Her

Kaohly Her was born on June 18,1973 and is a Hmong-American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019.

Kaohly Her's was born in Laos and came to the US as a Hmong refugee at age four, her grandfather fought alongside the US Army before resettling in the United States.

Kaohly Her's worked in the investment and finance sector for 15 years after graduating from college.

Kaohly Her was a community organizer, director of Hmong women's organization Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together, and founder of Maiv-PAC to advocate for Hmong-American women.

Kaohly Her's has served on the Saint Paul Human Rights Commission and as the Administrator of the Saint Paul Public Schools Board of Education.

Kaohly Her's was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018 and has been reelected every two years since.

Kaohly Her first ran after six-term DFL incumbent Erin Murphy retired to run for governor of Minnesota.

Kaohly Her was the first of two Hmong-American women elected to the Minnesota House along with Samantha Vang.

Kaohly Her's serves on the Health Finance and Policy, Legacy Finance, and State and Local Government Committees and as chair of the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.

Kaohly Her served as majority whip of the House from 2021 to 2022, making her the first Hmong-American woman to hold a leadership position in the House.

Kaohly Her's is a member of the Minnesota Asian Pacific Caucus and the House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus.

Kaohly Her's authored the End Child Marriage Bill, which raised Minnesota's legal marriage age to 18 without exceptions.

Kaohly Her's shared that when she was in high school an older man sought permission from her parents to marry her, which her father refused.

Kaohly Her has authored legislation to change the requirements for police disability claims, saying that "bad actors" were using the current system for personal gain.

Kaohly Her supported legislation to provide incentives to train and hire new police officers, saying it would increase diversity within departments.

Kaohly Her's has supported anti-hate crime legislation to address an increase in violence targeting the Asian-American community, and called for gun safety measures such as red flag and safe storage laws.

Kaohly Her's authored legislation that would require gun owners to notify law enforcement within 48 hours of noticing their firearm is missing.

Kaohly Her spoke in support of a House resolution to declare racism a public health emergency and form a select committee to address racism.

Kaohly Her's has supported legislation to create a new, higher income tax tier for those with income over $500,000.

Kaohly Her authored legislation to boost school districts' English language learners programs, and a bill to give foster kids grants to help cover college expenses.

Kaohly Her criticized the Trump administration for its push to deport Vietnam War-era refugees, calling it a "betrayal of wartime promises" and for deporting other Hmong and Lao immigrants.

Kaohly Her, who was employed as Carter's policy director, then authored a bill to help fund the program.

Kaohly Her's was criticized by House Republicans, and ethics watchdog Common Cause stated she should have recused herself and not carried the bill.