13 things about Bismarck, North Dakota native John Hoeven

John Henry Hoeven III was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, United States to John Henry “Jack” Hoeven Jr. and Patricia Joan “Trish” Chapman Hoeven. Jack married Raziye Yusuf five years after Trish’s death.

Jack was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA to John Henry Hoeven Sr. and Muriel Milligan Hoeven. Born in Lewiston, Montana, USA, Trish is the daughter of Earl Bryan Chapman, who was born in Troy, Idaho, USA.

BIOGRAPHY

John III is an American politician and banker of Dutch, English and Swedish descent. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1970, his father bought First Western Bank & Trust, a bank in Minot, North Dakota.
2. In 1979, he graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA where he played golf.
3. His mother turned 49 on January 24, 1979 and died on March 18, 1979.
4. In 1981, he graduated from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA with a master’s degree in business administration.
5. From 1986 to 1993, he was the First Western Bank & Trust executive vice president.
6. From 1993 to 2000, he served as the 12th president of the Bank of North Dakota.
7. He joined the Democratic Party in 1996 and the Republican Party in 1998.
8. From December 15, 2000 to December 7, 2010, he served as the 31st governor of North Dakota.
9. He was elected as a U.S. senator from North Dakota in 2010 and reelected in 2016 and 2022.
10. In 2013, he became the dean of North Dakota’s congressional delegation.
11. His father turned 87 on December 22, 2016 and died in Minot on August 16, 2017.
12. From January 3, 2017 to February 3, 2021, he was the chair of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
13. On March 13, 2025, he turned 68.

TIMELINE

John III is married to Mical “Mikey” Laird Hoeven. They have two children together namely Marcela Laird Hoeven and Jack Laird Hoeven.

2021

• On May 28, 2021, he voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the attack in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., USA perpetrated by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

2022

• On November 16, 2022, he released a statement after voting in opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act, which read, “Same-sex marriage is protected under the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision and the Fourteenth Amendment. My concern with this bill is that it doesn’t adequately protect religious freedom, that includes both individuals and businesses based on sincerely-held religious beliefs, as well as religious organizations.”

2023

• On July 20, 2023, he and his fellow senators James Lankford, John Cornyn, Ron Johnson and Ted Budd talked to reporters in the U.S. Capitol about unaccompanied minors on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
• On December 5, 2023, he released a statement, which read in part, “I’m announcing my support for Donald J. Trump for president. President Trump is strong on the issues that are important for North Dakota.”

2024

• On July 21, 2024, he wrote on social media, “Regardless of who replaces Pres. Biden in the race, we are confident in the Trump-Vance ticket. We will continue working to bring Pres. Trump back to the White House so we can get our nation back on the right track.”

2025

• On May 6, 2025, he questioned U.S. secretary of agriculture Brooke Rollins as she testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.