Barbara Lee

American politician · United States · On the map · Politicians · Born 1946 · age 80

Barbara Jean Lee is an American politician who has served as the 52nd mayor of Oakland since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee previously served as a U.S. representative from California from 1998 to 2025, representing California's 12th congressional district.

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7.4 times the usual readers on 4 November. 2,490 readers on 4 November, against about 336 a day before the rise.

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A life in dates

2020“I think you have a convergence, or a confluence, that represents the intersectional nature of where people are in terms of economic security, racial justice, and social justice...”In their words11 August 2020Quoted in Representative Barbara Lee: ‘The Public Is With Us’, by John Nichols, The NationRead the whole statement

“Let me tell you one thing on the disparities in the healthcare system: They have been with us since the first enslaved Africans were brought to America 401 years ago.”In their words11 August 2020Quoted in Representative Barbara Lee: ‘The Public Is With Us’, by John Nichols, The NationRead the whole statement

2019“God, help has finally arrived. I am telling you, it’s been mighty lonely here... Some people say, ‘Don’t you get tired, or aren’t you going to give up? Wait a minute.”In their words20 July 2019Quoted in 'Not so lonely anymore: Barbara Lee no longer a team of one on war powers' by Tal Kopan San Francisco ChronicleRead the whole statement

2018“It’s important that we leave our caucus unified, because it’s Democrats who are going to save the soul of America... You heard and saw what took place (in the race)...”In their words28 November 2018Quoted in Rep. Barbara Lee narrowly defeated in bid for House Dem leadership job, by Tal Kopan San Francisco ChronicleRead the whole statement

2015Thomas Merton AwardAward2002Seán MacBride Peace PrizeAward2001“Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart, one that is filled with sorrow for the families and loved ones who were killed and injured in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.”In their words14 September 2001Speech in CongressRead the whole statement

1946Born16 July 1946

People around Barbara

Close ties

Also in Deutsch

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Photos 7

Lee speaking on the House floor on the December 19, 1998 debate that preceded the vote on impeaching President Bill Clinton

Lee at John Lewis's funeral in Atlanta on July 30, 2020

Lee meets with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the STS-129 Space Shuttle crew in 2010

Lee attends a bill signing ceremony in 2009

Congresswoman Barbara Lee at Oakland Pride in 2023 with Attorney General Rob Bonta

Lee with Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden Jr. on their wedding day on December 31, 2019

In their own words 2

Barbara Lee

2 statements, newest first

Now this resolution will pass, although we all know that the President can wage a war even without it.
Excerpted from text of 'Barbara Lee, Statement in Opposition to H.J. Res. 64 [The Authorization of Military Force passed after 9/11', Own words
Kamala should be president...We know how to lead... We know how to help regain the soul of America.
Quoted in We Know How to Lead.” Rep. Barbara Lee on Kamala Harris and the Unifying Power of Black Women, Molly Schwarzt, Jamilah King,, Own words