Thai-American wins seat in Congress
PM hails US poll result
- Published: 8 Nov 2012 at 00.47
- Online news: Local News
Voters in Illinois, the home state of President Barack Obama, have elected the first person of Thai origin to the US Congress.
Bangkok-born Ladda Tammy Duckworth got props from Illinois state voters after her victory, and PM Yingluck Shinawatra fired off congratulations to President Barack Obama on his re-election. Ladda Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran born in Thailand, defeated a conservative lawmaker from the Tea Party in a closely watched election for the lower House of Representatives in Schaumburg, a district near Chicago.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has congratulated US President Barack Obama on winning a second term - and Ms Ladda for her achievement.Ms Ladda, who lost most of both of her legs in Iraq, defeated first-term Republican congressman Joe Walsh who raised hackles by saying during his campaign that abortion was never necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman."I feel fantastic," said Ms Ladda, who was defeated in her first attempt to win a seat in Congress in 2010. Ms Ladda, more popularly known as Tammy, is a member of Mr Obama's Democratic Party.She will officially assume her new position as a US member of Congress on Jan 3.Born in Bangkok, the 41-year-old war veteran is the daughter of Frank Duckworth, a marine turned diplomat, and Lamai Sompornpairin.She joined the US military while in graduate school at George Washington University.Ms Ladda lost both her legs on Nov 12, 2004 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting.She managed to help land it before passing out from blood loss.In an interview with the Bangkok Post in 2006, Ms Ladda said she "neither planned to be a military officer nor a politician, although my father's family members have all served in the military".She dreamed as a young girl of becoming an ambassador....
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