Grijalva, Raúl M. (Raúl Manuel), 1948-

Raúl Manuel Grijalva (born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented Arizona's 7th and 3rd congressional districts since 2003. Grijalva is the dean of Arizona's congressional delegation.

Born on Canoa Ranch in rural Pima County, Arizona, he graduated from Sunnyside High School before becoming an Arizona leader of the Raza Unida Party. In 1974, Grijalva was elected to the Tucson Unified School District board and served until 1986. From 1975 to 1986, Grijalva was the director of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center. In 1986, he earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of Arizona and in 1987 was named Assistant Dean for Hispanic Student Affairs there. Grijalva was a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 2002, serving as chair from 2000 to 2002. He resigned as a supervisor in 2002 to run successfully for Congress.

Throughout his career, Raúl has always fought for underrepresented voices. The passions that drove him as a School Board member to fight for and succeed at implementing bilingual education in Arizona are the same passions that motivated him to help pass the first bond package containing a $10 million commitment to reinvest in older, poorer neighborhoods while he was a County Supervisor. Likewise, they are what drive him today as he fights to reform our broken immigration system, ensure livable wages for American workers, and create vital land protections to safeguard our nation’s natural treasures for the next generation.

In 2018, Raúl became Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. He also serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and is the Chairman Emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as a long-standing member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.