Merkley, Jeff, 1956-

Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009.

Before his election to the Senate, Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing the 47th district in central Multnomah County at the eastern side of Portland. Merkley defeated two-term Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in 2008 and was reelected in 2014 and 2020, defeating Republican nominees Monica Wehby and Jo Rae Perkins.

Merkley has been an advocate of progressivism in the Senate, and was the only U.S. senator to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. He was considered a potential candidate for president in 2020, but he chose to run for reelection to the Senate instead.

Merkley was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, the son of Betty Lou (née Collins) and Darrell Philip Merkley. His paternal grandmother was born in Calliope, Queensland, Australia. He attended first grade in Roseburg, Oregon, before moving to Portland with his family.

He graduated from David Douglas High School, received a bachelor of arts degree in international relations from Stanford University in 1979, and earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University in 1982. After completing his master's degree, Merkley was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow, working at the Office of the Secretary of Defense on the security of American military technology. After his fellowship, he worked in the Congressional Budget Office, where he analyzed nuclear weapons policies and programs.

In 1991 Merkley returned to Portland, where he served as executive director of Portland Habitat for Humanity until 1994.

Merkley started the Walk for Humanity, initiated the Journey for Mankind, launched development of the Habitat Home Building Center, and initiated a pilot project for "YouthBuild" in which gang-affected youth built homes in their own neighborhoods. He also served as Director of Housing Development at Human Solutions, where he worked to make available affordable housing complexes and launched Oregon's first Individual Development Account (IDA) program, which helps low-income families save money to buy homes, attend college, or start businesses.

Merkley was President of the World Affairs Council of Oregon for seven years and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees.