John Bel Edwards (born September 16, 1966) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 56th governor of Louisiana from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the Democratic leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 2012 to 2015. First elected to the Louisiana House in 2007, Edwards became Democratic minority leader in 2012. He defeated Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter in the second round of the 2015 election for governor, and became Louisiana governor in January 2016. He won a second term in 2019, becoming the first Democrat to win reelection as governor of Louisiana since Edwin Edwards (no relation) in 1975. He is a United States Army veteran, having served with the 82nd Airborne Division, reaching the rank of captain. He is the most recent Democrat elected to a statewide office in Louisiana.Some political observers consider Edwards a conservative Democrat.