According to a Swiss TV report, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann recently became a citizen of Switzerland, making her eligible to run for office in the European nation.
A reporter for public broadcaster Schweizer Fernsehen, told POLITICO the Swiss consulate in Chicago confirmed that the former Republican presidential candidate became a citizen in March.
Marcus Bachmann, the congresswoman's husband, was eligible for Swiss citizenship due to his parents' nationality, but didn't register with the Swiss government until this year. Once the process was complete on March 19, his wife of more than 30 years automatically became a citizen, according to the report.
Bachmann's in-laws immigrated to the United States aboard the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner about 60 years ago.
They were both from farm families in Switzerland, and Marcus Bachmann's father, Paul Bachmann, went on to join the National Farmers Organization, a once-radical farmers union, according to his obituary in the Winona Daily News.
Bachmann told the Star Tribune last year that she was proud of her in-laws for fleeing socialism in Europe.
Swiss national public television interviewed Bachmann in D.C. on Tuesday while she met with a group of Swiss parliamentarians visiting Capitol Hill.
When a reporter asked if she would run for office in Switzerland, which she is now eligible to do, Bachmann joked that the competition "would be very stiff," referring to her visitors.
