Patrick Hickey (politician)
Patrick T. "Pat" Hickey is an American politician and a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly representing Assembly District 25 in Washoe County. In 2009 his autobiography, Tahoe Boy: A Journey Back Home was published by Seven Locks Press of Cabin John, Maryland.
Hickey was born in Carson City, Nevada. As a young man he refused induction into the United States military during the Vietnam War, dropped out of college, and travelled through Canada as a "hippie." Soon after this he joined the Unification Church of the United States which at that time had only recently been founded. Hickey worked in the Unification Church as a state leader and regional spokesperson. In 1978 he was matched with his wife, Shin Myung-hee of South Korea, by church founder Sun Myung Moon. They were married in 1982 in a Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church, held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, along with over 2000 other couples. They now have four grown children.
Hickey moved to Nevada in the 1990s and worked as a reporter as well as founding a house painting company. In 1996 he was elected to the Nevada State Assembly and served for one term. In 2010 he ran again and was elected. He is a member of the Republican Party and has advocated conservative positions on taxation and immigration. He is now a member of the Roman Catholic Church, in which he was originally raised.
Hickey resigned in January 2016 in order to join the Nevada Board of Education.
