Madeleine M. Kunin

Madeleine M. Kunin (2004)

Madeleine May Kunin (born September 28, 1933 in Zurich , Switzerland ) is a former American politician . She was governor of the state of Vermont from 1985 to 1991 .

Early years and political advancement

Madeleine Kunin was born into a Jewish family. In 1940 she emigrated to the United States with her widowed mother. She attended the University of Massachusetts until 1956 . Then she was at Columbia University until 1957 , where she studied journalism. She finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Vermont . Then she worked for the " Burlington Free Press " as a journalist. She also worked part-time in school.

Kunin is a member of the Democratic Party . In 1972 she was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives for three terms . Between 1979 and 1983, she was Vice Governor of Governor Richard A. Snelling , against whom she ran unsuccessfully in the 1982 gubernatorial elections.

Vermont governor

In 1984 she became the first woman to be elected governor of Vermont. After being re-elected in 1986 and 1988, she was the first woman nationwide to be elected governor three times in a row. Overall, she could remain in this office between January 10, 1985 and January 10, 1991. As governor, she campaigned for the environment, educational policy and the interests of children and young people. Kunin was also the Chair of the New England Governors' Association . In 1990 she turned down another candidacy.

Another résumé

After her time as governor, Madeleine Kunin became involved in federal politics. Under President Bill Clinton , whom they had supported in the election campaign, she became a deputy education minister ( Deputy Secretary of Education ). Between 1996 and 1999 she succeeded Larry Lawrence as the US ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein . Today she gives guest lectures at various universities. She is married for the second time after a divorce and has four children from her marriage to Arthur Kunin. She has been married to John Hennessey since 1996.

She was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994.

Web links

• Madeleine M. Kunin in nndb (English)
• Madeleine Kunin in the National Governors Association (English)