Born: July 29, 1936
Place of Birth: Salisbury, North Carolina
Major Notes:
Elizabeth Dole is the first woman from North Carolina to be elected to the United States Senate.
Her family was relatively wealthy as her father was a successful flower wholesaler.
Dole's grandmother gave her gospel inspiration with Bible stories and by listening to religious radio broadcasts.
She was an exceptional student in high school and was selected the student "Most Likely to Succeed."
After high school, Elizabeth Dole advanced her scholastic record by obtaining a degree in political science from Duke University.
Dole continued her studies and qualified for a Master's degree in education from Harvard University and, in 1965, received a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Following law school, she moved to Washington where she served as Deputy Assistant to President Nixon for Consumer Affairs until 1973.
In 1975, she married Robert Dole, who represented Kansas in the Senate, and they became a noted political couple.
President Reagan selected Elizabeth Dole as an assistant in 1983 and later added her to his cabinet as the Secretary of Transportation.
Dole also served in cabinet under President George Bush as his Secretary of Labor.
She left politics in 1989 so she could assume the office of President of the American Red Cross.
As head of the Red Cross, Elizabeth Dole worked with a nearly two billion dollar budget and 32,000 employees.
In 1995, she took a leave of absence from the Red Cross to help her husband in his election campaign for President.
During this campaign, she impressed the American public as a potential future political candidate.
In 2000, she offered as a Republican candidate for President but had to pull out of the race for lack of funding.
Dole won elections in 2002 and 2004 to represent North Carolina in the US Senate.
Elizabeth Dole has received numerous honors over the years including being recognized as one of America's most admired women in the world.
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