Elizabeth Dole

About the Author

A native of Salisbury, North Carolina, United States Senator Elizabeth Dole earned a degree from Harvard Law School in 1965 and also holds a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Harvard. From 1969 to 1973, Dole served as Deputy to President Nixon’s Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. She became the first female Secretary of Transportation when sworn in by President Reagan in February of 1983, and was sworn in by President Bush as the nation’s 20th Secretary of Labor in January 1989. In 1991 she became only the first woman since founder Clara Barton to serve as president of the American Red Cross. In 1999 Dole sought the Republican presidental nomination.