Mary Landrieu

Mary Landrieu served as a U.S. senator for Louisiana from 1997-2015, the first woman elected the U.S. Senate from that state. (Elaine Edwards had been appointed to the Senate in 1972 by her husband, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, following the death of Allen Ellender and served from August 1, 1972 to November 13, 1972.)

Landrieu was born on Nov. 23, 1995, in Arlington, Virginia, and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father was Moon Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans and secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and her brother is Mitch Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans and lieutenant governor of Louisiana. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Louisiana State University in 1977.

Landrieu was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980-1988, representing a New Orleans-based district. She then served as Louisiana state treasurer from 1988-1996. Landrieu gave up the treasurer's office to run for governor of Louisiana in 1995, but lost in the primary.

After leaving the Senate, Landrieu worked as a policy advisor focusing on energy issues. Landrieu is currently a senior policy advisor at the law firm Van Ness Feldman in Washington.

For more information on Landrieu's policy subject areas, committee appointments and sponsored/co-sponsored legislation during her time in the U.S. Senate, please visit her profile on https://www.congress.gov.

Sources:

United States House of Representatives (n.d.). Landrieu, Mary L. Retrieved on May 11, 2020, from https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/17280.