Pat Schroeder

Patricia "Pat" Schroeder represented Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, running without the support of the state Democratic Party or the Democratic National Committee.

Schroeder was born July 30, 1940, in Portland, Oregon. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1961 with degrees in philosophy, history, and political science. Following, Schroeder completed her Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1964. From 1964 to 1972, she was a field attorney with the National Labor Relations Board, a professor of law, and legal counsel for Planned Parenthood of Colorado.

Upon her 1972 election to the House of Representatives, Schroeder was one of fourteen women present. Elected at age 32, Schroeder was also the second youngest woman elected to Congress at the time. She was the first woman to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

Schroeder chaired the 1988 presidential campaign of Gary Hart. After Hart withdrew, Schroeder entered the race but withdrew before the primaries.

Following her time in Congress, Schroeder taught one semester at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She was president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers from 1997 to 2009. She authored two books: "Champion of the Great American Family" (1989) and "24 Years of House Work...and the Place Is Still a Mess" (1998).

Schroeder died on March 13, 2023.

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

Sources:

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). Patricia Schroeder: American Politician. In Britannica. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020 from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Patricia-Schroeder.

Stanford Law School Robert Crown Law Library (n.d.). Patricia Schroeder: Biography. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020, from https://abawtp.law.stanford.edu/exhibits/show/patricia-schroeder/biography.

United States House of Representatives. Schroeder, Patricia Scott. Retrieved on Feb. 18, 2020, from https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/S/SCHROEDER,-Patricia-Scott-(S000142)/.