48 Facts About Elizabeth Dole

Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford Dole is an American attorney, author, and politician who served as a United States Senator from North Carolina from 2003 to 2009.

Elizabeth Dole was the third female secretary of labor and just the second woman to lead the American Red Cross since its founder, Clara Barton.

Elizabeth Dole is the widow of US Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, who served as the Republican Senate leader and was the party's presidential nominee in the 1996 election and vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election.

Elizabeth Dole attended Duke University and graduated with distinction in Political Science, on June 2,1958.

Elizabeth Dole was a finalist for an Angier B Duke scholarship, a full-tuition award given to outstanding applicants who matriculate at Duke.

Elizabeth Dole was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, a national prize given to those exemplifying the ideal of service to others.

Elizabeth Dole was elected president of the woman's student government association, 1958 May queen, and "leader of the year" by the student newspaper, The Chronicle.

Elizabeth Dole has remained involved with Duke University, serving at various points in time as president of the Duke University alumnae association, and a member of the board of trustees and board of visitors.

Elizabeth Dole is an alumna of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

Elizabeth Dole first met her future husband, Bob Elizabeth Dole, in the spring of 1972 at a meeting arranged by her boss and mentor, Virginia Knauer.

Elizabeth Dole attended individually, and later with her husband, the Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, before joining the National Presbyterian Church in 1996.

Elizabeth Dole took a leave from her post as a Federal Trade Commissioner for several months in 1976 to campaign for her husband for vice president of the United States, when he ran on the Republican ticket with Gerald Ford.

Elizabeth Dole later resigned from the FTC in 1979, to campaign for her husband's 1980 presidential run.

Elizabeth Dole was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Elizabeth Dole served as director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, from 1981 to 1983 and as United States Secretary of Transportation from 1983 to 1987 under Ronald Reagan.

Elizabeth Dole was appointed by Reagan to chair task forces that sought to reform federal and state laws to ensure equal rights for women.

Elizabeth Dole was the first woman appointed Secretary of Transportation.

Elizabeth Dole worked with MADD to pass laws withholding federal highway funding from any state that had a drinking age below twenty-one.

Elizabeth Dole oversaw the privatization of the national freight railroad, CONRAIL.

Elizabeth Dole initiated random drug testing within the Department of Transportation.

In 1991, Elizabeth Dole became the president of the American Red Cross.

Elizabeth Dole was the second woman to serve as president since Clara Barton founded the organization in 1881.

Elizabeth Dole restructured the world's largest humanitarian organization during her eight years as president, serving as a volunteer in her first year.

Elizabeth Dole led a transformation of the way the Red Cross collects, tests, and distributes one-half of the nation's blood supply.

Elizabeth Dole ran for the Republican nomination in the 2000 United States presidential election.

Speculation of a presidential campaign became widespread after Elizabeth Dole announced her departure from her job as president of the Red Cross on January 4,1999.

Elizabeth Dole announced she was forming an exploratory committee on March 10,1999.

Shortly before the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Bush campaign sources said Elizabeth Dole was on the short list to be named the vice-presidential nominee, along with Michigan Governor John Engler, New York Governor George Pataki, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, and former Missouri Senator John Danforth.

Many pundits believed that Elizabeth Dole was the frontrunner for the vice presidential nomination.

Elizabeth Dole handily won the Republican primary with 80 percent of the vote over a lesser-known candidate, Dr Ada Fisher.

In November 2004, following Republican gains in the United States Senate, Elizabeth Dole narrowly edged out Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota for the post of chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Elizabeth Dole is the first woman to become chair of the NRSC.

Elizabeth Dole was replaced as NRSC chair by Senator John Ensign of Nevada following the 2006 midterms.

Elizabeth Dole was initially a heavy favorite for re-election, especially after several potential top-tier challengers such as Congressman Brad Miller, Governor Mike Easley and former Governor Jim Hunt all declined to compete against Elizabeth Dole.

Elizabeth Dole undertook an eight-day "ElizaBus" tour of the state in the days leading up to election day.

Elizabeth Dole has a lifetime rating of 92 from the American Conservative Union.

Elizabeth Dole worked with other senators such as Chuck Hagel to draft and attempt to pass legislation reforming housing financing regulation; the bill did not go up for a vote.

In September 2008, Elizabeth Dole joined the Gang of 20, a bipartisan group working towards comprehensive energy reform, which pushed for a bill that would encourage state-by-state decisions on offshore drilling and authorize billions of dollars for conservation and alternative energy.

Elizabeth Dole was a member of the following US Senate committees:.

In 2012, Dole established the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, dedicated to helping caregivers of "wounded warriors".

Elizabeth Dole commissioned the RAND Corporation to develop the first nationwide comprehensive, evidence-based report on the needs of military and veteran caregivers.

The Elizabeth Dole Fellows represent a vast array of military caregivers: spouses, parents, siblings and friends, and use their voice to help bring awareness on a national scale.

Elizabeth Dole accepted no salary from the Red Cross during her first year as president of the organization.

Elizabeth Dole is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope.

In 1995, Elizabeth Dole was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

In 1999, Dole received the S Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

In 2014, Elizabeth Dole was inducted into Indiana Wesleyan University's Society of World Changers for her humanitarian public service efforts.

In July 2018, Dole was honored with the 4th annual Leo K Thorsness Leadership Award.