First Lady or First Gentleman is an unofficial title usually used for the spouse, and occasionally used for the offspring or other relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a person seen to be at the top of her profession or art.
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after rejecting past offers of candidacies for Senate and governor. She was the first woman elected governor in Connecticut and the fourth woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state. She is also the first female governor to not be the spouse or widow of a former governor. She resigned as governor due to her battle with ovarian cancer.
Edwin Denison Morgan was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was also a Union Army general during the American Civil War. Morgan was known for his progressive views on education, prison reform, and women's suffrage. He helped to found the Republican Party in New York and was a strong supporter of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
Miriam Amanda "Ma" Ferguson was an American politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Texas: from 1925 to 1927, and from 1933 to 1935. She was the first female governor of Texas, and the second woman elected to the governorship of any U.S. state to assume office, after Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming.
James Edward Ferguson Jr., known as Pa Ferguson, was an American Democratic politician and the 26th governor of Texas, in office from 1915 to 1917. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.
This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states represented by women in the Senate. The first female U.S. senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922, and the first woman elected to the Senate, Hattie Caraway, was elected from Arkansas in 1932. As of January 2025, 64 women have served in the upper house of the United States Congress, of which 26 are currently serving.
William Atchison O'Neill was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 84th Governor of Connecticut from 1980 to 1991. He was the second longest-serving governor in Connecticut history, with 10 years in office.
The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Philippines.
Louis Robert Rell was an American aviator, commercial airline pilot, and veteran of the United States Navy. The husband of the 87th Governor of Connecticut, Jodi Rell, he served as the First Gentleman of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as head of state and head of government therein. While like all officials in the United States, checks and balances are placed on the office of the governor, significant powers may include ceremonial head of state, executive, legislative, judicial, and military. As such, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes. Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
Jared Schutz Polis is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the United States representative from Colorado's 2nd congressional district from 2009 to 2019. He was the only Democratic member of the libertarian conservative Liberty Caucus, and was the third-wealthiest member of Congress, with an estimated net worth of $122.6 million. He was elected governor of Colorado in 2018 and reelected in 2022.
Ronald Arthur Sarasin was an American lawyer, Navy veteran, and politician from Connecticut. He served two terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives and three terms as a U.S. Representative from 1973 to 1979.
Glenn Walker Ferguson was an American diplomat and university president. He served as United States Ambassador to Kenya (1966–1969), chancellor of Long Island University (1969–1970), and president of Clark University (1970–1973), the University of Connecticut (1973–1978), and the American University of Paris (1992–1995).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Colorado enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Colorado since 1972. Same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014, and the state enacted civil unions in 2013, which provide some of the rights and benefits of marriage. State law also prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations and the use of conversion therapy on minors. In July 2020, Colorado became the 11th U.S. state to abolish the gay panic defense.
Marlon Reis is an American animal rights advocate, writer, and the first gentleman of Colorado. He is married to the 43rd governor of Colorado Jared Polis. He became the first same-sex first gentleman in the United States following the inauguration of Polis as governor on January 8, 2019.
Henry Ellsworth Parker was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1975 to 1986. These 11 years represented the office's second-longest modern tenure, surpassed only by Denise Nappier's 20 years in the office. Parker was the second African American to be elected treasurer in Connecticut, after Gerald Lamb. Since Parker ran in 1974, the Democratic Party has always nominated an African American for state treasurer. Parker also ran three times for New Haven mayor in 1969, 1971, and 1979.
