|
By Nisha | March 3, 2009
 So glad you asked! You may have heard yesterday that President Obama announced his new nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary: Kathleen Sebelius, who is currently Governor of Kansas. So what do you need to know about this Kansas Jane? Read on for the highlights…
- Kathleen Sebelius is a Democrat and the 44th governor of Kansas.
- Politics is in her blood: her father is former Democrat Ohio Governor John Gilligan, her husband is a federal magistrate judge, and her father-in-law is Republican U.S. Representative Keith Sebelius (we think this must make for some interesting family dinners).
- She is also the first daughter of a governor in history to be elected to the same position.
- Prior to running for governor, she served for eight years in the Kansas legislature and eight years as State Insurance Commissioner.
- She was elected governor in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, and in 2005 she was named one of America’s 5 best governors by TIME magazine.
- She was mentioned as a possible running mate for John Kerry in 2004, and some women’s groups predicted she might be a woman who could run for president in 2008
- She has two children, Ned and John, who are a law student and a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, respectively.
Sebelius has a long history of working on healthcare issues during her political career in Kansas, which will certainly help in her new role as Health and Human Services Secretary. President Obama announced her nomination yesterday, and she now awaits Senate confirmation…read all about it here.
| 
