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Kathleen Babineaux Blanco

Kathleen Blanco
KBlancoChalmetteIce.jpg
54th Governor of Louisiana
In office
January 12, 2004 – January 14, 2008
Lieutenant Mitch Landrieu
Preceded by Mike Foster
Succeeded by Bobby Jindal
50th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
In office
January 8, 1996 – January 12, 2004
Governor Mike Foster
Preceded by Melinda Schwegmann
Succeeded by Mitch Landrieu
Member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission
from the 2nd district
In office
1989–1996
Preceded by ???
Succeeded by Jimmy Field
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
from the 45th district
In office
1984–1989
Preceded by Luke LeBlanc
Succeeded by Jerry LeBlanc
Personal details
Born Kathleen Babineaux
(1942-12-15) December 15, 1942 (age 74)
New Iberia, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Raymond Blanco (1964-present)
Children 6
Alma mater University of Louisiana, Lafayette (BS)
Religion Roman Catholicism

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) is an American politician who was Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to have been elected as governor of Louisiana.

When first elected, Blanco outlined her top priorities as providing affordable healthcare, improving the education system in the state, and helping to create a strong and vibrant economy through aggressive economic development initiatives. Her work as governor changed dramatically when, in 2005, coastal Louisiana was severely damaged by two hurricanes that struck less than a month apart. In August, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region, an urban area of 1.4 million people. Then, in September, Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern coast, displacing another 300,000 people. More than 200,000 housing units were destroyed, 81,000 businesses closed, entire electrical and telecommunication systems were torn apart, and one million people were made homeless as a result of severe flooding caused by levee failures and storm surges.

Many believed the immediate response from the city, state, and federal governments was inadequate, and Blanco later acknowledged there were failures on the part of her administration before and after the storm; much criticism, however, was directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for what was seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage, care for and delivered promised resources to those trying to evacuate from New Orleans.

Blanco announced in March 2007 that she would not seek re-election later that year, saying that she would instead "focus [her] time and energy for the [remainder of her term] on the people's work, not on [the] politics" of running for another term.

She was born Kathleen Babineaux in New Iberia, Louisiana, the daughter of Louis Babineaux and his wife, the former Lucille Fremin, both of Cajun ancestry. Her Babineaux grandfather was a farmer and grocer with a country store, and her father was a small businessman who moved to the rural hamlet of Coteau, a community near New Iberia with one church and one elementary school. Blanco attended Mount Carmel Academy, an all-girls school run by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mount Carmel, which was situated on the banks of Bayou Teche. In 1964, Blanco received a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She is also a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. On August 8, 1964, she married Raymond Blanco, a football coach and educator; the couple had four daughters: Karmen, Monique, Nicole, and Pilar and two sons: Ray, Jr., and Ben.


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