Kathleen Blanco
| Kathleen Blanco | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 54th Governor of Louisiana | |
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In office January 12, 2004 – January 14, 2008 |
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| Lieutenant | Mitch Landrieu |
| Preceded by | Mike Foster |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Jindal |
| 50th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana | |
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In office January 8, 1996 – January 12, 2004 |
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| Governor | Mike Foster |
| Preceded by | Melinda Schwegmann |
| Succeeded by | Mitch Landrieu |
| Member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from the 2nd district |
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In office 1989–1996 |
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| Preceded by | ??? |
| Succeeded by | Jimmy Field |
| Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 45th district |
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In office 1984–1989 |
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| Succeeded by | Jerry LeBlanc |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kathleen Babineaux December 15, 1942 New Iberia, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Raymond Blanco |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana, Lafayette |
| 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 near New Iberia; the community has 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. (The school closed in the middle 1980s with the majority of girls transferring to Catholic High School). 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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