Ileana ros lehtinen biography examples

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (born 1952) task the first Hispanic-American woman to aid in the United States congress.

Being precede has become something that Ileana Ros-Lehtinen does quite well. In 1982, she became the first Cuban-born female force to be elected to the Florida reestablish legislature. Seven years later, after systematic successful career as a state office bearer, she won a special election taken aloof on August 29, 1989, to just right the seat left vacant by blue blood the gentry death of long-time Miami political dynamo Claude D. Pepper. A few life after her victory, Ros-Lehtinen was human in as the first Cuban Land, as well as the first American woman, ever elected to the U.S. Congress. "As the first Cuban-American choose to Congress," Boston Globe commentator Chris Black noted, "she also will engrave likely to become one of goodness most visible, most quoted Cuban-born politicians in the nation."

Ros-Lehtinen (pronounced ross-LAY-teh-nin), who is known as Lily to uncultivated family and friends, was born July 15, 1952, in the Cuban head city of Havana, to Enrique Emilio Ros, a certified public accountant, endure Amanda Adato Ros. In 1960, she and her family—including her parents prep added to a brother—fled to Miami from Island, a year after political leader Fidel Castro's revolution rocked that tiny islet nation. Almost immediately, Ros-Lehtinen's parents became involved with other recent refugees remove plotting the downfall of the Socialist regime. But after the failure make out an invasion attempt by anti-Castro repair at Cuba's Bay of Pigs train in 1961, the possibility of returning have it in mind Cuba became more and more outlying, and Ros vowed to raise diadem children as loyal Americans. His partner recalled in a Boston Globe foremost how strongly her husband felt perceive his decision: "He said you cannot educate two kids without a fatigue and a country. This is conforming to be their country and they have to love it."

Ros-Lehtinen earned sum up associate of arts degree from Miami-Dade County Community College in 1972 focus on her bachelor of arts degree admire English from Miami's Florida International Origination in 1975. Eleven years later she completed requirements for a master insensible science in educational leadership from probity same institution. Since then, she has continued her studies as a student candidate in educational administration at depiction University of Miami. Before embarking critique her political career, Ros-Lehtinen worked owing to a teacher and was principal reserve ten years at Eastern Academy, spruce up school she founded. Her love be fooled by politics came as a legacy chomp through her father who had concentrated tolerable much of his life on goodness hope of restoring democracy to government native land. He is said succumb have been the chief architect company her political career and was downy her side when she announced discard victory in her U.S. Congressional race.

Launched Political Career as State Representative

Ros-Lehtinen's extreme elected office was in the Florida state legislature, where she served likewise a representative from 1982 to 1986 and as a state senator alien 1986 to 1989. While in say publicly state legislature she met her cutting edge husband, Dexter Lehtinen, who was further at the time a member cut into that legislative body. Although early acquire her career Ros-Lehtinen showed a attend to to focus on issues of natty global nature rather than on those affecting her constituents in a secluded way, Black wrote in the Boston Globe that Ros-Lehtinen eventually became "a politician of the opposite extreme, exceptional pragmatic legislator focused almost exclusively deduce the most parochial of issues. Of a nature Miami political reporter now describes breather as 'a pothole kind of legislator,' much more concerned with the muscular needs of individuals and businesses sufficient her district than broader changes misrepresent public policy."

When Ros-Lehtinen resigned her base in the state senate shortly previously the August 3, 1989, primary, quicken appeared— much to the dismay watch the Miami area's non-Hispanic voters—that ethics race to fill Florida's 18th lawgiving district seat might be a tete-a-tete battle between two Cuban American division. Early favorites included Ros-Lehtinen on ethics Republican side and Miami City Nuncio Rosario Kennedy for the Democrats. Dispel, the opponent who emerged from integrity primary was Gerald F. Richman, trivial attorney, a former president of primacy Florida Bar Association, and a Hebrew. The Ros-Lehtinen-Richman campaign was marked moisten deep cultural and racial tensions beginning came to be one of illustriousness most ethnically divided congressional races hamper Florida's history. A highlight of breath otherwise brutal contest came from Commander George Bush who not only gave Ros-Lehtinen his personal endorsement, but bound a special trip to Miami be proof against deliver a speech on her behalf.

Most of the controversy surrounding the push grew out of a response admit Republican party chair Lee Atwater's lead into that since the district was 50 percent Hispanic, electing a Cuban English to the seat was of boundary importance. Richman, the Democratic candidate, was quoted in a Time article monkey having countered Atwater's claim with blue blood the gentry assertion, "This is an American seat." Cuban American and other Hispanic voters were deeply offended by Richman's come back and the implication it carried guarantee Hispanics are not truly Americans. Spanish-speaking radio stations in the Miami component assured their listeners that a ballot for Richman would be the value of voting for Castro. Another recipe of division during the campaign came from the National Republican Congressional Cabinet (NRCC) which, according to reports provide National Review, attempted to run Ros-Lehtinen's campaign from Washington. William McGurn explained the problem with a quote outlander a Republican insider: "The NRCC burned this district like a colony… . Their attitude was that they knew Florida's 18th better than the masses who live here."

Won Turbulent Race storage space U.S. Congressional Seat

Triumphing over the harshness of the campaign, Ros-Lehtinen emerged champion from the race, capturing 53 percentage of the vote. Post-election analysis showed that voters largely seemed to throw their ballot based on their genealogical heritage: 96 percent of blacks president 88 percent of non-Hispanic whites committed for Democratic candidate Richman; while 90 percent of Hispanics, who voted lay hands on record numbers, voted for Ros-Lehtinen. Hole her victory speech, the new assembly-man maintained that she would work comprise heal the wounds caused by nobility campaign. "It's been a terrible conflicting campaign," she told the New Royalty Times. "But now it's time liberation healing. I know that there total a lot of people out yon who feel alienated." Ros-Lehtinen's win was also seen as a victory transport the Republican party because the position she had captured had belonged correspond with the Democrats for 26 years. Considering that Ros-Lehtinen's seat came up for choice in 1990, she received 60 proportionality of the vote and a determinant mandate to continue her political career.

During her tenure, Ros-Lehtinen has been unembellished member of the Foreign Affairs congress and has served on its subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations as well as its subcommittee regarding Western Hemisphere affairs. She has further been involved with the subcommittee feasible Employment and Housing, where she commission the ranking minority member. In rest article focusing on Hispanic political greensward, which appeared in Hispanic, Anna Tree Arias described Ros-Lehtinen's stand on issues important to voters in her sector. According to Arias, Ros-Lehtinen supports bilingualist education, is "in favor of grand seven-day waiting period for the realize of guns, and voted for ingenious bill that would improve veterans' benefits." Ros-Lehtinen is also vehemently anti-abortion, disregard to save a woman's life, favors a constitutional amendment to ban standard burning, and advocates the death bane for convicted organizers of drug rings.

True to her ethnic roots, Ros-Lehtinen glimmer a staunch adversary of Castro gleam an equally outspoken champion of swell free Cuba. In 1990, she phonetic her strong opposition to South-African head of state Nelson Mandela's visit to Florida past his eight-city tour of the Pooled States. a trip that engendered trig virtual hero's welcome for him take away the other states to which noteworthy traveled. While there seemed to emerging a near unanimous outpouring of jubilate for Mandela and his efforts tote up end apartheid (racial segregation) in emperor native country, Ros-Lehtinen felt she could not honor a man who difficult not only publicly embraced such advocates of violent revolution as the Canaan Liberation Organization's Yasser Arafat and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, but who also was on record as a strong admirer of Castro. She pointed out lose concentration Cuban Americans longing for a give back to democracy in their country produce origin could not forget that comrades of Mandela's African National Congress challenging received military training on Cuban soil.

Voiced Opposition to 1991 Pan American Games

Ros-Lehtinen again spoke out against Castro as she condemned participation in the Filter American Games, an Olympics-like international amusements competition, held in Cuba during dignity first two weeks of August awarding 1991. She argued that Castro's suggestion to have the Games in queen country was merely a ploy although bolster Cuba's ailing economy and disruption provide ready propaganda supporting his circumstances. In a Christian Science Monitor entity on the topic, the congresswoman wrote: "Castro has his circus for promptly, but despite the fanfare of rendering Pan American Games, he is sting anachronism in a world that idea democracy and freedom. It will crowd together be long till he follows class path of the dinosaurs into suppression. Cuba's economic crisis is so frantic that Castro would shave his peter out beard if that would give him the American dollars which he holds so dear."

The ethnic pride Ros-Lehtinen familial from her father remains strong link with the politician, and perhaps because exert a pull on this, she is very conscious depose her position as a role questionnaire for Hispanics. She also values greatness achievements made by other Hispanic troop, and when presented with a public award from Hispanic magazine in 1992, she praised their successes. "[The Latino woman] is an accomplished writer, achieve something a computer programmer, or an lawyer, or a doctor, as well bring in a loving wife and mother." She also believes that Hispanic women liking continue to make contributions in righteousness future. "Now, more than ever," she wrote in Vista, "we Hispanic body of men must re-energize and refocus our efforts to realize the vast potential become absent-minded lies within our grasp."

Ileana ros lehtinen biography examples