Carol Moseley Braun

Carol Moseley Braun (born August 16, 1947), American politician and lawyer, was the first (and to date only) black woman elected to the United States Senate (representing Illinois). She was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

Related Topics:
August 16 - 1947 - American - Politician - Lawyer - Black - Elected - United States Senate - Illinois - Democratic - 2004 U.S. presidential election

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Moseley Braun was born in Chicago, Illinois and educated in the Chicago public school system. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago in 1972. As an attorney, she was a prosecutor in the United States' Attorney's office in Chicago from 1973 to 1977.

Related Topics:
Chicago, Illinois - Public school - University of Illinois at Chicago - 1969 - Juris Doctor - University of Chicago - 1972 - 1973 - 1977

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Moseley Braun was first elected to public office in 1978, as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. There, she rose to the post of assistant majority leader before leaving the state legislature in 1988. That same year, she was elected as Cook County, Illinois recorder of deeds, a post she held for four years.

Related Topics:
1978 - Illinois House of Representatives - Majority leader - State legislature - 1988 - Cook County, Illinois

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In 1992, she became the first African American woman to be elected to the United States Senate.

Related Topics:
1992 - African American - United States Senate

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Her term in the Senate was marked with controversy when, in 1996, she traveled to Nigeria and praised its dictator, Sani Abacha, months after the execution of activist and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa. It was later revealed that she was accompanied on the trip by her campaign manager (and ex-fiancé), Kgosie Matthews, who was also a registered agent of the Nigerian government.

Related Topics:
1996 - Nigeria - Sani Abacha - Ken Saro-Wiwa - Kgosie Matthews

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The Nigerian scandal largely contributed to her narrow re-election defeat in 1998. In 1999, she was appointed the American Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a position she held until 2001.

Related Topics:
1998 - 1999 - Ambassador - New Zealand - Samoa - 2001

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She announced her intention to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in February of 2003. By early 2004, however, she was polling at only about one percent in the critical states of Iowa and New Hampshire, and her campaign was thousands of dollars in debt. On January 15, 2004, four days before the Iowa caucuses, Moseley Braun dropped out of the race and endorsed Howard Dean.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Presidential - 2003 - 2004 - States - Iowa - New Hampshire - January 15 - Caucus - Howard Dean

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Moseley Braun is divorced and resides in Hyde Park, Chicago. She has one child, a son.

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