Geraldine Ferraro, an American Democratic politician, served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985. She made history as the first woman to be nominated for vice president by a major political party in the United States, serving as Walter Mondale’s running mate in the 1984 presidential election. In addition to being a diplomat and attorney, she was also a television host, author, and businesswoman.
Ferraro was born on August 26, 1935, in Newburgh, New York, the daughter of Italian immigrant parents. A gifted academic, she skipped three grades and attended Marymount College in Manhattan on a scholarship while working up to three jobs at a time. After graduating, she taught English in public schools in Queens, and attended Fordham University Law School at night.
Ferraro earned a law degree in 1960, was admitted to the New York bar in 1961, and practiced law until 1974, when she accepted a position as an assistant district attorney in the Investigations Bureau in Queens. She then transferred to the new Special Victims Bureau, which she helped create to handle cases of sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence.
In 1978, Ferraro was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s Ninth Congressional District, running on a platform supporting law and order, the elderly, and neighborhood preservation. She rose rapidly in the Democratic party hierarchy while focusing on legislation to bring equity for women in the areas of wages, pensions, and retirement plans. She was reelected in 1980 and 1982.
Ferraro was elected secretary of the Democratic caucus and took a seat in the House Steering and Policy Committee in 1980. Four years later, she was appointed to the Democratic platform committee, the first woman to hold the position. She then held a fellowship at the Harvard Institute of Politics and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and 1998. From 1993 to 1996, she served as a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. From 1996 to early 1998, she also served as the outspoken “from the left” co-host of CNN’s popular Crossfire debate program.
In addition to multiple honorary degrees, Ferraro also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sons of Italy Foundation and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She died in 2011 after battling multiple myeloma for more than a decade.