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Libby Pataki

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Libby Pataki
Pataki in November 2007
First Lady of New York
In role
January 1, 1995 – December 31, 2006
GovernorGeorge Pataki
Preceded byMatilda Cuomo
Succeeded bySilda Wall
First Lady of Peekskill
In role
January 1, 1981 – December 31, 1984
Preceded byPriscilla Bianco
Succeeded byRuth Jackson
Personal details
Born
Mary Elizabeth Rowland

(1950-11-17) November 17, 1950 (age 73)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1973)
Children4, including Allison Pataki
ResidenceGarrison, New York
Alma materClark University

Libby Pataki (born Mary Elizabeth Rowland;[1] November 17, 1950) is the former First Lady of New York and the wife of former New York Governor George Pataki. She served as First Lady from 1995 to 2006 during the three terms of her husband's administration.

Life and career

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Pataki was born in Dallas, Texas, to Monique (Leblanc) and Col. Henry C. Rowland, Jr., an army officer and diplomat.[1][2][3] Her mother was French.[4]

As First Lady, Pataki focused on promoting the state's agriculture industry and preventing breast cancer.[5] Traveling throughout the state of New York, she worked to increase public awareness of breast cancer.

Pataki is a former marketing executive who managed the family farm in Peekskill, New York. As First Lady, Pataki accepted contracts to serve as a marketing consultant with various corporations, including Revlon.

In 2000, Pataki appeared on a radio show in which she criticized then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for taking too long to drop out of the U.S. Senate race against First Lady Hillary Clinton. Pataki said that the delay hampered the campaign of the eventual Republican nominee, Congressman Rick Lazio.

Pataki's father was a career military officer. She graduated from Beaufort High School in Beaufort, South Carolina and Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. She and her husband, who married in 1973, have four children. Along with Nathan Sharansky, she serves as the co-founder of the pro-Israel institution One Jerusalem which supports the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem, a territory recognised as being under Israeli occupation by the international community.

References

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  1. ^ a b "HENRY ROWLAND DIES". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1994-06-26. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  2. ^ O'Neill, Molly (17 December 1994). "Libby Pataki, in Transition; Personal Life is Also Changing for the Next First Lady". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "The Definitive, Categorical, Alphabetical Guide to our Next First Lady…Or Man". Vanity Fair. 22 May 2015.
  4. ^ Gross, Jane (11 April 2000). "PUBLIC LIVES; Governor's Mansion Isn't Where the Heart is". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Gov Site Archived 2006-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Matilda Cuomo
First Lady of New York
1995–2007
Succeeded by