Patricia Lindh
Patricia Lindh was a longtime member of the Republican Party. She was an advisor to presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s and worked as Special Assistant to the Counsellor for Women's Programs in the mid-1970s.[1]
Republican Party leadership
[edit]
Lindh was a loyal member of the Republican Party. She served as the Republican National Committeewoman for the State of Louisiana.[2] In 1972, she served as a delegate the Republican Convention and also worked as a member of the Platform committee.[3][2]
Advisor to presidents
[edit]Richard Nixon
[edit]Lindh worked for the Nixon administration where she began her tenure in the White House advising on women's issues.[4] In June 1974, she replaced Jill Ruckelshaus as special assistant for women's programs.[5]
Lindh was quoted as saying she believed Watergate would not have happened if there had been a woman president saying, "I think women have a higher moral sense of what is right or wrong. I think women have more moral sensitivity than men."[3]
Gerald Ford
[edit]In 1974, Lindh worked as the Special Assistant to the Counsellor for Women's Progress for President Gerald Ford.[6] Lindh succeeded Anne Armstrong in December 1974.[7] Lindh believed solidarity amongst women was of the utmost importance and publicly worked towards this goal. In 1975, she said women must work together and in her role as the first special assistant for women working for a U.S. president, she believed, "from NOW to the DAR, from Planned Parenthood to the Council of Catholic Women," women should work together towards a shared goal of equality.[8]
The press picked up on her sense of humor. In 1976, she told a reporter from the Oakland Tribune she was a "newcomer to Disneyland on the Potomac."[9] In 1976, Lindh was named deputy assistant Secretary of State for education and public affairs.[10]
Support for the Equal Rights Amendment
[edit]Lindh was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as were many Republican women who worked in the White House in the mid-1970s, including First Lady Betty Ford.[11] She had been active in the campaign for the amendment in the state of Louisiana.[12]
Lindh's support for the ERA brought the ire of Phyllis Schlafly who wrote her a letter critiquing the ERA in 1974.[11][13] In the letter, Schlafly shared concerns her daughter would be drafted into war if the ERA were ratified.[13]
1975 International Women's Year Conference
[edit]Lindh was selected as a delegate to the 1975 International Women's Year Conference in Mexico City.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Lindh was from Toledo, Ohio.[3] She was a graduate of Trinity College, graduating in 1950.[15] Lindh was married to H. Robert "Bob" Lindh, Jr., an executive who worked in the oil industry.[16] Due to her husband's job, in the 1950s and 1960s, she lived abroad for 10 years in Kuwait, Singapore and Pakistan.[17] In the 1980s, she worked as a public relations executive at Bank of America.[18]
Lindh died of lung cancer in 2004.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Patricia Lindh Obituary (2004) - Baton Rouge, LA - The Advocate". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
- ^ a b "BPW Joins in Celebrating International Women's Year". The News-Chronicle. April 4, 1975.
- ^ a b c Oliver, Myrna (June 2, 2004). "Patricia Lindh, 75; Women's Advocate, Aide to Ford". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "White House Transition Project: 1997-2017" (PDF). White House Transition Project.
- ^ Wood, Ann (June 7, 1974). "Mrs. Lindh Named to Nixon Staff". The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana).
- ^ "PATRICIA LINDH PAPERS, (1970) 1974-76 | Gerald R. Ford". www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
- ^ "Anne L. Armstrong (White House Central Files: Staff Member and Office Files) | Richard Nixon Museum and Library". www.nixonlibrary.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
- ^ Reed, Barbara (August 27, 1975). "President's Advisor Urges Positive Thinking by Women". The Day.
- ^ Gottschalk, Marina (March 21, 1975). "'Women are Moving' Says President's Aide". Oakland Tribune.
- ^ "Notes on People". New York Times. March 9, 1976.
- ^ a b ""Schlafly, Phyllis (and Fred & Anne)" of the White House Central Files Name File" (PDF). Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. November 18, 1974.
- ^ "Patricia Lindh is Assistant". The Courier. June 7, 1974.
- ^ a b "Letter from Phyllis Schlafly to Patricia S. Lindh, November 1974". feminism and its discontents. 2023-12-17. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
- ^ Cole, Lynn (June 21, 1977). "Alexandrian Elected State Delegate to National Women's Conference". The Town Talk.
- ^ a b "Obituaries". Washington Post. 2024-01-30. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
- ^ "Patricia Lindh Obituary (2004) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-09-29.
- ^ Vosburgh, Lois (February 12, 1976). "Today-The Women of Achievement Luncheon". The Post-Standard.
- ^ Kleiman, Carol (June 29, 1983). "Women Score in Public Relations". The Buffalo News.
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