Betty Ireland (born 1946) was the 28th

Secretary of State of West Virginia The Secretary of State (U.S. state government), Secretary of State of West Virginia is an elected office within the U.S. state of West Virginia state government. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing the state's election process, in ...

from 2005 to 2009, as the first woman elected to the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of West Virginia state government. She was also the first

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

elected to that position since 1972. Ireland did not seek a second term in 2008 due to her parents' health.
On December 30, 2010, Ireland announced she would run in the

2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election The 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial election was a special election held on October 4, 2011 to fill the office of the West Virginia Governor. The office became vacant upon the resignation of Governor Joe Manchin, who was elected to fill the sea ...

, where she came in second place in the Republican primary.

Career

Early in her career, Ireland spent several years

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...

in the

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

system. Eventually, she entered the business sector, when Ireland took a job as an administrative assistant with

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, Disability insurance, disability income insu ...

. She subsequently became a certified pension consultant. For nearly six years (from 1977 to 1983), she was the owner of Retirement Systems & Services, a pension administration and consulting firm in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

. From 1983 to 1989, she was vice president and head of the pension division in the Trust Department of the Charleston National Bank of Commerce. Ireland moved to Jackson Kelly. Ireland became executive director of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board in August 1998. She returned to Jackson Kelly in 2002 to head its ancillary business endeavors as president of Jackson Kelly Solutions.

2004 election to Secretary of State

In 2004, Ireland defeated longtime political figure

Ken Hechler Kenneth William Hechler (September 20, 1914 – December 10, 2016) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented West Virginia's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1959 to 1977 ...

, 52% to 48%, in a general election race, as Hechler attempted to return to the Secretary of State position he previously held for sixteen years.

2011 gubernatorial campaign

On December 30, 2010, Ireland announced her intention to run for governor in the special election that was to be held on October 4, 2011. She lost the primary election to political newcomer

Bill Maloney Bill Maloney is an American businessman and politician. He was a two-time candidate for the governorship of West Virginia. He was the Republican nominee in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, in which he lost by 7,546 votes, a ...

Personal life

Ireland has four children with her husband, Sam Haddad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Betty 1946 births Living people Politicians from Charleston, West Virginia Secretaries of State of West Virginia Women in West Virginia politics 2012 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Candidates in the 2011 United States elections West Virginia Republicans Businesspeople from Charleston, West Virginia