Lynn Morley Martin (born Judith Lynn Morley; December 26, 1939) is an American businesswoman and former politician who served as the 21st
United States secretary of labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
from 1991 to 1993, under President
George H. W. Bush. A member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
* Republican Party (Liberia)
*Republican Party ...
, she previously represented in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from 1981 to 1991. Before her election to
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, Martin served in both chambers of
Illinois General Assembly
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...
; in the
State House of Representatives from 1977 to 1979, as well as the
State Senate from 1979 to 1980 .
Early life and career
Martin was born in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...
, the daughter of Helen Catherine (Hall) and Lawrence William Morley, an accountant. She attended Taft High School in Chicago from 1952 to 1956. She was later named to Taft's Hall of Fame. In 1960 she graduated from the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...
, where she was a member of the
Gamma Phi Beta sorority. After becoming a teacher in the
Rockford Public School District, she continued in that job after being elected to public office, serving as a member of the
Winnebago County board from 1972 to 1976
before being elected to the
Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
(1977–79),
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...
(1979–80), and U.S. House of Representatives (1981–91).
U.S. House of Representatives
She ran for the House, after Representative
John B. Anderson
John Bayard Anderson (February 15, 1922 – December 3, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member ...
retired to run for president in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
. She won a competitive four-way Republican primary for the open seat. Martin's ran on a platform that was fiscally conservative, lower taxes and business deregulation, and socially liberal, pro-choice and advocating for the
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...
.
In the U.S. House, she was vice chair of the
House Republican Conference. She was the first woman to be elected to a position in the
Republican House Leadership. During her time in Congress, Martin served on the
Armed Services Committee, the
Budget Committee, and the
House Rules Committee. Martin earned the nickname "the Axe" for her efforts to reduce spending while serving on the House Budget Committee. On a number of important issues she split with Republicans: arguing for a minimum wage increase, voting to override President Reagan's
1986 veto of a sanctions bill against the apartheid regime in South Africa, joining with Democrats to stiffen punishment for white-collar criminals, and supporting pro-choice legislation.
A loyalist to the
Reagan Administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...
, she assisted then-Vice President
George H. W. Bush with his preparation for the
1984 Vice Presidential debate against
Geraldine Ferraro. She brought an unexpected attacking and aggressive style out of the gates in the mock debates, throwing the Vice President off balance and convincing him that he needed to take Ferraro more seriously and prepare more. Martin also was tapped to deliver Bush's nominating speech at the
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
in Dallas. Bush touted her as a
possible running mate in his
1988 presidential campaign, though he eventually selected Indiana Senator
Dan Quayle
James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...
.
Martin entered the race for the vacant
Republican Conference Chair position, following
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...
of Wyoming's decision to run for
Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
spot, the second highest leadership position. Martin lost her bid to
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
of California by a slim margin of three votes after conservative hardliners mounted a coordinated campaign against her, in part, for her stances on social issues.
1990 Senate Run
Martin ran for the
U.S. Senate in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
against Democratic incumbent
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
. She was considered a formidable challenger, but her campaign floundered – in ads, Martin poked fun at Simon's signature
bow tie
The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that t ...
, but the humorous ad campaign was seen by some as petty and mean-spirited. Martin's campaign suffered from poor fundraising as well, being outspent by Simon by a margin of two-to-one. Simon's popularity proved too much to overcome, and he won with 65 percent of the vote, carrying all but two counties in the state;
Edwards County in the southeast and
McHenry County outside Chicago, in the heart of the district Martin represented for most of the 1980s. In a midterm favorable to Democrats, Martin was further hurt by negative campaign tactics deployed by advisor
Roger Ailes, as well as a number of gaffes. Including, referencing downstate voters as "rednecks". Martin raised the most campaign funds out of any Republican Senate challenger that cycle.
Secretary of Labor
Martin was tapped to be
Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all o ...
in the
George H. W. Bush administration when
Elizabeth Dole resigned to become president of the
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...
. Martin was confirmed as Secretary of Labor by the Senate on January 22, 1991, by a vote of 94–0. During her tenure, Martin promoted programs that would help produce a highly skilled workforce. Martin's signature policy while Secretary was the promotion of her Glass Ceiling Commission. Martin pushed for greater representation of women and minorities in the corporate world and was crusader against sexual harassment in the work place.
At the
1992 Republican National Convention, Secretary Martin was selected to give the nominating address for president to George H. W. Bush.
Post political career
From 1993 to 1999, Martin was a professor at the
Kellogg School of Management
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...
at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
, and chair of the
Council for the Advancement of Women and advisor to the firm of
Deloitte & Touche LLP, for Deloitte's internal human resources and minority advancement matters. She was briefly a fellow at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government.
In 1993, Martin was among the finalist to be named as
Commissioner of Baseball, but the job ultimately went to
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
(; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...
.
In 1995, she tested the waters to run for the
1996 Republican presidential nomination, but decided against it after concluding there was insufficient support for her candidacy. She participated in a Republican primary debate in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
on local television. Arguably, she would have been the most viable woman to run for the Republican presidential nomination in history to that date.
Martin has been a director on the boards of
AT&T Corporation
AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...
,
Ryder System
Ryder System, Inc., commonly known as Ryder, is an American transportation and logistics company. It is especially known for its fleet of commercial rental trucks.
Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management, and trans ...
Inc.,
Dreyfus Funds,
Constellation Energy Group
Constellation Energy Corporation () is an energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The company provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across t ...
and
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
. She served as chairman of the board of the
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
She is briefly mentioned in
The Loudest Voice
''The Loudest Voice'' is a 2019 American drama television miniseries depicting Roger Ailes as he creates and guides the rise of Fox News. It is based on the 2014 book ''The Loudest Voice in the Room'', by Gabriel Sherman, and premiered June 30, ...
for her connection to future Fox News executive
Roger Ailes.
Personal life
She married John Martin in 1960 and the couple had two daughters. They divorced in 1978. Martin remarried in 1987 to
Harry Leinenweber, a U.S. District Court Judge. She has five stepchildren.
Awards
Lynn Morley Martin was inducted as a laureate of
The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by Illinois Governor
George Ryan in 2000 in the area of government.
See also
*
List of female United States Cabinet members
The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had 38 permanent female members serving as vice president or head of one of the federal executive departments and 31 wo ...
*
Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Lynn
1939 births
Living people
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
George H. W. Bush administration cabinet members
County board members in Illinois
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Republican Party Illinois state senators
Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Northwestern University faculty
Politicians from Rockford, Illinois
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
United States Secretaries of Labor
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Women members of the Cabinet of the United States
Women state legislators in Illinois