Susan Lynne Bayh ( ; November 28, 1959 – February 5, 2021) was an American attorney and

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

from 1989 until 1997. She was married to

Evan Bayh Birch Evans Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh w ...

, a Democratic Indiana politician, who served as the state's

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(1989–1997) and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

(1999–2011). A newspaper in Indiana described her as being engaged in a profession it termed "professional board member" or "professional director".

Career

Bayh began her careers in law and business as a litigator for the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

s of

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

, and later for the Indiana firm of

Barnes & Thornburg Barnes & Thornburg LLP is a U.S. law firm and lobbying group with 20 offices located in the United States. It is currently the largest law firm in the state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is th ...

. In 1989, she joined the pharmaceutical division at the Indianapolis-based

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...

, managing the company's handling of federal regulatory issues. In 1994, she left the employ of Eli Lilly and taught at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

's College of Business Administration, holding the title of distinguished visiting professor. An Indiana newspaper listed eight corporations of which Bayh was a director, as of 2006. Bayh began serving on corporate boards in 1994 and thereafter served on the boards of 14 corporations, including the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

, and food processing industries.

Personal life

Bayh earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. She was a past Miss Southern California and a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international sorority with 172 active chapters and over 250,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York on September 18, 1872, it is the fou ...

. She earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Southern California Law School The USC Gould School of Law, located in Los Angeles, California, is the law school of the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law traces its beginnings to 1896 and became affiliated with ...

in 1984. Bayh and her husband had twin sons, Birch Evans IV (Beau) and Nicholas, born in 1995. In May 2018, Bayh underwent brain surgery to remove a

malignant Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

tumor. She died in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...

on February 5, 2021, at the age of 61.

References

External links

Susan B. Bayh, J.D.
at ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

''
Collected news and commentary
at ''

The Journal Gazette ''The Journal Gazette'' is the morning newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It publishes seven days a week, and contends for circulation and advertising in a 15-county area. History ''The Journal Gazette'' traces its origins to 1863 when ''The For ...

'' (Fort Wayne, Indiana) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayh, Susan 1959 births 2021 deaths First Ladies and Gentlemen of Indiana 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers American corporate directors American women business executives Bayh family Businesspeople from Indiana Butler University faculty Corporate lawyers Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from glioblastoma Eli Lilly and Company people Evan Bayh Indiana lawyers Lawyers from Los Angeles People associated with Gibson Dunn People from Indianapolis People from Los Angeles County, California USC Gould School of Law alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni