Ramona Lee Etta Barnes (; July 7, 1938 – November 26, 2003) was a

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 ...

politician in the state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. She served in the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

for two periods spanning 1979 and 1985 and 1987 and 2001. She was the first female Speaker of the House in Alaska.

Early life

Barnes was born on July 7, 1938, in

Pikeville, Tennessee Pikeville is a city in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2010 census. It is also the county seat of Bledsoe County. History The Sequatchie River valley was part of Cherokee lands until 1805, when the Che ...

. Her father was Ellison Wheeler, a lawyer. She attended Bledsoe County High School in Tennessee and Waipahu Community College in Hawaii before graduating from Michigan State University. She married Larry Barnes in 1960, who was in the military, and the couple had three children: Randall, Michael and Michelle. The couple later divorced. She served as an undercover agent for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The family moved to Anchorage, Alaska. She managed a beauty shop and salon, was president of the Arctic Research Consultants, Inc, and served on the school board of the

Elmendorf Air Force Base Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

between 1973 and 1976 before getting involved in politics. Barnes was a delegate to the 1976 and 1978 Republican state conventions and was a member of the precinct committee. She was also a director of the Anchorage Community Mental Health Center and the Alaska Blood Bank.

Political career

Barnes was first elected to the

in 1978. She lost re-election to Marco Pignalberi in 1984 but she was re-elected in the 1986 general election. She was the first woman in the state to hold every leadership position in the House, serving as majority leader in 1983, chair of the judiciary and legislative ethics committees and minority whip in 1991 and minority leader in 1992. When the Republicans took control of the House in 1993, she became the Speaker of the House. She was the first female Speaker of the House in Alaska. She was known for her tough stance, evidenced by the President of the Alaska Senate gifting her a set of brass balls. On the House floor, she offended the state of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

by calling

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

"the pits of the earth." She was named an outstanding legislator of the year. Barnes was a social conservative who was focused on developing oil and gas in the state. She was a member of the Anchorage Republican Women's Club, the

National Federation of Republican Women The National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) is the women's wing of the Republican Party in the United States. Overview Founded in 1938 by Joyce Porter Arneill and Marion Martin, it is a grassroots political organization with more than 1, ...

, the Navy League and the National Rifle Association. She was a member of the Alaskan delegation at the

2000 Republican National Convention The 2000 Republican National Convention convened at the First Union Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 31 to August 3, 2000. The 2000 delegates assembled at the convention nominated Texas Governor Geor ...

Death

Barnes died on November 26, 2003, at the

Providence Alaska Medical Center Providence Alaska Medical Center is Alaska's largest hospital by revenue and number of beds. It has 401 beds, 1190 nurses and more than 850 physicians on staff. It is often ranked the largest private employer in Alaska. It is located at 3200 Provi ...

in Anchorage, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

caused by cancer. Her papers are held by the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna College, and Pr ...

Notes

External links

Ramona Barnes
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Ramona 1938 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Deaths from pneumonia in Alaska People from Pikeville, Tennessee Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska School board members in Alaska Speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Women state legislators in Alaska

Early life

Political career

Death

See also

Notes

External links