Margaret Mary Heckler (née O'Shaughnessy; June 21, 1931 – August 6, 2018) was an American politician and diplomat who 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 the ...

from 1967 until 1983. A member of the Republican Party, she also served as the 15th

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

from 1983 to 1985, as well as

United States ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U. ...

to Ireland from 1986 to 1989.

Early life

She was born Margaret Mary O'Shaughnessy in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

. Her undergraduate studies began at Albertus Magnus in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

. She then studied abroad at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of L ...

, in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in 1952 and went on to graduate from

Albertus Magnus College Albertus Magnus College is a private Catholic university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs (now Dominican Sisters of Peace), it is located in the Prospect Hill neighborhood of New Haven, n ...

(

B.A. 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 ye ...

1953) and from

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 studen ...

( LL.B. 1956). She was the only woman in her law school class. She was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. She was an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

of the ''Annual Survey of Massachusetts Law''. From 1963 to 1967, Heckler was the first woman to serve on the Governor's council for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was a delegate to 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 1964 and 1968, and was elected as a Republican from the 90th to the 97th Congresses (January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1983). Heckler received an honorary doctorate from

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fall ...

in 1975.

Congressional career

In Congress, Heckler was generally regarded as a "

Rockefeller Republican The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to- liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vice President o ...

" who supported moderate to liberal policies favored by voters in her state. Heckler voted in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1968 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which app ...

. In 1977, she launched and founded the idea of the Congresswoman's Caucus, a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...

group of 14 members focused on equality for women in

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, tax laws, and related areas. Heckler was also an outspoken advocate for and cosponsor of 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 an ...

. She opposed abortion but then did not favor a constitutional amendment to ban it. Later in life, however, Heckler became a speaker and

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

activist. In Massachusetts, she was noted for building an especially-effective network of constituent services that allowed her to breeze through several re-election bids in an overwhelmingly-Democratic state. In the capital, Heckler was noted as a socialite with a penchant for high fashion. In the House, she served on the Banking and Currency Committee as well as ranking member of the

Veterans' Affairs Committee The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and ...

(1975–1983). She also served as ranking member of the House Beauty Shop Committee (1971–1979), replacing Representative

Catherine May Catherine Dean May (May 18, 1914 – May 28, 2004) was a U.S. Representative from Washington.Joseph W. Martin, Jr., in the primary. Martin, then 82, had previously served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

and was 46 years older than Heckler. Heckler won the subsequent general election with just 51 percent of the votes but was easily re-elected thereafter. Following the 1980

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Massachusetts lost one of its congressional seats because of its population growth. Heckler's district, then the only one in Massachusetts large enough to not need redistricting, was combined with that of freshman Democratic Representative

Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committ ...

. The district was numerically Frank's district, the 4th, but it was geographically more Heckler's district. When both ran against each other in 1982, Heckler began the race as a frontrunner. Although she opposed Reagan on 43 percent of House votes, Frank successfully portrayed Heckler as a Reagan ally by pointing to her early support for his tax cuts, which she later retracted. She lost the support of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

because she opposed federal funding for abortion. She went on to lose the race by a larger-than-expected margin of 20%. After her defeat, no woman would be elected to Congress from Massachusetts until

Niki Tsongas Nicola Dickson "Niki" Sauvage Tsongas (; born April 26, 1946) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 2007 to 2019. She held the seat formerly held by her husband, the late Paul Tsongas, for the di ...

won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in 2007.

Health and Human Services Secretary

After her defeat, Heckler turned down several government jobs, including as an assistant

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

administrator, before Reagan nominated her to replace retiring Health and Human Services Secretary

Richard Schweiker Richard Schultz Schweiker (June 1, 1926 – July 31, 2015) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 14th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Ronald Reagan from 1 ...

in January 1983. She was confirmed on March 3, 1983 by an 82-3 vote in the Senate. All three dissenters were conservative Republicans. Early on as secretary, Heckler commissioned the Secretarial Task Force to investigate a "sad and significant fact: there was a continuing disparity in the burden of death and illness experienced by Blacks and other minority Americans as compared with our nation's population as a whole," as she put it in her opening letter in ''The Secretary's Report on Black and Minority Health'', also known as the Heckler Report. The report provided the historical foundation for many reports thereafter and is often referenced as a landmark document for health disparity and health equity inquiry.

Clarice Reid Clarice D. Reid (born 1931) is an American pediatrician born in Birmingham, Alabama, who led the National Sickle Cell Disease Program at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health. She went on ...

was a member of the task force that helped to produce the report. As secretary, Heckler publicly supported the Reagan administration's more conservative views, presided over staffing cuts in the department as part of the administration's spending reductions, and frequently spoke on a wide array of public health issues, including the emerging AIDS crisis. It was very difficult for Heckler to get the topic of AIDS on the Cabinet meeting agendas, and she reportedly never discussed the crisis with Reagan. Heckler repeatedly assured the American public that the nation's blood supply was "100% safe... for both the

hemophiliac Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising ...

who requires large transfusions and for the average citizen who might need it for surgery." On January 21, 1985, Heckler became the first woman to be named

designated survivor In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is a named individual in the presidential line of succession, chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from events such as State of the Union addresses and pre ...

. She served in the role during the

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaug ...

Public divorce saga

Heckler's tenure as secretary was also marked by scandal in the Washington press when her husband, John, filed for divorce in 1984. The episode was tinged by election-year concerns over the impact of the divorce on conservative voters and dragged on for months as the couple argued whether Massachusetts or

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, to where she had moved, had jurisdiction in the case.

Departure from Cabinet

Although Heckler stayed on in the Cabinet after Reagan's re-election and was widely regarded as an effective spokesperson, press accounts in late 1985 revealed that some White House and agency insiders regarded her as an ineffective manager. White House Chief of Staff

Donald Regan Donald Thomas Regan (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1981 to 1985 and the White House Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 under Ronald Reagan. In the Reagan administration, he advoca ...

reportedly pushed for Heckler's dismissal, but Reagan told reporters "there has never been any thought in my mind to fire" her. Instead, she was appointed as Ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, with a $16,000 pay cut that prompted the press to ridicule Reagan's characterization of the situation as a "promotion." She was confirmed as ambassador in December 1985.

Ambassador to Ireland

As ambassador, Heckler played a crucial role in obtaining a US$120 million grant to the International Fund for Ireland, an economic development organization. She was a frequent guest on Irish television programs and was "by all accounts an effective spokesperson for her government's policies on everything from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significan ...

." In February 1989, Heckler announced her intent to resign to pursue a private career, and her term concluded in August 1989. On May 31, 1987, Heckler became the first woman to deliver the commencement address in the history of the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was ele ...

. Heckler's papers are housed in the Burns Library at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

Death

Heckler died at Virginia Hospital Center in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county i ...

, on August 6, 2018, at the age of 87.

References

Sources

* Jane Anderson. "Two Massachusetts Incumbents Fight for Single Seat in Congress." Miami Herald, October 17, 1982, pg. 5D. * Karen DeYoung. "Margaret Heckler, All Emerald Smiles", ''Washington Post'', March 18, 1987, pg. D1. * David Hoffman. "Heckler Offered Irish Ambassadorship", ''Washington Post'', October 1, 1985, pg. A1. * Stephanie Mansfield. "The Heckler Breakup", ''Washington Post'', October 16, 1984, pg. B1. * Donnie Radcliffe. "The Women's Caucus", ''Washington Post'', April 27, 1978, pg. B12. * Spencer Rich. "Heckler's Administrative Skills Called Inadequate for Agency", ''Washington Post'', October 1, 1985, pg. A1. * Myron Stuck and Sarah Fitzgerald. "Senate Confirms Heckler." Washington Post. 03/04/1983. p. A13.

External links

*
"Speaker of the House: Joe Martin of N. Attleboro"
projo.com, July 26, 1999; accessed February 12, 2017.

accessed February 12, 2017.

prolifeaction.org; accessed February 12, 2017.

at ourcampaigns.com * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Heckler, Margaret 1931 births 2018 deaths Albertus Magnus College alumni Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland American expatriates in the Netherlands Female members of the United States House of Representatives Boston College Law School alumni Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council People from Queens, New York Reagan administration cabinet members Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts United States Secretaries of Health and Human Services Women in Massachusetts politics Women members of the Cabinet of the United States 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American diplomats American women ambassadors 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians