Selwa Carmen Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt (born January 13, 1929) was
Chief of Protocol of the United States
In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, and the United States secretary of state o ...
for almost seven years from 1982-1989—longer than anyone else has ever served in that position.
Early life
Selwa was born in the city of
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
immigrants, Salim Shqer and Najla Shqer. She lived there until her marriage in 1950 to Archibald "Archie" B. Roosevelt Jr., a grandson of President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. They were married for forty years until Archie died of heart failure in 1990.
An honors graduate from
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
, Lucky has worked as a journalist for '' The Washington Evening Star'' and a freelance writer for numerous magazines, among them ''
Family Circle
''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...
'', ''
McCalls
''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-for ...
'' and '' Town & Country'', where she was a contributing editor for seven years.
She was the longest serving Chief of Protocol serving between 1982 and 1989. In 2012, Lucky received a commendation from President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for her government service and for helping to "save"
Blair House
Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...
.
Her correspondence from
Fleur Cowles
Fleur Fenton Cowles (January 20, 1908 – June 5, 2009 by
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Works
*''Keeper of the gate'', Simon and Schuster, 1990,
Selwa Roosevelt
Selwa Carmen Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt (born January 13, 1929) was Chief of Protocol of the United States for almost seven years from 1982-1989—longer than anyone else has ever served in that position.
Early life
Selwa was born in the city of ...