Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was directly succeeded by his

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, either through election or direct appointment to the seat.Melville Currell
''Political Woman''
Many of the earliest women to hold political office in the modern era attained their positions through this practice. It also occurred when politicians stood down from a particular office.

Overview

In earlier years, women who held office through widow's succession rarely became prominent as politicians in their own right, but were regarded merely as placeholders whose primary role was to retain a seat and a vote for the party rather than risk a protracted fight for the nomination between elections. The practice was also sometimes seen as a way to provide the woman with financial support due to the loss of her family's primary income. The expectation was that a widow would serve only until the next election, at which time she would step down and allow her party to select a new candidate. Upon the retirement of

Effiegene Locke Wingo Effiegene Wingo (née Locke; April 13, 1883 – September 19, 1962) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas, wife of Otis Theodore Wingo and great-great-great-granddaughter of Matthew Locke. Born in Lockesburg in Sevier County in southwestern ...

from the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1932, the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...

'' wrote, In one unusual Canadian instance,

Martha Black Martha Louise Munger Black OBE (February 24, 1866 – October 31, 1957) was a Canadian politician. Black was the second woman elected to the House of Commons of Canada. Biography Martha was born in on February 24, 1866 in Chicago, Illinois ...

succeeded her husband George Black in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

when he had not died, but merely stepped down temporarily for health reasons; in the next election, Martha stood down and George returned to office. Another unusual circumstance occurred in the United States when Katherine G. Langley was elected to her still-living husband John W. Langley's former congressional seat after he was convicted of selling alcohol during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

. With the evolving role of women in politics, however, a number of women who first took office under widow's succession went on to build long and distinguished careers in their own right.

Margaret Chase Smith Margaret Madeline Chase Smith (née Chase; December 14, 1897 – May 29, 1995) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a U.S. senator (1949–1973) from Maine. She was th ...

became the longest-serving woman in the history of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and the first woman ever to have her name placed in nomination for the

Presidency of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forc ...

at a major party's convention, serving 9 years in the House after replacing her deceased husband, and then serving in the Senate for 24 more years.

Edith Nourse Rogers Edith Rogers (née Nourse; March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare Volunteering, volunteer and politician who served as a Republican in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress fro ...

became the longest-serving woman in the history of the

, and

Mary Ellen Smith Mary Ellen Spear Smith (October 11, 1863 – May 3, 1933) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. She was the first female Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia,British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. In Sri Lanka

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (; ; ; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan politician. She was the List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government, world's first fe ...

, who succeeded her assassinated husband, was a long-serving Prime Minister and party leader. While widows are occasionally still appointed or elected to political positions following their husbands' deaths, the practice is not as common in the modern era, in which women have been able to take on increasingly prominent roles in politics based on their own talents and experience rather than as "placeholders". Additionally, some figures, such as

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

in India and Grace MacInnis in Canada, have happened to hold political office and to be the widow of an earlier officeholder, but are not true "widow's successions" as they were not their late husband's immediate successor.

Notable widow's successions

Argentina

Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas; 4 February 1931) is an Argentine politician who served as the 41st president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the List of elected and appointed female heads of s ...

, first female president of Argentina

Australia

Millie Peacock Millie Gertrude Peacock, Lady Peacock (née Holden; 3 August 1870 – 7 February 1948), was the first woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria. She was the wife of Sir Alexander Peacock, a three-time Premier of Victoria. Upon his death in 1 ...

, first woman elected to the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

; she said when she retired: ''"Parliament is no place for a woman."''

Canada

Cora Taylor Casselman Cora Taylor Casselman (October 18, 1888 – September 6, 1964) was a Canadian federal politician. She was elected to represent the electoral district of Edmonton East in the House of Commons of Canada from 1941 to 1945. A member of the Liberal ...

Jennifer Cossitt Jennifer Cossitt (née Birchall; born 22 June 1948) was a Progressive Conservative party member of the House of Commons of Canada. She was a business executive by career. Her husband was Thomas Cossitt, member of Parliament for the Leeds— ...

* Eloise Jones *

Margaret Mary Macdonald Margaret Mary Macdonald was a Canadian politician. On May 29, 1961 she became the first woman to represent Prince Edward Island in the House of Commons of Canada. She first won representation for the electoral district An electoral (cong ...

Sarah Ramsland Sarah Katherine Ramsland, (née McEwen; July 19, 1882 – April 4, 1964) was a Canadian politician, the first woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. She was born in Boon Lake, Minnesota, the daughter of local politicia ...

Margaret Rideout Margaret Isabel Rideout (née Saunders; 16 June 1923 – 12 May 2010) was a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Westmorland in the House of Commons of Canada from 1964 to 1968. She was the first woman elected to the ...

Jean Yip Jean Lee Yip (born 1968) is a Chinese Canadian politician born in Scarborough, Ontario, who was elected to the House of Commons in a by-election on December 11, 2017. She represents the electoral district of Scarborough—Agincourt as a me ...

Guyana

Janet Jagan Janet Rosenberg Jagan (née Rosenberg; 20 October 1920 – 28 March 2009) was an American-born Guyanese politician who served as the President of Guyana, serving from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She was the first female president of Gu ...

, both first female prime minister and later president of Guyana

Indonesia

Sherly Tjoanda Sherly Tjoanda Laos (born 8 August 1982) is an Indonesian politician and businesswoman who has served as the Governors of Indonesia, Governor of North Maluku since 20 February 2025. She is the first female governor of the province, having been el ...

was elected as the Governor of North Maluku after replacing her husband's (Benny Laos) candidacy, who died in a speedboat fire.

Ireland

Includes politicians from the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. *

Caitlín Brugha Caitlín Brugha (; 11 December 1879 – 1 December 1959) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford (Dáil constituency), Waterford constituency from 1923 to 1927. Early life Kingston was born in Bir ...

(succeeded

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

in 1923; he had been elected to Waterford–Tipperary East seat and then died in combat in the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

) * Joan Burke (succeeded James Burke in

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

, 1964) * Honor Crowley (succeeded Frederick Crowley in Kerry South, 1945) *

Eileen Desmond Eileen Christine Desmond (; 29 December 1932 – 6 January 2005) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare from 1981 to 1982. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1969 and 1973 ...

(succeeded Dan Desmond in Cork Mid, 1965) * Sheila Galvin (succeeded John Galvin in Cork Borough, 1964) * Eileen Lemass (unsuccessfully contested her husband

Noel Lemass Noel Thomas Lemass (14 February 1929 – 13 April 1976) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance from 1969 to 1973. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin South-West from 1956 ...

' seat in

Dublin South-West Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...

, 1976; later elected to the Dáil in Dublin Ballyfermot, 1977) * Celia Lynch (succeeded James B. Lynch in Dublin South-Central, 1954) * Bridget Redmond (succeeded William Redmond in Waterford, 1933) * Mary Reynolds (succeeded Patrick Reynolds in Leitrim–Sligo when he was murdered during the 1932 election campaign) * Bridget Rice (succeeded Eamon Rice in

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

, 1932) * Mary Ryan (succeeded Martin Ryan in Tipperary, 1944)

Japan

* Keiko Nagaoka * Nobuko Okashita

Malaysia

* Linda Tsen, elected in the

2010 Batu Sapi by-election The 2010 Batu Sapi by-election in the Malaysian state of Sabah was held on 4 November 2010. The nomination of candidates was done on 26 October 2010. The Batu Sapi parliamentary seat fell vacant when its Member of Parliament; Datuk Edmund Chong ...

after the seat had been vacant upon the death of the incumbent, Edmund Chong Ket Wah, who was Tsen's husband *

Mastura Mohd Yazid Mastura binti Mohd Yazid (Jawi alphabet, Jawi مستورة بنت محمد يزيد) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department ...

, elected in the

2016 Kuala Kangsar by-election A by-election was held for the Dewan Rakyat seat of P67 Kuala Kangsar, a parliamentary seat located in the state of Perak, Malaysia on 18 June 2016 following the nomination day on 5 June 2016. The seat fell vacant after death of member of parliame ...

after the seat had been vacant upon the death of the incumbent Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar, who was Mastura's husband * Irene Mary Chang Oi Ling succeeded her husband Wong Ho Leng in the Bukit Assek state constituency in Sarawak

New Zealand

Mary Grigg Mary Victoria Cracroft Grigg, Lady Polson, (née Wilson; 18 August 1897 – 22 December 1971) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Early life She was born as Mary Victoria Cracroft Wilson at Culverden in 1897. Her parents were ...

first female MP of the National Party *

Elizabeth McCombs Elizabeth Reid McCombs (née Henderson, 19 November 1873 – 7 June 1935) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party who in 1933 became the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament. New Zealand women gained the right to vote in ...

first female MP, succeeded her husband James McCombs in 1933 following his death, and was in turn succeeded by their son Terry McCombs in 1935 *

Iriaka Rātana Iriaka Matiu Rātana (née Te Rio; 25 February 1905 – 21 December 1981) was a New Zealand politician and Rātana morehu who won the Western Maori electorate for Labour in 1949. She succeeded her husband Matiu Rātana to become the first w ...

first female Māori MP

Philippines

In the Philippines, a candidate that has died up until midday of election day can be substituted by someone who has the same surname as him or her, almost always the spouse. * Remedios Fortich, elected on the 1947 special election, succeeded her husband Carlos Fortich Sr. in Bukidnon's at-large district. * Gloria Tabiana, elected on the 1965 special election, succeeded her husband Ramon Tabiana in Iloilo's 3rd district. *

Magnolia Antonino Magnolia Rodriguez Welborn Antonino ( Welborn; December 14, 1915 – July 22, 2010) was a Senate of the Philippines, Senator of the Philippines. The daughter of George Welborn and Hipolita Rodriguez, she was married to Gaudencio Antonino, also a ...

, elected on the 1967 Senate election, succeeded her husband Gaudencio Antonino who died on the eve of the election.

United Kingdom

Margaret Wintringham Margaret Wintringham (née Longbottom; 4 August 1879 – 10 March 1955) was a British Liberal Party politician. She was the second woman, and the first British-born woman, to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Early ...

succeeded Thomas Wintringham in

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of east ...

, 1921 by-election * Agnes Hardie succeeded George Hardie in Glasgow Springburn, 1937 by-election *

Beatrice Rathbone Beatrice Frederika Wright, Lady Wright, MBE, formerly Rathbone, née Clough, (17 June 1910 – 17 March 2003), was an American-born British politician. Early life Wright was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States on 17 June 1 ...

succeeded

John Rathbone John Rankin Rathbone (5 February 1910 – 10 December 1940) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life He was born in 1910 to William Rathbone, a marine architect, and Agnes Dorothea Rankin. Education For his education, Rat ...

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

, 1941 by-election * Lena Jeger succeeded Santo Jeger in Holborn and St Pancras South, 1953 by-election *

Irene Adams Katherine Patricia Irene Adams, Baroness Adams of Craigielea (born 27 December 1947) is a Scottish Labour peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Paisley North from 1990 to 2005. Early life Adams was educated at Stanley Green High ...

succeeded

Allen Adams Allender Steele Adams (16 February 1946 – 5 September 1990), known as Allen Adams, was a Scottish Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley from 1979 to 1983 and Paisley North from 1983 to 1990. Adams was b ...

in Paisley North, 1990 by-election *

Trish Law Patricia Law (née Bolter, born 17 March 1954) is a Welsh politician who was the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice AM for Blaenau Gwent in Wales between 2006 and 2011. Background Patricia Bolter was born in Nantyglo, Blaenau Gwent, in 1954. She ...

succeeded

Peter Law Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent memb ...

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...

, 2006 by-election *

Gill Furniss Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. She was a Member of Sheffield City Council from 1999 to 2016. Early li ...

succeeded Harry Harpham in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, 2016 by-election

MPs who stood down from office

Historically, women would get into politics by taking the seat of her husband.

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

became the first ever British female Member of Parliament to take her seat after her husband Waldorf was appointed to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Astor was the MP for Plymouth Sutton in Devon. At the 2019 general election, two

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MPs stood down amidst controversy and were succeeded by their wives. * Natalie Elphicke, wife of

Charlie Elphicke Charles Brett Anthony Elphicke (born 14 March 1971) is a British former politician and a convicted sex offender. As a member of the Conservative Party and later an independent, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dover from 2010 to 20 ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

in Kent * Kate Griffiths, wife of Andrew Griffiths in Burton in Staffordshire

United States

The following is a list of the women in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who have succeeded their spouses in Congress. *

Maryon Pittman Allen Maryon Allen (née Pittman; November 30, 1925 – July 23, 2018) was an American journalist who served as United States Senator from Alabama for five months in 1978, after her husband, Senator James B. Allen, died in office. She held no public o ...

(Senate) *

Elizabeth Andrews Elizabeth Andrews OBE JP (née Smith; 15 December 1882 – 22 January 1960) was a Welsh politician and suffragist who was the first woman organiser of the Labour Party in Wales. Early life Andrews was born on 15 December 1882 at 13 John S ...

(House) * Jean Spencer Ashbrook (House) * Irene Baker (House) *

Lindy Boggs Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013) was a politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Cong ...

(House) * Veronica Boland (House) * Frances Bolton (House) *

Mary Bono Mary Bono Oswald (née Whitaker and formerly Mary Bono Mack, born October 24, 1961) is an American politician, businesswoman, and lobbyist who served Palm Springs and most of central and eastern Riverside County, California, in the U.S. House of R ...

(House) *

Vera Buchanan Vera Daerr Buchanan (July 20, 1902 – November 26, 1955) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1951 to 1955. She was the first female member of the U.S. Congress to die while holding office, an ...

(House) * Jocelyn Burdick (Senate) * Sala Burton (House) * Vera Bushfield (Senate) * Beverly Byron (House) * Katharine Byron (House) *

Lois Capps Lois Ragnhild Capps (née Grimsrud; January 10, 1938) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1998 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 22nd District from 1998 to 200 ...

(House) *

Hattie Caraway Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an American politician who was United States Senator from Arkansas from 1931 to 1945. She was the first woman elected to the Senate, the first woman to serve a full term as ...

(Senate) * Marguerite Church (House) * Marian Clarke (House) *

Cardiss Collins Cardiss Hortense Collins (; September 24, 1931 – February 3, 2013) was an American politician from Illinois who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the fourth Afric ...

(House) *

Jo Ann Emerson Jo Ann Emerson (née Hermann; born September 16, 1950) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2013. The district consists of Southeast and South Central Missouri and includes the Bootheel, the Lead Belt and ...

(House) * Willa McCord Blake Eslick (House) * Elizabeth Farrington (House) * Willa Fulmer (House) * Elizabeth Hawley Gasque (House) * Kathryn Granahan (House) * Florence Reville Gibbs (House) * Muriel Humphrey (Senate) *

Florence Prag Kahn Florence Kahn (née Prag; November 9, 1866 – November 16, 1948) was an American teacher and politician who in 1925 became the first Jewish woman to serve in the United States Congress. She was only the fifth woman to serve in Congress, and ...

(House) * Elizabeth Kee (House) *

Catherine Small Long Mary Catherine Small Long (born Mary Catherine Small; February 7, 1924 – November 23, 2019) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 8th congressional district, which she filled from 1985 to 1987, the re ...

(House) * Rose McConnell Long (Senate) *

Doris Matsui Doris Okada Matsui ( ; born Doris Kazue Okada; , September 25, 1944) is an American politician, who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from since 2005. She succeeded her husband, Bob Matsui. The district, numb ...

(House) * Clara McMillan (House) * Maurine Neuberger (Senate) *

Mae Nolan Mae Ella Nolan (née Hunt; September 20, 1886 – July 9, 1973) was an American politician who became the fourth woman to serve in the United States Congress, the first woman elected to Congress from California, the first woman to chair a Con ...

(House) * Catherine Dorris Norrell (House) * Pearl Peden Oldfield (House) * Shirley Neil Pettis (House) * Louise Goff Reece (House) * Corinne Boyd Riley (House) *

(House) * Edna Simpson (House) *

(House, subsequently elected to Senate) *

Leonor Sullivan Leonor Kretzer Sullivan (August 21, 1902 – September 1, 1988) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri. She was a Democrat and the first woman in Congress from Missouri. Biography Born Leonor Kretzer in St. Lo ...

(House) * Lera Millard Thomas (House) *

(House)

Nellie Tayloe Ross Nellie Davis Ross (née Tayloe; November 29, 1876 – December 19, 1977) was an American educator and politician who served as the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and as the 28th and first female director of the United States Mint fr ...

was the first female governor of a U.S. state, serving as Governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927. Her husband William B. Ross was governor from 1923 until his death in October 1924, at which point secretary of state

Frank Lucas Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug lord who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from hi ...

succeeded him. Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected to replace her late husband in a November 1924 special election. Florence Shoemaker Thompson, of

Daviess County, Kentucky Daviess County ( "Davis"), is a County (United States), county in Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 103,312. Its county seat is Owensboro, Kentucky, Owensboro. The county was formed from part of Ohio ...

, was the first female

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

to carry out an execution, and oversaw the hanging of

Rainey Bethea Rainey Bethea ( – August 14, 1936), was the last person publicly executed in the United States. Bethea, who confessed to the rape and killing of a 70-year-old woman named Lischia Edwards, was convicted of her rape and publicly hanged in Owen ...

in 1936, which was the last public execution in American history. Andrea Seastrand succeeded her husband Eric Seastrand as the member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

for the 29th district in 1990. When Joseph Crouch died in 1989 his wife Joyce Crouch replaced him in the 22nd district in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. In January 2001,

Jean Carnahan Jean Anne Carnahan (née Carpenter; December 20, 1933 – January 30, 2024) was an American politician and writer who was the First ladies of Missouri, First Lady of Missouri from 1993 to 2000, and served as the state's junior United States sena ...

was appointed to the Senate to replace her late husband

Mel Carnahan Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Carnahan was a Democrat and held various positions in governm ...

, who had been posthumously elected to the Senate in November 2000 after dying in a plane crash three weeks earlier. In 2007,

Niki Tsongas Nicola Dickson "Niki" Tsongas (; née Sauvage; 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 ...

was elected to a House seat that was held by her late husband

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas ( ; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1 ...

between 1975 and 1979. In 2015, Deborah Dingell became the first wife to succeed her living husband in the House of Representatives after John David Dingell Jr. retired in 2014. He had succeeded his late father, John Dingell Sr. in a special election for the same seat in 1955. As of 2021, the Dingell family has represented the southeastern Michigan area for 92 consecutive years.Dingell, John D. (4 December 2018). The dean : the best seat in the House. Bender, David, 1955–, Paffhausen, Frederick D. (First ed.). ew York, NY . OCLC 1076485042. In 2021,

Julia Letlow Julia Janelle Letlow ( ; née Barnhill; born March 16, 1981) is an American politician and academic administrator serving as the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 5th congressional district since 2021. Letlow is the first Republican Party (Unit ...

ran for and won a House seat in Louisiana that was vacant due to the death of her husband Luke Letlow the year prior. Unusually, Luke Letlow died before actually being sworn in to office, having won an election to succeed a retiring Congressman. The same year, Texas congressman Ron Wright died in office. His wife Susan Wright ran in the special election to succeed him but came in second place to Jake Ellzey.

References

{{Reflist Women in politics Widowhood Political families Political terminology

Overview

Notable widow's successions

Argentina

Australia

Canada

Guyana

Indonesia

Ireland

Japan

Malaysia

New Zealand

Philippines

United Kingdom

MPs who stood down from office

United States

See also

References