A Woman of Firsts

Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer

This is the first book to tell the story of Margaret Heckler’s remarkable life and the behind-the-scenes details of her biggest accomplishments. It is a thoroughly researched tribute to a woman who helped break the glass ceiling and the remarkable battles she fought to provide equality and justice for many.

Margaret Heckler’s compassionate and bipartisan work is a shining example of a hero who transcended political assumptions and expectations to help America’s women and underserved communities.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Heckler represented the American dream. She remains the only woman to have earned a “triple crown” in politics: serving in Congress (R-MA), on a presidential Cabinet, and as an Ambassador—all groundbreaking achievements for a woman of her era. Her career spanned five presidencies, from the 1960s through the 1980s (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan). The fiery Irish Republican mastered the seemingly unbeatable game of being a woman in a man’s world and a Republican in a Democratic state, becoming a hero for others against all odds.

In a time when many women entered public office because of their husbands, Heckler made her own name. Over the course of sixteen years in Congress, she successfully advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment and authored the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which for the first time in American history gave women the right to credit in their own name, setting them financially free. She also singlehandedly urged presidential nominee Ronald Reagan to appoint Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female Supreme Court Justice.

Later, as Reagan’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Heckler successfully made AIDS the top health priority in America and also commissioned the Heckler Report to address health disparities among minority populations. When her husband’s affairs resulted in her forced resignation as HHS Secretary, she was appointed to serve in one of the most sought-after diplomatic posts as the first female ambassador to Ireland.

This is the first book to tell the story of Heckler’s remarkable life and the behind-the-scenes details of her biggest accomplishments. Featuring interviews with leading figures such as former HHS Secretaries Alex Azar and Dr. Louis Sullivan; former Representatives Elizabeth Holtzman (D-NY) and Connie Morella (R-MD); former Boston Mayor and Ambassador Raymond Flynn; former US Attorney General Edwin Meese; and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). It is a thoroughly researched tribute to a woman who helped break the glass ceiling and the remarkable battles she fought to provide equality and justice for many.

Contributor: Jean Sinzdak (Foreword by)

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