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​'''Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker''' (born July 29, 1932) is an [[United States|American]] retired [[business]]woman and [[politician]], who represented [[Kansas]] in the [[United States Senate]] for three terms from 1978 to 1997.  Her father, [[Alf Landon]], was the [[governor]] of Kansas from 1933 to 1937 and the failed [[Republican]] [[U.S. President|presidential]] nominee in the [[United States presidential election, 1936|1936]] race against [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. She followed in his footsteps as a [[Moderate Republican]], often taking some liberal positions.

​'''Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker''' (born July 29, 1932) is an [[United States|American]] retired [[business]]woman and [[politician]], who represented [[Kansas]] in the [[United States Senate]] for three terms from 1978 to 1997.  Her father, [[Alf Landon]], was the [[governor]] of Kansas from 1933 to 1937 and the failed [[Republican]] [[U.S. President|presidential]] nominee in the [[United States presidential election, 1936|1936]] race against [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. She followed in his footsteps as a [[Moderate Republican]], often taking some liberal positions.

==Biography==

==Early life and career==

Kassebaum Baker was born in the capital city of [[Topeka]] while her father was running for the first of his two two-year terms as governor. Her mother was the former Theo Cobb, a pianist. After graduation from Topeka High School in 1950, she graduated from the [[University of Kansas]] at Lawrence in 1954 and then obtained a master's degree in diplomatic history from the [[University of Michigan]] at [[Ann Arbor]]. She and her first husband settled in Maize, near [[Wichita]], Kansas, where she served on the school board and had four children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723033900/http://womenincongress.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID=125|title=125 women in Congress: Nancy Landon Kassebaum|date=July 23, 2011|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>​

Kassebaum Baker was born in the capital city of [[Topeka]] while her father was running for the first of his two two-year terms as governor. Her mother was the former Theo Cobb, a pianist. After graduation from Topeka High School in 1950, she graduated from the [[University of Kansas]] at Lawrence in 1954 and then obtained a master's degree in diplomatic history from the [[University of Michigan]] at [[Ann Arbor]].

Before her Senate years she worked in her family-owned Kassebaum Communications, which operated several [[radio]] stations in Kansas. In 1975, Kassebaum and her husband were legally separated; their divorce became final in 1979. In 1975, Kassebaum had worked in [[Washington, D.C.]], as a caseworker for her Senate predecessor, James B. Pearson, a [[Moderate Republican]], but she returned to Kansas the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/K/KASSEBAUM,-Nancy-Landon-(K000017)/|title=Kassebaum, Nancy Landon - U.S. Senator|publisher=History.house.gov|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>​

Before her Senate years she worked in her family-owned Kassebaum Communications, which operated several [[radio]] stations in Kansas. In 1975, Kassebaum and her husband were legally separated; their divorce became final in 1979. In 1975, Kassebaum had worked in [[Washington, D.C.]], as a caseworker for her Senate predecessor, James B. Pearson, a [[Moderate Republican]], but she returned to Kansas the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/K/KASSEBAUM,-Nancy-Landon-(K000017)/|title=Kassebaum, Nancy Landon - U.S. Senator|publisher=History.house.gov|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>​

A moderate often [[liberal]] Republican, Kassebaum was named chairman of the Senate Labor Committee from 1995 to 1997, with the Republican capture of the upper legislative chamber. [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] relinquished the chairmanship and became the ranking member of the committee. Kassebaum Baker teamed up with Kennedy for the passage of the Kennedy-Kassebaum Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, her landmark legislation. Like current Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] of [[Kentucky]], she was a strong opponent of [[apartheid]] and supported sanctions against the government of [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bOcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mQcGAAAAIBAJ&dq=apartheid+sanctions&pg=3361,4583866|title=The Free Lance-Star Search|author=Curt Anderson|publisher=news.google.com|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>  

A moderate often [[liberal]] Republican, Kassebaum was named chairman of the Senate Labor Committee from 1995 to 1997, with the Republican capture of the upper legislative chamber. [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] relinquished the chairmanship and became the ranking member of the committee. Kassebaum Baker teamed up with Kennedy for the passage of the Kennedy-Kassebaum Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, her landmark legislation. Like current Senate Majority Leader [[Mitch McConnell]] of [[Kentucky]], she was a strong opponent of [[apartheid]] and supported sanctions against the government of [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bOcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mQcGAAAAIBAJ&dq=apartheid+sanctions&pg=3361,4583866|title=The Free Lance-Star Search|author=Curt Anderson|publisher=news.google.com|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>  

Though she had voted in 1991 to confirm the [[African-American]] [[Clarence Thomas]] to the [[United States Supreme Court]], Kassebaum Baker by 1995 had soured on the judicial decisions of the [[conservative]] Thomas and questioned whether he had sexually harassed his accuser, [[Anita Hill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-05-27/news/1995147030_1_justice-thomas-vote-for-thomas-harassment|title=Kassebaum regrets vote for Thomas|publisher=Knight-Rider News Service|date=May 27, 1995|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>  

Though she had voted in 1991 to confirm the [[African-American]] [[Clarence Thomas]] to the [[United States Supreme Court]], Kassebaum Baker by 1995 had soured on the judicial decisions of the [[conservative]] Thomas and questioned whether he had sexually harassed his accuser, [[Anita Hill]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-05-27/news/1995147030_1_justice-thomas-vote-for-thomas-harassment|title=Kassebaum regrets vote for Thomas|publisher=Knight-Rider News Service|date=May 27, 1995|accessdate=April 20, 2020}}</ref>  

Divorced after twenty-three years of marriage from John Philip Kassebaum, whose name she still used professionally, she married in 1996 the widowed [[Howard Baker]], former U.S. Senator from [[Tennessee]], Senate Majority Leader, and a chief of staff to [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] at the height of the [[Iran-Contra affair]]. Kassebaum and Baker had been Senate colleagues from 1978 to 1985, when Democrat [[Al Gore]] took the seat that Baker vacated. Kassebaum holds the distinction of being the first woman ever elected to a full term in the Senate without a husband having previously served in Congress.

Divorced after twenty-three years of marriage from John Philip Kassebaum, whose name she still used professionally, she married in 1996 the widowed [[Howard Baker]], former U.S. Senator from [[Tennessee]], Senate Majority Leader, and a chief of staff to [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]] at the height of the [[Iran-Contra affair]]. Kassebaum and Baker had been Senate colleagues from 1978 to 1985, when Democrat [[Al Gore]] took the seat that Baker vacated. Kassebaum holds the distinction of being the first woman ever elected to a full term in the Senate without a husband having previously served in Congress.