Carol Moseley Braun was born in Chicago on August 16, 1947. Her father, a law enforcement officer, was a consummate renaissance man, a musician who mastered seven instruments and spoke several languages. Her mother was a medical technician. Together they encouraged their children to pursue excellence, embrace opportunity and follow their dreams. Her life reflects this philosophy.
Ms. Moseley Braun has served her country as a United States Senator (1992-98), U.S. Ambassador (1999-2001), as well as County Executive Officer, State Representative, and Assistant United States Attorney. Since her return in 2001 from her ambassadorial posting to New Zealand, she has taught law and political science at Morris Brown College and DePaul University, along with a business law practice and business consultancy in Chicago.
The hallmark of her public service has been dedication to the harmony of the community. She is an advocate of diversity and has consistently worked to build an inclusive society. Her extensive and constructive legislative record reflects this commitment to social justice and good government.
Ms. Moseley Braun is a graduate of the Chicago Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1969, and her law degree in 1972 from the University of Chicago. She joined the United States Attorney's office in Chicago in 1973.
As an Assistant United States Attorney, she worked primarily in the civil and appellate law areas and tried cases of national importance. Her work in housing, health policy, and environmental law won her the Attorney General's Special Achievement award. She subsequently received over 300 awards for achievements in the public interest. She left the US Attorney's office in 1977 to start a family. Her son, Matthew, is a computer engineer.
As a homemaker, Ms. Moseley Braun volunteered her services on behalf of local environmental issues. Her energy and commitment inspired neighbors to encourage her to run for public office. In 1978, she was elected to the Illinois state legislature, the General Assembly. As a State Representative, she became recognized as a champion for education, governmental reform, and civil rights. As early as 1984, she proposed a moratorium on the application in Illinois of the death penalty. And in what became a landmark reapportionment case, Crosby vs. State Board of Elections, she successfully sued her own party and the state of Illinois on behalf of African American and Hispanic citizens.
Soon thereafter, Ms. Moseley Braun was named Assistant Majority Leader; when she left the legislature in 1987, her colleagues recognized her in a resolution as "the conscience of the House." She served one term as Recorder of Deeds for Cook County, which includes Chicago, before running for the United States Senate. She won that race in November 1992, marking yet another historic first: first female senator from Illinois, first female African-American senator, first African-American Democratic senator.
In the Senate, Carol Moseley Braun built an exemplary legislative record, serving among others on the Finance, Banking and Judiciary Committees.
ABOUT CAROL
Biography
Carol Moseley Braun was born in Chicago on August 16, 1947. Her father, a law enforcement officer, was a consummate renaissance man, a musician who mastered seven instruments and spoke several languages. Her mother was a medical technician. Together they encouraged their children to pursue excellence, embrace opportunity and follow their dreams. Her life reflects this philosophy.
Ms. Moseley Braun has served her country as a United States Senator (1992-98), U.S. Ambassador (1999-2001), as well as County Executive Officer, State Representative, and Assistant United States Attorney. Since her return in 2001 from her ambassadorial posting to New Zealand, she has taught law and political science at Morris Brown College and DePaul University, along with a business law practice and business consultancy in Chicago.
The hallmark of her public service has been dedication to the harmony of the community. She is an advocate of diversity and has consistently worked to build an inclusive society. Her extensive and constructive legislative record reflects this commitment to social justice and good government.
Ms. Moseley Braun is a graduate of the Chicago Public Schools. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1969, and her law degree in 1972 from the University of Chicago. She joined the United States Attorney's office in Chicago in 1973.
As an Assistant United States Attorney, she worked primarily in the civil and appellate law areas and tried cases of national importance. Her work in housing, health policy, and environmental law won her the Attorney General's Special Achievement award. She subsequently received over 300 awards for achievements in the public interest. She left the US Attorney's office in 1977 to start a family. Her son, Matthew, is a computer engineer.
As a homemaker, Ms. Moseley Braun volunteered her services on behalf of local environmental issues. Her energy and commitment inspired neighbors to encourage her to run for public office. In 1978, she was elected to the Illinois state legislature, the General Assembly. As a State Representative, she became recognized as a champion for education, governmental reform, and civil rights. As early as 1984, she proposed a moratorium on the application in Illinois of the death penalty. And in what became a landmark reapportionment case, Crosby vs. State Board of Elections, she successfully sued her own party and the state of Illinois on behalf of African American and Hispanic citizens.
Soon thereafter, Ms. Moseley Braun was named Assistant Majority Leader; when she left the legislature in 1987, her colleagues recognized her in a resolution as "the conscience of the House." She served one term as Recorder of Deeds for Cook County, which includes Chicago, before running for the United States Senate. She won that race in November 1992, marking yet another historic first: first female senator from Illinois, first female African-American senator, first African-American Democratic senator.
In the Senate, Carol Moseley Braun built an exemplary legislative record, serving among others on the Finance, Banking and Judiciary Committees. Among the highlights of her wide-ranging legislative work, she
* spearheaded debate on repairing the nation's crumbling schools
* sponsored the brownfields tax law that provided essential impetus and support for environmental remediation
* helped to craft a tax policy that assisted widows to obtain pension benefits, restored the interest deduction on college loans, encouraged retirement savings, and expanded opportunities for the poor to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit
* supported laws to enact a Balanced Budget Amendment even when many Democrats were not pleased with it
* pushed through farm legislation, transportation support, and economic security initiatives of value to the people of Illinois and to the nation
* sponsored the creation of the Sacagawea dollar coin, honoring the contributions of women of color to this nation
* sponsored the authorization the Park Service's historic preservation of the Underground Railroad, preserving an essential part of our nation's legacy of progress on race and civil rights
* was a consistent and strong voice for equal opportunity, the prevention of discrimination on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation, reproductive freedom, and social and economic justice.
In 1998, after Carol Moseley Braun was narrowly defeated in her race for re-election, President Clinton named her special consultant to the Department of Education on school construction - one of her longtime special concerns. She was then nominated to be U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, and confirmed by a vote of the full Senate, 98-2.
As United States Ambassador, her portfolio included New Zealand, Samoa, the Cook Islands and even Antarctica. She is fond of calling this time in her public service "Ambassador to Paradise." In New Zealand, she was made an honorary member of the Te Atiawa Maori people.
When her ambassadorial assignment ended, Ms. Moseley Braun returned to Alabama to rehabilitate and rescue her family farm. During that time, she started her business consultancy and began to teach political science. Carol Moseley Braun returns today to the national forum animated by a sense of duty to the nation and a patriotic desire to serve.