Helen Boosalis
Boosalis withPresidentRonald Reagan in 1981
44thMayor of Lincoln
In office May 19, 1975 – May 16, 1983
Preceded by	Sam Schwartzkopf
Succeeded by	Roland Luedtke
39thPresident of the United States Conference of Mayors
In office 1981–1982
Preceded by	Richard Hatcher
Succeeded by	Coleman Young
Personal details
Born	Helen Geankoplis (1919-08-28)August 28, 1919 Minneapolis,Minnesota,U.S.
Died	June 15, 2009(2009-06-15) (aged 89) Lincoln,Nebraska,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Michael G. Boosalis ​ (m. 1945)​
Children	Mary Beth Boosalis
Education	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities(BA)

Helen Boosalis (néeGeankoplis; August 28, 1919 – June 15, 2009)^[1] was an AmericanDemocratic Party politician fromNebraska.

Helen Boosalis was born asHelen Geankoplis inMinneapolis, Minnesota, toGreek immigrant parents, where she grew up working in her father's Minneapolis restaurant.^[2]In 1945 she married Michael Gus "Mike" Boosalis, aWorld War II veteran and graduate of theUniversity of Minnesota. Their daughter, Mary Beth, was born three years later. In 1951, the family moved toLincoln, Nebraska, where her husband had accepted a job at theUniversity of Nebraska.^[3]

In 1959 Boosalis was elected to the Lincoln City Council, scoring an upset victory over an incumbent, and was subsequently reelected three times. She won another upset victory over incumbentSam Schwartzkopf to become the city's first woman mayor in 1975. From 1981 to 1982, she served as the first female President of theU.S. Conference of Mayors.^[3]

Shortly after completing her tenure as Mayor in 1983, Boosalis was appointed as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aging in the Cabinet of then-GovernorBob Kerrey. She served in that post until she announced her candidacy for Governor of Nebraska in the 1986 election. Boosalis received a plurality of the vote in the crowded Democratic primary with 43.8% of the votes.

In the primary, Boosalis carried 77 of Nebraska's 93 counties, Domina carried 16 counties in the Northeast section of the state, and Beutler carried no counties.^[6]

Boosalis went on to lose to the Republican candidate, State TreasurerKay A. Orr, in thegeneral election. Boosalis received 47.1% of the vote, and Orr received 52.9%.^[7] This election was the first state gubernatorial election in U.S. history where the candidates of both major national parties were women.^[2]

Following her electoral defeat, Boosalis was an active member of several state and national organizations, most notably serving as Chairwoman of Board of Directors of theAmerican Association of Retired Persons.

Boosalis died from abrain tumor on June 15, 2009, at the age of 89.^[2]

1. "Boosalis, Helen".The Political Graveyard. RetrievedJanuary 10, 2006.

• 1919 births
• 2009 deaths
• 20th-century American women politicians
• 20th-century mayors of places in Nebraska
• AARP people
• American people of Greek descent
• Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
• Mayors of Lincoln, Nebraska
• Nebraska city council members
• Nebraska Democrats
• State cabinet secretaries of Nebraska
• Women mayors of places in Nebraska
• Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors
• Women city councillors in Nebraska
• 21st-century American women

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