Elizabeth Dole was born Salisbury, North Carolina, during The GreatDepression. Her parents, John Van Hanford and Mary Ella Cathey, werethe owners of a successful floral business and the family didn't sufferthe financial hardships of so many around them. Her parents werebelievers in striving for excellence and friendly competition, andinstilled those beliefs in Elizabeth and her older brother, John.Nicknamed Libby, she showed leadership traits from an early age and inschool was a high achiever. She attended Duke University and excelledthere, also, becoming Student Body President. Then she attendedHarvard, at a time when few women did, and earned a Master in Educationand then a law degree from Harvard Law School.

After graduating, she moved to Washington, D.C., and found work for thegovernment. Her first White House job was as a staff assistant in theDept. of Health, Education & Welfare. In 1968 she was appointedlegislative assistant to Betty Furness, Consumer Affairs Advisor toPresidentLyndon B. Johnson. In1973, she was appointed by President'Richard Nixon' to the FederalTrade Commission.

Shortly before her appointment, she met U.S. SenatorBob Dole at the 1972 RepublicanNational Convention. They were initially friendly acquaintances, but afriendship ensued, which gradually became a courtship, and they marriedin 1975. They immediately became on of Washington, D.C.'s premier powercouples. In 1980,Bob Dole ran forPresident for the first time, but was too preoccupied with Senateduties to campaign extensively, and his candidacy fizzled out quickly.That year,Ronald Reagan waselected President.

Elizabeth Dole quickly became a visible member of the new ReaganAdministration. Elizabeth played a prominent role in the transition tothe Reagan White House. In 1981, she was appointed Soecial Assistantfor Public Liaison, in charge of carrying the Administration'scommunications to business and labor groups. In 1983, Reagan appointedher as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. During her four years in thispost, Elizabeth Dole was an active, accomplished Secretary. Shepromoted intitatives regarding air bags for automobiles, brake lightson the rear windshields of cars, and improved airline safety

In 1987, her husband launched anther Presidential campaign, and sheresigned to help his campaign. Though it showed initial promise, itimploded after the he lost the New Hampshire primary to then-VicePresidentGeorge H.W. Bush, who went on to winthe general election. Elizabeth Dole went on to serve in the Bushadministration as Secretary of Labor, which she was appointed to in1988, immediately after the election. There, she helped pass anincrease in the minimum wage. And while she wasn't considered an allyof organized labor, they did credit her for being accessible. In late1990, she resigned to become President of the American Red Cross, andassumed that post in February of 1991. She took an unpaid leave ofabsence as her husband ran for President again in 1996. This time hewon the nomination, but was defeated in the general election byPresidentBill Clinton. In thatelection, voters thought more highly of her than of First LadyHillary Clinton, but herhusband ran a lackluster campaign and was heavily outspent. Inretrospect, analysts were surprised he didn't lose by a wider marginthan he did.

She returned to the American Red Cross in 1997, but resigned in 1999 toseek the Republican Presidential nomination. She was noted as the firstwoman to be a credible candidate for President, but her campaign wascompletely overshadowed by overwhelming Republican for then-TexasGovernorGeorge W. Bush, and she droppedout of the race a few months later and endorsed Bush. She decided notto serve in this Presidential administration and retired to privatelife. But in 2001, elderly U.S. SenatorJesse Helms announced his retirement. In theautumn of that year, Elizabeth Dole explored running, and with thewholehearted support of her husband, she ran. Initially the heavyfavorite to win, she was thrown on the defensive and lost ground in thepolls to former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. But inOctober of 2002, she rebounded and won the election. In 2005, she wasappointed by her fellow Republican Sentators to Chair the NationalRepublican Senatorial Committee, to help more Republicans win U.S.Senate elections in the 2006 elections. However, the 2006 electionswere a major setback for Republicans and Democrats regained control ofthe U.S. Senate. In the Senate, Dole complied a conservative record andmaintained a high profile in Washington, D.C. However, she did notfrequently visit North Carolina, and took for granted her high personalapproval ratings. As the year 2008 approached, Bush had become highlyunpopular even in conservative states like North Carolina and Democratssaw an opening. Democratic state Senator Kay Hagan entered the race,and the novelty of two credible women candidates running against eachother in the South gave Hagan free publicity. Democrats funded Haganheavily and she quickly pulled even with Dole in the polls. BySeptember, the race had become increasingly hostile, with numerousnegative ads airing across the state. In the 2008 elections in NorthCarolina, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama surprised everyone by narrowlywinning the state, and Dole was defeated for reelection. She hasindicated that this is her last campaign and that she will now retireto private life.