Olympia Snowe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Olympia Snowe
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Snowe in 2010
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| United States Senator from Maine |
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| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | George Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Angus King |
| Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | John Kerry |
| Succeeded by | John Kerry |
| First Lady of Maine | |
| In role February 24, 1989 – January 5, 1995 |
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| Governor | John McKernan |
| Preceded by | Constance Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Mary Herman |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Cohen |
| Succeeded by | John Baldacci |
| Member of the Maine Senate from the 12th district |
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| In office January 5, 1977 – January 3, 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Elmer Berry |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Trafton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Olympia Jean Bouchles
February 21, 1947 Augusta, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Peter Snowe
(m. 1969; died 1973)John McKernan
(m. 1989) |
| Education | University of Maine (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Olympia Jean Snowe (born February 21, 1947) is an American businesswoman and politician. She served as a United States Senator for Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe was a member of the Republican Party.
She was known for being able to influence important votes. This included votes on whether to stop a filibuster. A filibuster is when a senator tries to delay a vote by speaking for a very long time. In 2006, Time magazine called her one of America's Best Senators. She was seen as a very moderate (middle-ground) member of the Senate.
On February 28, 2012, Snowe announced she would not run for re-election. She retired on January 3, 2013. She said she was leaving because of too much disagreement between political parties. She felt this made Congress not work well. Her Senate seat was then won by Angus King.
After leaving the Senate, Snowe became a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. She also helps lead its Commission on Political Reform.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Olympia Jean Bouchles was born in Augusta, Maine. Her father came to the United States from Sparti, Greece. Her mother's parents were also Greek. She is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.
When she was eight, her mother died from breast cancer. Less than a year later, her father died from heart disease. Olympia became an orphan. She moved to Auburn to live with her aunt and uncle. They raised her along with their five children. Her uncle also died from disease a few years later.
Olympia went to St. Basil's Academy in Garrison, New York, for several years. She then returned to Auburn and attended Edward Little High School. She later studied political science at the University of Maine in Orono, graduating in 1969. Soon after, she married her fiancé, Peter T. Snowe, in New York City.
Starting in Politics
Olympia Snowe quickly started her political career. She won a seat on the Board of Voter Registration. She also worked for Congressman William Cohen.
In 1973, her husband, Peter, died in a car accident. Friends and family encouraged Olympia to run for his seat in the Maine House of Representatives. She was only 26 years old and won the election. She was re-elected to the House in 1974. In 1976, she won a seat in the Maine Senate. That same year, she was a delegate for the Republican Party at both state and national meetings.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
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Snowe was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978. She represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District from 1979 to 1995. This district covered much of the northern part of Maine. She was a member of the Budget and International Relations Committees.
In 1989, Snowe married John R. McKernan, Jr.. He was the Governor of Maine at the time. Snowe and John McKernan had both served in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier. Even while she was First Lady of Maine, she continued to serve in Congress.
In 1991, her stepson, Peter McKernan, died at age 20.
Serving in the U.S. Senate
Senate Elections
In 1994, Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell decided not to run for re-election. Olympia Snowe immediately announced she would run for his Senate seat. She won the election against her opponent, Tom Andrews, by a large margin. She won every county in Maine.
Snowe was re-elected easily in 2000 and 2006. She won by even larger margins each time. She won every county in Maine in all three of her Senate elections.
Key Moments in the Senate
Snowe played an important role during the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. She and Senator Susan Collins suggested a way for the Senate to vote on the charges and the punishment separately. When this idea failed, they both voted to acquit (find not guilty) President Clinton. They believed his actions did not require him to be removed from office.
Some conservative Republicans criticized Snowe for sometimes disagreeing with the Bush administration. They called her a "Republican In Name Only" (RINO).
In October 2002, Snowe voted to support the War in Iraq.
In February 2006, TheWhiteHouseProject.org named Snowe as one of "8 in '08." This group was made up of eight female politicians who might run for president in 2008.
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Snowe voted to approve the appointments of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In April 2006, Time magazine chose Snowe as one of "America's 10 Best Senators." She was the only woman on the list. Time praised her for caring about her voters. They also noted that her moderate views helped her be at the center of many policy discussions in Washington.
Snowe was the fourth woman to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She was the first woman to lead its seapower subcommittee. This subcommittee oversees the Navy and Marine Corps. In 2001, Snowe became the first Republican woman to get a full-term seat on the Senate Finance Committee.
Snowe was the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives. She is also the first woman to have served in both parts of a state legislature and both parts of the U.S. Congress. She never lost an election in her 35 years as an elected official.
On February 27, 2012, Snowe announced she would not run for re-election. She said there was too much political fighting and a discouraging political environment. Her decision was a surprise.
The "Gang of 14"
On May 23, 2005, Snowe was one of fourteen senators known as the "Gang of 14." This group helped solve a big disagreement in the Senate. Democrats were using a filibuster to block some judicial nominees. Republicans wanted to change Senate rules to stop filibusters for nominees.
The "Gang of 14" reached a compromise. It stopped further filibusters and prevented the rule change. Democrats could still filibuster a nominee in "extraordinary circumstances." This group later helped approve Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. They said these nominees did not meet the "extraordinary circumstances" rule. Snowe voted for both Roberts and Alito.
Committee Work
During her time in the Senate, Olympia Snowe worked on several important committees:
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- She was the lead Republican (Ranking Member) on the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard.
- Committee on Finance
- Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Ranking Member)
- Select Committee on Intelligence
She was also part of several groups of senators, like the Senate Women's Caucus and the Senate Tourism Caucus.
Political Views
Olympia Snowe was known for her moderate political views. She was often in the middle, not too far left or too far right. Her former colleague from Maine, Senator Susan Collins, also has moderate views.
Snowe supported military actions by President Clinton in Kosovo. She also supported President George W. Bush's invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On money matters, she supported cutting taxes to help the economy. However, she voted against some tax cuts in 2003 and 2004. She was worried about the budget.
Snowe supported stem cell research. She voted against banning gay marriage in both 2004 and 2006. In 2008, she supported John McCain for President.
In 2009, Snowe supported the release of more funds for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). She also supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. She said she would work with both parties on health care reform and energy issues.
In October 2009, Snowe was the only Republican in the Senate to vote for the Finance Committee's health care reform bill. However, she later voted against the final Senate Health Care Reform Bill in December 2009. She also voted against health care reform again in 2010.
After the Senate
After leaving the Senate, Olympia Snowe announced she supported same-sex marriage.
Since 2013, Snowe has been on the board of directors for the investment firm T. Rowe Price. She did not support Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president in 2016. She said that Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton were the least partisan candidates in 2016.
On November 8, 2020, Snowe congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. This was five days after the election. On January 9, 2021, after the January 6 United States Capitol attack, she asked President Trump to resign. She said this would help the nation heal and prepare for the new presidency.
Images for kids
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Olympia Snowe's signature
See also
In Spanish: Olympia Snowe para niños
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
- Women in the United States Senate
- Rockefeller Republican
