Kay Bailey Hutchison

Kay Bailey Hutchison born Kathryn Ann Bailey July 22 1943 is an American attorney television correspondent politician diplomat and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021 A member of the Republican Party she was a United States Senator from Texas from 1993 to 2013 Born in Galveston Texas Hutchison is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin Prior to entering politics she was an attorney and legal correspondent at KPRCTV in Houston She was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 After a brief business career she returned to politics in 1990 when she was elected Texas State Treasurer In 1993 she was elected to the United States Senate in a nonpartisan special election defeating Democratic incumbent Bob Krueger and becoming the first female senator in Texas history After being reelected to the Senate in 1994 2000 and 2006 Hutchison was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Texas in 2010 losing the Republican primary to incumbent Rick Perry Hutchison was the most senior female Republican senator by the end of her tenure in 2013 and the fifth most senior female senator overall In 2013 she joined the law firm Bracewell Giuliani The downtown Dallas convention center is named after her On June 29 2017 Hutchison was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Permanent Representative to NATO She was confirmed by the US Senate in a voice vote on August 3 2017