News Brief

Remembering Ambassador Lindy Boggs

We are saddened to announce the passing of Council member Corrine (“Lindy”) Claiborne Boggs.  Ambassador Boggs passed away on July 27 at her home in Chevy Chase at the age of 97.

Ambassador Boggs was born on March 13, 1916, in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. She was a graduate of Sophie Newcomb College at Tulane University.

The first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana, Ambassador Boggs served nine terms before retiring in 1990. She succeeded her husband, House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, by special election in March 1973, after the plane carrying him disappeared over Alaska in October 1972. As a member of Congress, Ambassador Boggs served on the Appropriations Committee. She was also on the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families where she chaired the Crisis Intervention Task Force. She spearheaded legislation on issues ranging from civil rights to credit access to pay equity for women.

She had a special interest in scientific research and technology development and housing issues. The Lindy Claiborne Boggs Center for Energy and Biotechnology was dedicated in 1988 at Tulane University.

In 1976, she was the first woman to chair the National Democratic Convention. She was also the first woman to serve as a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute. She presided over the Bicentennial of the American Constitution in 1987 and chaired the Commission commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Congress.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, where she served until 2001.

Ambassador Boggs was a member of the Military and Hospitalier Order of St. Lazarus and the Order of Malta, the National Foundation of the National Archives, the Stennis Center and many other distinguished organizations.

Ambassador Boggs’ honors included the first American Veterans Auxiliary National Humanitarian Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Centennial Award, the National Science Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award, the first annual International Women’s Forum Award and the Louisiana Library Association’s Literary Award for her book, Washington Through a Purple Veil. She held honorary degrees from many institutions, including Tulane University, Loyola University, Trinity College, St. Mary of the Woods College, St. Thomas University, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Notre Dame University, Georgetown Law Center and Xavier University.

Ambassador Boggs is survived by her son, Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., and daughter, Cokie Roberts. Her other daughter, Barbara Boggs Sigmund, passed away in 1990.  Ambassador Boggs is also survived by eight grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

Date Posted

Jul 30, 2013