Kathleen Sebelius

Kathleen Sebelius (born May 15, 1948, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American politician who is the current governor of Kansas. A member of the Democratic Party, she became Kansas' 44th governor in 2003 after defeating Republican Tim Shallenburger in the election of 2002 by a vote of 53%-45%. Sebelius's victory was the result of a bitter divide between conservatives and moderates within the Kansas Republican Party.

Kathleen is the daughter of former governor of Ohio, John Gilligan; she and her father were the first father/daughter governor pair in the United States. In 1974, she moved to Kansas, where she served for eight years as a representative in the Kansas state legislature, and eight years as insurance commissioner before being elected governor. Sebelius was briefly mentioned as a possible running mate for 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, though Sebelius remained adamant that her governorship was the central and only focus of her political life. Her husband, Gary Sebelius, a federal magistrate judge, is the son of former Congressman Keith Sebelius. They have two sons, Ned (b. 1982) and John (b. 1985).

Since Senator John Kerry's defeat in the 2004 presidential election, many pundits have named Sebelius as a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. Though Sebelius's political leanings, including support for abortion rights and opposition to capital punishment, are unusually liberal for a governor of Kansas, she would have broad appeal among Midwesterners.

In May of 2005, Sebelius was scheduled to be the commencement speaker at Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio, her alma mater. However, an anti-abortion organization, Kansans for Life, had contacted the school and voiced their concerns over Sebelius's stance on abortion. As a result, Summit Country Day's Head of School, Joseph Devlin, called her and asked her not to come. The school is a Roman Catholic school, but is not associated with the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cincinnati.