Fast Facts:
- Born: August 16, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois
- Assumed Office: January 5, 1993
- Left Office: January 3, 1999
- Party: Democratic
- Marital Status: Divorced
- College: University of Illinois at Chicago
- Law School: University of Chicago
- Previous Occupation/Position Held: Attorney
- First and only black woman elected to the United States Senate
- First African-American senator to be elected as a Democrat
Early Life
After graduating with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago in 1972, Braun became a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's office in Chicago and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1978.
Political Career
Braun challenged incumbent Democratic Senator Alan Dixon for the nomination in 1992, winning the primary and defeating Republican candidate Richard S. Williamson in the general election. In her re-election bid in 1998, she was narrowly defeated by Republican candidate Peter Fitzgerald. In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Braun the United States Ambassador to New Zealand, a position she held until 2001. In 2004, she ran for the Democratic nomination and participated in several debates before withdrawing from the race prior to the Iowa caucuses. Braun endorsed Howard Dean for the nomination.
