Barbara B. Kennelly

Barbara B. Kennelly
Vice Chair of the House Democratic Conference
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Victor H. Fazio
Succeeded by	Bob Menendez
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 1st district
In office January 12, 1982 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	William R. Cotter
Succeeded by	John B. Larson
67th Secretary of the State of Connecticut
In office January 5, 1979 – January 12, 1982
Governor	Ella T. Grasso William O'Neill
Preceded by	Henry S. Cohn
Succeeded by	Maura L. Melley
Personal details
Born	(1936-07-10) July 10, 1936 Hartford, Connecticut
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	James J. Kennelly
Children	4
Alma mater	Trinity Washington University Trinity College

Barbara Bailey Kennelly (born July 10, 1936) is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut.

Family and Education

Kennelly was born Barbara Ann Bailey in Hartford, Connecticut on July 10, 1936. Her father was long-time Democratic Party leader John M. Bailey.

Kennelly studied at St. Joseph Cathedral School and graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in West Hartford in 1954. She earned a B.A. from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. (now Trinity Washington University) in 1958 and a certificate from the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration in 1959. In 1971, she earned a master's degree from Trinity College in Connecticut.

Kennelly was married to the late James J. Kennelly, an attorney who served as Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979. She has three daughters, one son, and twelve grandchildren.

Career

In 1975, Kennelly was elected to the Hartford Court of Common Council, a position she held until 1979. She served as the Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1979 until 1982.

Kennelly was elected to Congress in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William R. Cotter. She represented Connecticut's First Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives from January 12, 1982 until January 3, 1999. She did not seek re-election in 1998, running instead for Governor of Connecticut against Republican incumbent John G. Rowland, to whom she lost.

From 2002 to 2011, she served as President of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. On July 1, 2009, she spoke to the Presidential Classroom Scholars Program on the US House floor. Kennelly is also a member of the board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, a non-profit prominent in the assistance of elections in many countries.

The Barbara B. Kennelly Post Office Building in Hartford is named in her honor.

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Barbara Kennelly in Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame
• Barbara Kennelly Papers Archives & Special Collections, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut