Mary Landrieu was elected to the Louisiana State Legislature in 1979. For eight years, she successfully championed causes related to women and children, flood protection, and education reform. In 1987, she was elected State Treasurer and served with distinction for two terms. Strong fiscal management, pension fund diversification, debt limitation, and the creation of the first-ever municipal investment fund (now valued at over $2 billion) are some of her noteworthy accomplishments.
After a hard fought but unsuccessful race for Governor, she was elected to the United States Senate in 1996, becoming the first woman from Louisiana elected to serve a full term in the Senate. Senator Landrieu was a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Appropriations Committee, Chairman of the Small Business Committee, and Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She was a tireless advocate for her home state and the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of the catastrophic devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
She led the 112th Congress to pass the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. Some of her other notable accomplishments were the passage of the landmark Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA); the Israel American Energy Alliance; and the RESTORE Act - the single largest one-term environmental investment in the Gulf Coast in US history.
Senator Landrieu serves on the Boards of Directors of CenturyLink, National Alliance for Pubic Charter Schools, Resources for the Future; and chairs the Board of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. She graduated from Louisiana State University and is married to Frank Snellings, an attorney and real estate broker in Washington, DC. They have two grown children and one grandchild.