Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick

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Artist: Mike Wimmer Sponsor: Lt. Governor Mary Fallin Dedication: April 19, 2004 Size: 24" x 36" Type: Oil on Canvas Location: 5th Floor, North Senate Hallway

Scholar, diplomat, political scientist, Jeane Kirkpatrick is one of America’s true experts on world politics and international affairs. Jeane Jordan Kirkpatrick was born November 19, 1926, in Duncan, Oklahoma, and graduated from Barnard College in 1948. She received a doctorate in political science from Columbia University in 1968. She joined the faculty of Georgetown University where she became a full professor of political science in 1968.

In 1980, she became the foreign policy advisor for Ronald Reagan during his presidential campaign. She was named as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a position she held for four years and also served as a cabinet member for President Reagan from 1981 through 1985. She served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1985 to 1990, the Defense Policy Review Board from 1985 to 1993 and chaired the Secretary of Defense Commission on Fail Safe and Risk Reduction from 1991 to 1992. On March 13, 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Kirkpatrick as Representative of the United States of America on the Human Rights Commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

As a discerning scholar, political scientist, and advocate for America’s foreign policy, Dr. Kirkpatrick is one of the modern era’s wisest experts on geopolitical issues. She has been awarded the Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor, and has received many other international medals and awards.

Dr. Kirkpatrick is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and serves as Co-Founder and Director of Empower America, a conservative public policy organization. In addition, she testifies yearly before Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on national and international defense policy, focusing on matters of high importance to our national security. She is the author of many publications including The Withering Away of the Totalitarian State, Dismantling the Parties: Reflections on Party Reform and Party Decomposition and Good Intentions. Dr. Kirkpatrick resides in Washington, D.C.

Images are copyright of The Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc. and the artist.  Please contact Pam Hodges at 524-0126 or hodges@oksenate.gov for further copyright information.