Aug. 24 (UPI) — Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a former three-term U.S. senator from Kansas, has died at age 94, her family said.
Kassebaum — also known as Nancy Kassebaum Baker after she married former Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tenn., in 1996 — died Friday at a hospice care facility in Manhattan, Kan.
“Kansas lost part of its soul when Nancy Kassebaum died,” Gov.Laura Kelly said in a social media post. “Senator Kassebaum cared deeply about Kansas, about our country. No one worked harder, or smarter, to make our worlda better place.”
Kassebaum — also known as Nancy Kassebaum Baker after she married former Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tenn., in 1996 — was the first woman elected to a full term in a U.S. Senate seat without succeeding a spouse. First elected in 1978, she was only woman in the U.S. Senate at the time and the 14th in Senate history, Politico reported. She served in the Senate until 1997.
“She relished the support of family and friends from all over the world,” Kassebaum’s family said in a statement. “Her years were filled with remarkable successes, challenges and, above all, a deep love for Kansas.”
Kassebaum was born in Topeka, Kan., the daughter of Alf Landon, a former governor of Kansas and a 1936 Republican nominee for president. During her time in office, she became the leader of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.
She was instrumental in the bipartisan Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which she sponsored with Sen.Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. The act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was meant to allow workers to retain health insurance when they changed or lost jobs and to protect the privacy of health care information.
In January 2025, then-President Joe Biden presented Kassebaum with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian award from the U.S. government. The award recognizes those who perform exemplary feats of service for their country or fellow citizens.
“Nancy Kassebaum does not speak in a loud voice,” said her fellow Kansas Republican Bob Dole in 1996, Politico reported. “She does not clamor for media attention. But as all senators know, while her voice may be quiet, her will is strong.”
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