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Maggie HassanAmerican politician
Date of Birth: 27.02.1958
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Maggie Hassan: A Political Journey from Advocacy to the Senate
- Legal Career and Advocacy
- State Senate: 2004-2010
- Governorship: 2013-2016
- United States Senate: 2017-Present
Maggie Hassan: A Political Journey from Advocacy to the Senate
Early Life and EducationMaggie Hassan was born in Boston in 1958 and raised in the nearby suburb of Lincoln. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was a professor at MIT and later worked as the Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Lyndon Johnson. Hassan earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University in Rhode Island and later went on to receive her J.D. from Northeastern University in 1985. While at Brown, she met her husband, Thomas Hassan, an Irish-American whose ancestors immigrated from Arab-speaking regions.
Legal Career and Advocacy
Following law school, Hassan embarked on a legal career, serving as an in-house attorney at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston during the 1990s. She and her husband, Tom, had two children, Ben and Maggie. Ben's diagnosis with cerebral palsy inspired his mother to become involved in politics, and in the early 1990s, she became an advocate for disability rights in New Hampshire, where the family lived while Tom was the Assistant Headmaster at Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1999, then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen appointed Hassan to the Commission on Quality Education.
State Senate: 2004-2010
In 2002, Hassan ran for an open seat in the New Hampshire State Senate, but lost to Republican Russell Prescott. However, in 2004, she re-ran for the position and was elected. In the State Senate, Hassan was instrumental in creating a Healthcare Oversight Commission, which granted the body authority to regulate hospital rates. As the Democratic Majority Leader, she also played a key role in legalizing same-sex marriage in New Hampshire, overcoming opposition within her party. Hassan served in the State Senate until 2010, when she lost re-election to Prescott.
Governorship: 2013-2016
In 2012, Hassan ran for Governor of New Hampshire. Her platform balanced the state's libertarian tradition with the growing popularity of Democratic ideals, emphasizing job creation and increased education funding while rejecting tax hikes. Hassan was elected for a two-year term as Governor and won re-election in 2014, becoming the only female Democratic governor at the time.
As Governor, Hassan demonstrated her ability to work across party lines, as evidenced by the state's 2014 budget, which was approved with near unanimous support in the 400-member New Hampshire Legislature. Some of Hassan's initiatives were supported by Republicans and opposed by Democrats, such as a bill to open the state's first legal casino, which passed the Republican-controlled Senate twice but failed in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. During Hassan's tenure as Governor, New Hampshire experienced one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, college tuition was frozen at state universities for the first time in 25 years, and community college tuition was reduced. The state also faced a significant opioid crisis, which Hassan addressed by implementing initiatives to combat the epidemic.
United States Senate: 2017-Present
In late 2015, Hassan announced her candidacy for the United States Senate while serving as Governor. She faced incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte in a close race. In the 2016 election, Hassan emerged victorious by a margin of just 1,023 votes. Ayotte declined to request a recount, and Hassan's victory was certified.
In the U.S. Senate, Hassan serves on the Committees on Homeland Security; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She is also a member of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
