Snowe, Olympia Jean (1947-…), served as a member of the United States Senate from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a Republican, represented Maine.
Olympia Jean Bouchles was born on Feb. 21, 1947, in Augusta, Maine. Her mother and father were Greek immigrants. Both parents died when she was 9 years old, and she was raised by an aunt and uncle. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine in 1969. Snowe’s first husband, Peter Snowe, was a member of the Maine state House of Representatives. After he was killed in an automobile accident in 1973, she was elected to finish his term, which ended in 1975. In 1976, she won a seat in the Maine state Senate and served until 1978.
In 1978, Snowe became the youngest Republican woman and the first Greek American woman to win election to the U.S. House of Representatives. She served in the House from 1979 to 1995. In 1994, Snowe was elected to her first term in the U.S. Senate. She took office in 1995. Snowe became the first woman to serve in both houses of a state legislature and in both houses of Congress. In 1989, she married John R. McKernan, Jr., a fellow Republican who was then the governor of Maine.
As a U.S. senator, Snowe became known as a political moderate. She served on Senate committees on Finance; Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Intelligence. Snowe did not seek reelection in the November 2012 elections.
