Madeleine Kunin
Madeleine Kunin (born Madeleine May Kunin; September 28, 1933) is a Swiss-born American politician, diplomat, and author who served as the 77th Governor of Vermont from 1985 to 1991.[1][2] A Democrat, she was the first woman elected governor of Vermont and the first Jewish person to hold the office.[1][2] Born in Zürich to Jewish parents who fled Nazi persecution, Kunin immigrated to the United States in 1940.[3][2] She was also the first woman in the United States to be elected to three terms as governor.[4] During her governorship, Kunin emphasized education reform and environmental policies, including chairing the New England Governors' Conference.[1] Prior to her executive role, she served three terms in the Vermont House of Representatives and as Lieutenant Governor from 1979 to 1985.[4] Following her time as governor, she held positions as Deputy Secretary of Education from 1993 to 1996 and U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland from 1996 to 1999.[3][5] Kunin has authored several books on politics and leadership, including her memoir Living a Political Life published in 1994.[3]Early Life and Education
Immigration and Family Background
Madeleine Kunin was born Madeleine May on September 28, 1933, in Zürich, Switzerland, to Ferdinand May, a German-Jewish shoe importer who had immigrated to Switzerland after suffering gassing and trauma in World War I trenches, and Renee Bloch, his Swiss-born wife.[6][7] Ferdinand May died by suicide in 1936, drowning in a lake near Zürich amid ongoing depression, leaving Renee a widow with two young children: Edgar, aged seven, and Madeleine, nearly three.[6][8] Fearing Nazi expansion into neutral Switzerland as World War II escalated—with German forces overrunning neighboring countries and antisemitic policies intensifying across Europe—Renee May arranged the family's escape in 1940, when Madeleine was six and Edgar ten.[9][10] The threat stemmed from the family's Jewish heritage and the realistic risk of invasion or collaboration, despite Switzerland's fortified defenses and banking neutrality, which later drew scrutiny for dormant Holocaust-era accounts.[9][8] They departed via ship, arriving in New York where relatives met them.[11] The family first settled in Forest Hills, Queens, assimilating into urban Jewish-American life, including attendance at a reform temple where Madeleine participated in group bat mitzvah ceremonies.[9][11] Economic pressures as refugees prompted moves: briefly to California in hopes of prosperity, then back east to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, near relatives in the Berkshires, where Madeleine finished high school amid her mother's efforts to sustain the household through work.[11][12] These relocations reflected post-immigration hardships, including language barriers and financial strain, while Swiss cultural ties faded rapidly in the American environment.[11]Academic and Formative Experiences
Kunin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, with a minor in English, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1956, graduating cum laude.[13] [14] Her coursework included American intellectual history, where she engaged with primary texts by philosophers ranging from Jonathan Edwards to John Dewey, which she later described as particularly influential in shaping her analytical approach to societal issues.[13] Following her undergraduate studies, Kunin pursued graduate education in journalism, obtaining a Master of Science degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1957.[1] [15] This program emphasized practical reporting and communication skills, aligning with the era's demand for rigorous, fact-based discourse in post-World War II media landscapes.[1] In 1967, after a period focused on family and initial professional endeavors, Kunin completed a Master of Arts degree in English literature at the University of Vermont.[16] Her advanced studies in literature honed interpretive and rhetorical abilities, providing a foundation for articulating policy ideas grounded in historical and cultural contexts, as evidenced by her sustained academic engagement with Vermont institutions thereafter.[16]Pre-Political Career
Journalism and Teaching Roles
Following her completion of a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1957, Kunin relocated to Burlington, Vermont, where she served as an education reporter and editor of the teen page at the Burlington Free Press.[16][17] This role marked her entry into local media, focusing on community and youth-oriented reporting amid Vermont's small-market press landscape.[6] In 1967, Kunin earned a Master of Arts in English literature from the University of Vermont, after which she took on part-time teaching duties at Trinity College in Burlington from 1969 to 1971.[16] These adjunct positions emphasized writing and literature instruction, providing practical experience in academia but remaining localized and non-tenured.[18] Kunin's pre-political professional life was constrained by family obligations, as she married physician Arthur Kunin in 1957 and raised four children born in the late 1950s and early 1960s, necessitating part-time commitments over full-time advancement.[16][9] Neither her journalism nor teaching yielded major publications, national recognition, or institutional breakthroughs, reflecting the era's challenges for women balancing motherhood with career in regional settings.[9]Entry into Politics
Vermont House of Representatives (1972–1976)
Kunin won election to the Vermont House of Representatives on November 7, 1972, as a Democrat representing a Burlington district redrawn that year, following a narrow defeat earlier in 1972 for a seat on the Burlington Board of Aldermen.[19][1] Her entry into the race stemmed from advocacy for improved safety at a hazardous railroad crossing in her neighborhood, reflecting grassroots concerns in a state legislature then dominated by Republicans but experiencing Democratic gains amid post-1960s progressive shifts.[20] She took office on January 3, 1973, for a two-year term.[21] Re-elected in 1974 and again in 1976, Kunin served through 1978, though her initial tenure through 1976 emphasized committee work in a minority party context requiring cross-aisle cooperation typical of Vermont's small-state politics.[18] In her second term beginning January 1975, she was appointed minority whip—the first woman in that Democratic leadership role—and joined the House Appropriations Committee, influencing budget deliberations on state expenditures including education and human services.[1][16] As a representative, she prioritized issues aligned with women's traditional advocacy areas, such as education funding and children's services, amid bipartisan efforts to address rural infrastructure needs in Vermont's mixed urban-rural districts.[6] Specific voting records from this period show consistent support for incremental reforms, though comprehensive bill passage data for her sponsored measures remains limited in public archives, with her influence growing through committee roles rather than solo legislation.[17]Lieutenant Governor of Vermont (1978–1980)
In the November 7, 1978, general election, Madeleine Kunin, the Democratic nominee, defeated Republican Peter P. Smith to become Vermont's Lieutenant Governor, securing 62,372 votes or 50.63% of the total.[22] [23] She took office on January 4, 1979, succeeding Republican Brian D. Burns, and served through 1980 as part of her first term, which extended to January 1981.[1] As Lieutenant Governor, Kunin presided over the Vermont State Senate in its 30-member capacity, maintaining order during sessions and eligible to cast tie-breaking votes in the event of equal division, per the state constitution. The role, compensated modestly at around $10,000 annually during this era, was part-time and ceremonial, offering limited opportunities for substantive policy influence amid Republican dominance in the governorship under Richard A. Snelling, who prioritized fiscal restraint during the tail end of the 1970s energy crises and stagflation.[1] No records indicate Kunin exercised tie-breaking authority on major fiscal or energy-related legislation in the Senate during 1979–1980, reflecting the position's procedural constraints and the chamber's partisan balance favoring Republicans. This tenure provided Kunin initial executive experience and facilitated connections within Vermont's minority Democratic networks, though her visibility remained secondary to the governorship's agenda.[17]Governorship of Vermont (1985–1991)
Elections and Political Context
In the 1984 Vermont gubernatorial election on November 6, Democratic candidate Madeleine Kunin defeated Republican John J. Easton Jr., the incumbent lieutenant governor, with 116,938 votes representing 50.07% of the popular vote to Easton's 113,217 votes or 48.53%.[24][25] The race occurred amid Vermont's gradual erosion of long-standing Republican dominance, which had prevailed in nearly every gubernatorial contest since the state's founding, with Democrats holding the office only briefly in the early 1960s and 1970s.[26] Influxes of out-of-state migrants, particularly from urban Northeast areas seeking rural lifestyles, began diluting the GOP's rural Yankee base and fostering a more competitive political environment by the mid-1980s.[27] Kunin's 1986 re-election bid on November 4 faced a fragmented field, including Republican Peter Plympton Smith and Independent Bernard Sanders, resulting in a plurality victory of 92,485 votes or 47.03% against Smith's 75,239 votes (38.24%) and Sanders' roughly 14% share.[28][29] This narrow margin reflected ongoing partisan divisions, as Republicans retained legislative majorities, creating a divided government that required Kunin to negotiate across aisles for policy implementation.[30] Voter turnout hovered around 55-60% of eligible voters, consistent with Vermont's historical patterns in off-year contests, though exact figures varied by county with higher participation in Republican strongholds like the Northeast Kingdom.[28]| Election Year | Candidate (Party) | Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Madeleine Kunin (D) | 116,938 | 50.07% |
| John J. Easton Jr. (R) | 113,217 | 48.53% | |
| 1986 | Madeleine Kunin (D) | 92,485 | 47.03% |
| Peter P. Smith (R) | 75,239 | 38.24% | |
| Bernard Sanders (I) | ~24,000 | ~12% | |
| 1988 | Madeleine Kunin (D) | 133,594 | 55.25% |
| Michael Bernhardt (R) | 105,319 | 43.55% |