Topic: Elizabeth Dole

Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole (born July 29, 1936) is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator.

A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School, Dole served as Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor under George H.W. Bush before becoming head of the American Red Cross. She then served as North Carolina's first female Senator from 2003 to 2009. She is a member of the Republican Party and former chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She is married to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole.

Dole was born Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford in Salisbury, North Carolina, to Mary Ella (née Cathey; 1901–2004) and John Van Hanford (1893–1978).