Whitmire, Kathryn J. (Kathryn Jean), 1946-

Kathryn Jean Whitmire (née Niederhofer; born August 15, 1946) is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston, serving for five consecutive two-year terms from 1982 to 1991.

Born in Houston, Kathy Niederhofer received her basic education in the Houston Independent School District, ultimately graduating from San Jacinto High School. She then enrolled at the University of Houston, and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting in 1968. She continued her studies at the university to earn a Master of Accountancy degree in 1970. After graduating, she began working in the Houston office of the well-known accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand. She also began working to qualify as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and opened an accounting firm with her husband. She also found time and energy to serve on the faculty of the Department of Business Management at the University of Houston–Downtown. From 1977 to 1981, she was the city controller, a position which made her the first female elected to any office in the city. Whitmire drew national attention when she defeated former Harris County Sheriff Jack Heard in her election as mayor. The election drew national focus because it symbolized a major political realignment in the fourth-largest city in the United States.

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