Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana, 1952-

<p>A childhood refugee from Cuba, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen emerged as a powerful voice in her South Florida community and as a critic of Fidel Castro’s communist regime. In 1989 she made history as the first Hispanic woman and the first Cuban American elected to the U.S. Congress. In her three decades in the House she left her mark as a foreign policy leader and human rights advocate, most especially from her position on the Foreign Affairs Committee. “I still can’t believe that I was chair of that wonderful committee: the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Ros-Lehtinen mused. “And to think that just a few years before, I had come, sitting in a little intern desk, not even part of the dais.”</p>

<p>Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was born Ileana Ros in Havana, Cuba, on July 15, 1952, to Enrique Ros and Amanda Adato Ros. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to the United States shortly after Castro came to power in 1959. “We came to the United States on one of the last commercial flights leaving Cuba, to the United States, a Pan-Am flight,” she recalled, “and we were so optimistic that this revolution would blow over that we bought a round trip ticket.” As the communist dictator consolidated control, and the military state strengthened, Ros-Lehtinen and her family joined a growing number of Cuban exiles who settled in Miami and gradually made the United States their home. Her mother worked in a hotel on Miami Beach, and her father found employment in a local laundry shop. After graduating from Southwest Miami High School in 1970, Ros-Lehtinen earned an associate degree from Miami-Dade Community College in 1972, a bachelor’s in higher education from Florida International University (FIU) in 1975, and a master’s in educational leadership from FIU in 1985. In 2004 she earned a PhD in higher education from the University of Miami. She also founded a private elementary school with her parents, working as a teacher and as its chief administrator.</p>

<p>As an educator, Ros-Lehtinen routinely served as a liaison for immigrant parents needing assistance translating forms and navigating the complexities of the U.S. government. This outreach led her to seek political office to expand her level of assistance beyond individual cases. In 1982 Ros-Lehtinen won a seat in the Florida house of representatives, making headlines as the first Hispanic woman to serve in the state legislature. Four years later, she won a seat in the Florida senate. In the state legislature, she met and married her husband, Dexter Lehtinen, who also served in the Florida house and senate, and who went on to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Ros-Lehtinen has two children and two stepchildren.</p>

<p>Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (/ˌɪliˈɑːnə ˈrɒs ˈleɪtənən/; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented Florida's 27th congressional district from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She was Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 2011–2013. In 1989, Ros-Lehtinen won a special election and became the first Cuban American and Latina elected to Congress. She was also the first Republican woman elected to the House from Florida. Ros-Lehtinen gave the first Republican response to the State of the Union address in Spanish in 2011, and gave the third in 2014.</p>

<p>In September 2011, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican member of the U.S. Congress to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. In July 2012, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican in the House to support same-sex marriage.</p>

<p>On April 30, 2017, Ros-Lehtinen announced that she would not be running for re-election in 2018. She was succeeded by former Secretary of Health and Human Services and University of Miami president Donna Shalala.</p>