Hull, Jane Dee, 1935-2020

Jane Dee Hull (née Bowersock; August 8, 1935 – April 16, 2020) was an American politician and educator. In 1997, she ascended to the office of governor of Arizona following the resignation of Fife Symington, becoming the state's 20th governor. Hull was elected in her own right the following year, and served until 2003. Hull was the first woman formally elected as Governor of Arizona, and the second woman to serve in the office after Rose Mofford. She was a member of the Republican Party.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Hull was a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in education. Hull worked as an elementary school teacher while her husband studied to become an obstetrician. She moved to Arizona with her husband, Terry, in 1962 where he began working on the Navajo Nation, while Jane raised the couple's four children and taught English. In 1964, the family moved to Phoenix, where she continued to raise her family. A decade later, she started her political career, and became involved with Republican women groups, in addition to volunteering on political campaigns.

In 1978, Hull was elected to her first political office, as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives. During her tenure in office, she would become House Majority Whip and Speaker of the House. In 1994, she was elected to the office of Secretary of State of Arizona, becoming the first Republican to hold the office in more than six decades. After ascending to the office of Governor of Arizona following Fife Symington's resignation, Hull was elected Governor in 1998 over former Mayor of Phoenix Paul Johnson, in a landslide election. Hull was constitutionally barred from running for a second full term in 2002, and retired from public service. After leaving office, she spent three months in New York City, as a public delegate from the United States to the United Nations General Assembly. After the death of Rose Mofford on September 15, 2016, Hull became the oldest living Governor of Arizona, in addition to being the oldest living Secretary of State of Arizona. She died in Phoenix.