Thelma Stovall

Thelma Stovall
Thelma Stovall in 1967: official portrait as Kentucky Secretary of State
47th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 9, 1975 – December 11, 1979
Governor	Julian Carroll
Preceded by	Julian Carroll
Succeeded by	Martha Layne Collins
70th, 72nd, & 76th Secretary of State of Kentucky
In office January 1972 – January 1976
Governor	Wendell Ford Julian Carroll
Preceded by	Kenneth F. Harper
Succeeded by	Drexell R. Davis
In office January 1964 – January 1968
Governor	Ned Breathitt Louie Nunn
Preceded by	Henry H. Carter
Succeeded by	Elmer Begley
In office January 1956 – January 1960
Governor	Happy Chandler Bert Combs
Preceded by	Charles K. O'Connell
Succeeded by	Henry H. Carter
Kentucky State Treasurer
In office 1968–1972
Governor	Louie Nunn Wendell Ford
Preceded by	Emerson Beauchamp
Succeeded by	Drexell R. Davis
In office 1960–1964
Governor	Bert Combs Ned Breathitt
Preceded by	Henry H. Carter
Succeeded by	Emerson Beauchamp
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office 1950
Personal details
Born	Thelma Loyace Hawkins (1919-04-01)April 1, 1919 Munfordville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	February 4, 1994(1994-02-04) (aged 74) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Spouse	Lonnie Raymond Stovall
Parent(s)	Addie Mae (Goodman) and Samuel Dewey Hawkins
Occupation	Politician, labor and civil rights activist

Thelma Loyace Stovall (née Hawkins; April 1, 1919 – February 4, 1994) was a pioneering American politician in the state of Kentucky. In 1949, she won election as state representative for Louisville and served three consecutive terms. Over the next two decades, Stovall was elected Kentucky State Treasurer twice and Secretary of State of Kentucky three times. She capped her career as the 47th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1975–1979) in the administration of her fellow Democrat, Governor Julian Carroll. She was the first woman to hold the office.

Stovall was known for her assertive style. Several times in her career, when she found herself in the position of acting governor, she was unafraid of exercising that power – she issued gubernatorial pardons, called the Kentucky General Assembly into session to consider bills, and, most famously, issued an executive injunction against the Assembly's attempt to repeal Kentucky's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Throughout her career, Stovall was an ardent advocate of labor and women's rights.