Mary Landrieu

Mary Landrieu
Official portrait, 2009
United States Senator from Louisiana
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	J. Bennett Johnston
Succeeded by	Bill Cassidy
Chair of the Senate Energy Committee
In office February 12, 2014 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Ron Wyden
Succeeded by	Lisa Murkowski
Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee
In office January 3, 2009 – February 12, 2014
Preceded by	John Kerry
Succeeded by	Maria Cantwell
Treasurer of Louisiana
In office January 1, 1988 – January 8, 1996
Governor	Edwin Edwards (1988; 1992–1996) Buddy Roemer (1988–1992)
Preceded by	Mary Evelyn Parker
Succeeded by	Ken Duncan
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 90th district
In office 1980–1988
Preceded by	Clyde F. Bel Jr.
Succeeded by	Mitch Landrieu
Personal details
Born	Mary Loretta Landrieu (1955-11-23) November 23, 1955 (age 68) Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Frank Snellings ​ (m. 1988)​
Relations	Mitch Landrieu (brother)
Children	2
Parent	Moon Landrieu (father)
Education	Louisiana State University (BA)
Signature
Mary Landrieu's voice Landrieu chairs a hearing on the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 Recorded October 18, 2011

Mary Loretta Landrieu (/ˈlændruː/ LAN-drew;^[1] born November 23, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as a United States senator from Louisiana from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Landrieu served as the Louisiana State Treasurer from 1988 to 1996, and in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980 to 1988.

Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the daughter of Moon Landrieu, former New Orleans mayor and secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the sister of Mitch Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans and Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana. She received her baccalaureate degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She won a close race for the U.S. Senate in 1996; she was re-elected by increasing margins in competitive races in 2002 and 2008, but was defeated in 2014 by U.S. Representative Bill Cassidy. Until John Bel Edwards was sworn in as Governor in 2016, Landrieu had been the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Louisiana.

Landrieu came to national attention in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 after she publicly criticized the federal response to the natural disaster. Her opposition to the public option played a major role in the crafting of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as she did not agree to support it until additional concessions were granted to support Louisiana's Medicaid system. In 2011, she became a cardinal (chair) of the Senate's Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. She chaired the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship from 2009 to 2014, and chaired the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from 2014 to 2015.