Princess Hedy, Mrs Bennington
Princess Hedy, Mrs Bennington | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 63rd United States Secretary of State | |
| In office January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Eagleburger |
| Succeeded by | Colin Powell |
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 104th district | |
| In office 1975–1983 | |
| Preceded by | Adam Lowe |
| Succeeded by | Edward Houghton |
| 52nd Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1983 – January 20, 1993 | |
| Lieutenant | Alfred DelBello Warren Anderson (acting) Stan Lundine |
| Preceded by | Hugh Carey |
| Succeeded by | George Pataki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hedy Maria Charlotte Charles Eva Kiesler March 11, 1951 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (1970–present) |
| Spouse | James Bennington (m. 1981) |
| Children |
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| Parents | |
| Education | Columbia University (LL.B.) |
Princess Hedy, Mrs Bennington (Hedy Maria Charlotte Charles Eva Kiesler; born 11 March 1951) is a former American politician, government official, diplomat, and an extended member of the British royal family. Throughout her decades long political career, she first served as the Assembly member for the 104th district of the New York Assembly from 1977 to 1983, before being elected as the first female Governor of New York the same year, in which capacity she served until a decade later, when she resigned from her position to subsequently serve as also the first female 63rd United States Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton until 2001, when she was then succeeded by Republican-appointed Colin Powell.
During her tenure as first the Assembly member, and later governor for New York, Hedy consistently advocated a series of generally moderate-to-progressive policies and initiatives. As Governor of New York in particular, she was able to decisively balance both far-reaching measures generally aimed at improving state welfare and infrastructure, whilst also aiming for an overall balanced budget. She also most notably presided over a major overhaul of the state's criminal justice system, in which she, with both Democratic and Republican scrutiny, exempted the death penalty for several crimes punishable by death, while emphasising rehabilitation programs alongside more "humane" ways of execution in several cases.
On January 20th 1993, she was chosen by the newly inaugurated President, Bill Clinton to become the first female, and 63rd United States Secretary of State. Then, in her capacity as the Secretary of State, she largely steered America's foreign policy into a slightly more isolationist nature in light of the fall of the Soviet Union, while concurrently emphasising human rights and global stability to be the country's major foreign policy themes. On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Hedy re-emphasised the need for a two-state solution between Israel and the PLO. However, amidst her generally liberal record, she was in favour of the controversial American intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Haiti, and was critical of the general global inaction towards the 1994 Rwandan genocide. On January 20th 2001, she was replaced by Colin Powell, whom was appointed by the victor of the 2000 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush.
During the tenure of Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, Hedy became a routine critic of the former, as she characterised Pompeo's conduct in office as "disgraceful", and "a major embarrassment to one of the most esteemed offices of the federal government". Additionally, she is the 2nd cousin once removed of the current Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom.
Early Life
Hedy was born on March 11th 1951 as the youngest child and daughter of British royal, Prince Charles, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and famed American actress, Hedy Lamarr. As the youngest out of five children, Hedy was doted on heavily by Lamarr whom, when the young Hedy was only two years old, followed her husband to Sweden along with the young Hedy and her four other siblings. Reportedly, the temporary departure from their New York residence to her paternal grandparents' country had been prompted by the difficulties surrounding her mother's ability in raising all five of her children at once. Thus, upon the family's arrival in Sweden, Hedy fell under the dual care of her mother and paternal grandmother, Princess Astrid, whom was then described as being "openly warm and supportive" of the family of seven.
Primary & Secondary School Years
Stockholm International School
Despite the generally foreign nature of her new residence, that being the Drottningholm Palace, Hedy nevertheless grew up in a generally well condition under the care of her parents and her royal Swedish grandparents. Then, at the age of six, she was enrolled at the prestigious Stockholm International School, where she underwent her studies along with a host of more than a hundred of selected students from across other countries outside Sweden. Thus, for the next four years, Hedy's family lived mostly in the Scandinavian country, although on several occasions every year, they would at times also return back to the United States, where she would then spend time at her parents' Albany residence instead. Later on, acording to her own siblings, a young Hedy was described as having favoured spending her free time with either swimming or ballet dancing, with the latter activity having been inherited from her own mother. Furthermore, she was also reported to had shown the most interest in her mother's work, as a young Hedy would often supposedly "bother" the actress during her "tinkering" activities, much to the latter's amusement, as Lamarr would often let Hedy, and her other children in on her various works herself.
UN international School
At the age of ten, Hedy and her family formally returned back to the United States whereupon her return, she was then subsequently enlisted at the United Nations International School in New York City. For the first few weeks, Hedy reportedly struggled with her education as she initially found it difficult in continuing her primary education at a much different school. Nevertheless, she thereafter excelled well in her studies, with her interest in the subject of history, particularly that of European history, being noted by her educators.
By the age of fifteen, Hedy's particularly distinctive levels of intelligence, later believed to had been inherited from her own highly intelligent mother, were quick to attract her educators' attention, whom promptly recommended for the young princess an academic scholarship in history, Hedy's favourite subject. However, much to her own parents' surprise, she unexpectedly chose to pass on the scholarship for a presumed law career in the future instead, a decision which she later attributed to the issues at the time surrounding the final years of the presidency of Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson.
University Years
Upon graduating from the international school with a generally well above performance in her academic studies, Hedy was able to promptly enroll at the local Columbia University, during which time, at the age of nineteen, she became an official party member of the Democratic Party. At the same time, she became actively involved in the nationwide protests against the Vietnam War, which she later referred to as a "neocolonialist war disguised as a righteous ideological crusade".
Eventually, at the age of twenty two, she graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Laws degree.