Kathleen Kennedy Townsend | |
---|---|
![]() Townsend in 2014 | |
6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland | |
In office January 18, 1995 – January 15, 2003 | |
Governor | Parris Glendening |
Preceded by | Melvin Steinberg |
Succeeded by | Michael Steele |
Personal details | |
Born | Kathleen Hartington Kennedy July 4, 1951 Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
David Townsend (m. 1973) |
Children | 4, including Maeve |
Parent(s) | Robert F. Kennedy Ethel Kennedy |
Relatives | See Kennedy family |
Education | Radcliffe College (BA) University of New Mexico (JD) |
Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend (born July 4, 1951) is an American attorney who was the sixth (and first female) lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She ran unsuccessfully for governor of Maryland in 2002.
In 2010, Townsend became the chair of the non-profit American Bridge, an organization whose focus is to raise funds for Democratic candidates and causes.[1] Since 2021, she has served in the United States Department of Labor as an advisor on retirement.[2] She is a member of the prominent political Kennedy family, and is currently the oldest living grandchild of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. As of 2023, Townsend is the last white person to have served as lieutenant governor of Maryland.