March Fong Eu | |||||||||||
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United States Ambassador to Micronesia | |||||||||||
In office May 18, 1994 – July 5, 1996 | |||||||||||
President | Bill Clinton | ||||||||||
Preceded by | Aurelia E. Brazeal | ||||||||||
Succeeded by | Cheryl Ann Martin | ||||||||||
24th Secretary of State of California | |||||||||||
In office January 6, 1975 – May 17, 1994 | |||||||||||
Governor | Jerry Brown George Deukmejian Pete Wilson | ||||||||||
Preceded by | Jerry Brown | ||||||||||
Succeeded by | Tony Miller | ||||||||||
Member of the California State Assembly from the 15th district | |||||||||||
In office January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1974 | |||||||||||
Preceded by | Nicholas C. Petris | ||||||||||
Succeeded by | S. Floyd Mori | ||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||
Born | March Kong March 29, 1922 Oakdale, California, U.S. | ||||||||||
Died | December 21, 2017 Irvine, California, U.S. | (aged 95)||||||||||
Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||
Spouses | Chester Fong
(m. 1941; div. 1970)Henry Eu (m. 1973) | ||||||||||
Children | 2, including Matt | ||||||||||
Education | University of California, Berkeley (BA) Mills College (M.Ed.) Stanford University (Ed.D.) | ||||||||||
Occupation | Dental hygienist | ||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Chinese | 余江月桂 | ||||||||||
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March Fong Eu (née Kong; March 29, 1922 – December 21, 2017) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 24th secretary of state of California for five terms from 1975 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the California State Assembly from 1967 to 1974 and later as the United States ambassador to Micronesia under Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1996.
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Eu was the first Asian American woman to hold statewide constitutional office in the United States and was also the first woman to serve as Secretary of State of California. She is the adoptive mother of Matt Fong, a Republican who served one term as treasurer of California.