Office of the First Lady of the United States
Encyclopedia
The Office of the First Lady of the United States is accountable to the First Lady of the United States
for her to carry out her duties as hostess of the White House, and is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House. The First Lady has her own staff that includes the White House Social Secretary, a Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Chief Floral Designer, Executive Chef, etc. The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office
, part of the Executive Office of the President
.
could be widely considered to be the first First Lady to have a staff, whose niece served as social secretary. Florence Harding
had a "funded staff", a social secretary and an assistant, Grace Coolidge had a social secretary, Polly Randolph.
Eleanor Roosevelt
had a staff of only two, her personal secretary and aide Malvina Thompson
, and social secretary Edith Helm; at first, the three of them had a second-floor office in the Mansion, but later initiated the use of a first lady's office in the newly constructed East Wing. Bess Truman
had a personal secretary and used Mrs. Roosevelt's former White House sitting room while two other secretaries, plus the White House Military Aide, were located in the East Wing. Mamie Eisenhower
had Mrs. Roosevelt's old desk placed in her bedroom. Mamie's social secretary headed a small staff in the East Wing. Jackie Kennedy had a staff of forty in the East Wing, directed by the social secretary; her unofficial office was the Treaty Room
on the second floor of the Mansion. Lady Bird Johnson
and Pat Nixon
both used a sitting room/dressing room adjacent to the bedroom as their offices; their staffs were in the East Wing. Betty Ford
used the Treaty Room as her office and also had a desk in her sitting room.
Rosalynn Carter
broke tradition and set up an office for herself in the East Wing, and for the first time it was formally called "Office of the First Lady." Her principal assistant was the first to hold a separately identified position with the title "chief of staff to the first lady." Nancy Reagan
moved her office back into the center of the second floor of the Mansion, though her staff remained in the East Wing; she benefited from the 1978 statute (PL 95-570) which authorizes "assistance and services . . . to be provided to the spouse of the President in connection with assistance provided by such spouse to the President in the discharge of the President’s duties and responsibilities."
Hillary Clinton broke tradition even further: the President gave her an office on the second floor of the West Wing itself; her staff of twenty (plus another fifteen interns and volunteers) was divided between a suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the traditional locus of the East Wing.
First Lady Laura Bush
had her office in the East Wing, and delivered the President's radio address to the nation on November 17, 2001. She undertook many foreign trips on her own, meeting and talking with several foreign chiefs of state.
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
for her to carry out her duties as hostess of the White House, and is also in charge of all social and ceremonial events of the White House. The First Lady has her own staff that includes the White House Social Secretary, a Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, Chief Floral Designer, Executive Chef, etc. The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office
White House Office
The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The White House Office is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, which was temporarily Pete Rouse, replaced on January 6, 2010 with the permanent appointment of William M. Daley, who is also...
, part of the Executive Office of the President
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
.
History
First Lady Caroline HarrisonCaroline Harrison
Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison , wife of Benjamin Harrison, was first lady of the United States from 1889 until her death. She was the first “first lady” to be born in October.-Early life:...
could be widely considered to be the first First Lady to have a staff, whose niece served as social secretary. Florence Harding
Florence Harding
Florence Mabel Kling "Flossie" Harding , wife of President Warren G...
had a "funded staff", a social secretary and an assistant, Grace Coolidge had a social secretary, Polly Randolph.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
had a staff of only two, her personal secretary and aide Malvina Thompson
Malvina Thompson
Malvina "Tommy" Thompson was a private secretary and personal aide to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a pioneer of the East Wing staff, being the first staffer for a First Lady of the United States who was not a social secretary.-Career:Thompson began her adult life as an office secretary,...
, and social secretary Edith Helm; at first, the three of them had a second-floor office in the Mansion, but later initiated the use of a first lady's office in the newly constructed East Wing. Bess Truman
Bess Truman
Bess Truman , was the wife of Harry S. Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953.-Early life:...
had a personal secretary and used Mrs. Roosevelt's former White House sitting room while two other secretaries, plus the White House Military Aide, were located in the East Wing. Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Eisenhower
Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower was the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.-Early life:...
had Mrs. Roosevelt's old desk placed in her bedroom. Mamie's social secretary headed a small staff in the East Wing. Jackie Kennedy had a staff of forty in the East Wing, directed by the social secretary; her unofficial office was the Treaty Room
Treaty Room
The Treaty Room is located on the second floor of the White House, the official residence of the President of the United States. The room is a part of the first family's private apartments and is used as a study by the president....
on the second floor of the Mansion. Lady Bird Johnson
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout her life, she was an advocate for beautification of the nation's cities and highways and conservation of natural resources and made that...
and Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon
Thelma Catherine "Pat" Ryan Nixon was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. She was commonly known as Patricia or Pat Nixon.Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California...
both used a sitting room/dressing room adjacent to the bedroom as their offices; their staffs were in the East Wing. Betty Ford
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford , better known as Betty Ford, was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 during the presidency of her husband Gerald Ford...
used the Treaty Room as her office and also had a desk in her sitting room.
Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
broke tradition and set up an office for herself in the East Wing, and for the first time it was formally called "Office of the First Lady." Her principal assistant was the first to hold a separately identified position with the title "chief of staff to the first lady." Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
moved her office back into the center of the second floor of the Mansion, though her staff remained in the East Wing; she benefited from the 1978 statute (PL 95-570) which authorizes "assistance and services . . . to be provided to the spouse of the President in connection with assistance provided by such spouse to the President in the discharge of the President’s duties and responsibilities."
Hillary Clinton broke tradition even further: the President gave her an office on the second floor of the West Wing itself; her staff of twenty (plus another fifteen interns and volunteers) was divided between a suite in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the traditional locus of the East Wing.
First Lady Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
had her office in the East Wing, and delivered the President's radio address to the nation on November 17, 2001. She undertook many foreign trips on her own, meeting and talking with several foreign chiefs of state.
Key staff, current (Mrs. Obama)
- Chief of Staff to the First Lady: Tina TchenChristina TchenChristina M. "Tina" Tchen is an American lawyer. She serves as Assistant to President Barack Obama; Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama; and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls...
- Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady: Melissa WinterMelissa WinterMelissa Winter was named by Barack Obama's office of presidential transition on November 24, 2008, as Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady....
- Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady: David Medina
- Deputy Chief of Staff to the First Lady: Melissa Winter
- Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady: Camille Johnston
- Deputy Communications Director for the First Lady: Semonti Stephens
- Press Secretary for the First Lady: Hannah AugustHannah AugustHannah August is the Press Secretary for the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. She was previously a White House regional communications director and a spokeswoman at United States Department of Justice.-Early life and education:...
- Director of Policy and Projects: Jocelyn Frye
- Deputy Director of Policy and Projects: Trooper Sanders
- Director of Scheduling and Advance: Franny Starkey Sanguin
- Deputy Director of Scheduling & Events: Jennifer Goodman
- Special Assistant for Scheduling &Traveling Aide: Kristen Jarvis
- Deputy Director of Scheduling & Events: Jennifer Goodman
- Associate Counsel to the President and Counsel to the First Lady:
- Special Assistant to the President and White House Social SecretaryWhite House Social SecretaryThe White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.-Function:...
: Jeremy BernardJeremy BernardJeremy Bernard currently serves as the White House Social Secretary. Bernard was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama on February 25, 2011. He is the first male, as well as the first openly gay individual, to serve as White House Social Secretary.-Early life:Bernard was born and...
- Deputy White House Social Secretary: Ebs Burnough
- Deputy White House Social Secretary: Joe Reinstein
- Deputy White House Social Secretary: Samantha Tubman