Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (/ˌɪliˈɑːnə ˈrɒs ˈleɪtənən/; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented Florida's 27th congressional district from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She was Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 2011–2013. In 1989, Ros-Lehtinen won a special election and became the first Cuban American elected to Congress. She was also the first Republican woman elected to the House from Florida. Ros-Lehtinen gave the first Republican response to the State of the Union address in Spanish in 2011, and gave the third in 2014.[1]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ros and the second or maternal family name is Adato.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
18th district (1989–2013)
27th district (2013–2019)
Roberta Fox
Redistricted
American
2, including Rodrigo Lehtinen
Enrique Ros
Amanda Adato
In September 2011, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican member of the U.S. Congress to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.[2] In July 2012, Ros-Lehtinen became the first Republican in the House to support same-sex marriage.[3]
On April 30, 2017, Ros-Lehtinen announced that she would not be running for re-election in 2018.[4]
Early life and education
Ileana Ros y Adato was born in Havana, Cuba, one of two children born to Enrique Ros (1924–2013), who later became a businessman and anti–Fidel Castro activist, and his wife, Amanda Adato. The family immigrated to the United States when Ileana was seven years old. She received her Bachelor of Arts in education and her Master of Arts in educational leadership from Florida International University. She attended the University of Miami, where she earned an Ed.D in higher education.[5]
Ros-Lehtinen was raised Catholic and is now an Episcopalian.[5][6] Ros-Lehtinen's maternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews, originally from the Ottoman Empire, who had been active in Cuba's Jewish community.[7] Her maternal grandfather left the city of Kırklareli for Cuba in 1913, fleeing the devastation and economic collapse caused by the First Balkan War.[8] Her mother later converted to Catholicism to marry her father.[7][9]
Personal life
In 1984, Ros-Lehtinen married Dexter Lehtinen, a former attorney for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District, with whom she has two children, Rodrigo, a transgender LGBT rights activist, and Patricia Marie.[88] She is also step-mother to Katherine and Douglas Lehtinen. She is an Episcopalian.[89]
