Kirkpatrick, Jeanne

Kirkpatrick, Jeanne (b. Jordon)

(1926– ) political scientist, government official; born in Duncan, Okla. A professor at George Washington University (1967–81), she was a Democratic activist, who wrote Political Woman (1974). Opposed to President Carter's foreign policy, she switched parties, becoming America's first woman ambassador to the United Nations (1981–85), often strongly attacking communist governments. She returned to teaching in 1985.