Office of the First Lady of the United States

Office of the First Lady
Office overview
Formed1977[1]
HeadquartersEast Wing of The White House
Employees11[2]
Office executive
  • Chief of Staff to the First Lady, Vacant
Parent OfficeWhite House Office
WebsiteFirst Lady Jill Biden

The Office of the First Lady (OFL) is the staff accountable to the first lady of the United States. The office and its responsibilities, while not constitutionally mandated, have grown as the role of the first lady has grown and formalized through the history of the United States.[3] The Office of the First Lady is an entity of the White House Office, part of the Executive Office of the President.[4] It is located in the East Wing.

History

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Though the persona, activities, and initiatives of the first lady have always been significant to the history of the United States, the first first lady to hire federally-funded staff was Edith Roosevelt, who hired Belle Hagner as the first White House social secretary on October 2, 1901.[5] Eleanor Roosevelt became the first first lady to expand the office beyond social and administrative secretaries by hiring Malvina Thompson as her personal secretary[6] and Jackie Kennedy was the first to employ a press secretary.[7][3]

Under Rosalynn Carter, the first lady's staff became known as the Office of the First Lady. She organized the office into four major departments: projects and community liaison, press and research, schedule and advance, and social and personal; and was the first to add a chief of staff.[1] She was also the first to move her own work office into the East Wing. Though the role of the office has grown over the years, it primarily supports the first lady in promoting the agenda and campaigns of the president. Further to that, it provides support for the agenda of the first lady, who chooses causes and initiatives to campaign for during their time at the White House.

Organization

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The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden

The first lady, Jill Biden, has her own staff.[8][9][10][11][12] The information in the table below shows the key members of the current staff.

Office Incumbent
Chief of Staff to the First Lady Vacant
Press Secretary Vanessa Valdivia[13]
Communications Director Elizabeth Alexander[14]
White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo
White House Chief Floral Designer Hedieh Ghaffarian[15]
White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford[16]
White House Chief Usher Robert B. Downing[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Rosalynn Carter—Miller Center". Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. ^ Andrzejewski, Adam (June 30, 2020). "Trump's Leaner White House 2020 Payroll Saved Taxpayers $23.5 Million Since 2017". Forbes. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "The First Lady & Her Role - The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum". Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Executive Office of the President". United States Government. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  5. ^ "TR Center - Isabella Hagner". Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Malvina Thompson". Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  7. ^ "First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's Press Secretary Pamela Turnure Accepts Gift Recording of Pablo Casals' White House Concert". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 21 February 1962. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Tina Tchen". whitehouse.gov. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2016 – via National Archives.
  9. ^ "Executive Office of the President". 23 December 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. ^ Goodin, Emily (11 December 2013). "Michelle Obama gets new press secretary". Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. ^ "White House Announces New Chief Floral Designer, Hedieh Ghaffarian". whitehouse.gov. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2016 – via National Archives.
  12. ^ "White House Hires First Woman Chef". CBS News. 14 August 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. ^ Kate Bennett (26 July 2022). "First on CNN: Jill Biden's press secretary leaving White House". CNN. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  14. ^ "Biden names all-woman communications team". November 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "White House Announces New Chief Floral Designer, Hedieh Ghaffarian". whitehouse.gov. September 17, 2015 – via National Archives.
  16. ^ "White House hires first woman executive chef". NBC News. 14 August 2005.
  17. ^ Brower, Kate (November 30, 2021). "Bidens hire Robert B. Downing to be the new White House chief usher". CNN.
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