Rosalynn Carter - First Lady of The United States

First Lady of The United States

In January 1977, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter walked hand-in-hand down Pennsylvania Avenue during his presidential inauguration parade. For the inaugural balls, she wore the same gown she had worn six years earlier at the balls in Atlanta when her husband became governor.

During her husband's administration, Carter supported her husband's public policies, as well as his social and personal life. In order to remain fully informed, she sat in on Cabinet meetings at the invitation of the President. She represented him in meetings with domestic and foreign leaders, most notably as an envoy to Latin America in 1977. Carter also led a delegation to Thailand in 1979 to address the problems of Cambodian and Laotian refugees. Helping the refugees, particularly the children, became a special cause for her. When the cultural exchange program Friendship Force International launched at the White House on March 1, 1977, she became honorary chairperson, a position she held until 2002.

Carter served as an active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health. On behalf of the Mental Health System Bill, enacted in 1980, she testified before a Senate committee, the second First Lady to appear before the Congress (the first being Eleanor Roosevelt). In addition, Carter was a strong proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment.

She oversaw her family at the White House. Her daughter, Amy, attracted much public attention. The two youngest sons, Chip and Jeff, and their families also lived in the White House. Other members of the family, including son Jack and his wife and children, were frequent visitors.

Rosalynn Carter's Secret Service codename is "Dancer".