Martha Pope
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Martha S. Pope is an American
public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
who participated in peace initiatives in Northern Ireland that led to the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
in 1998. She also served as the
sergeant at arms of the United States Senate The sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the United States Senate (originally known as the doorkeeper of the Senate from April 7, 1789 – 1798) is the protocol officer, executive officer, and highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer of th ...
from 1991 to 1994, the first woman to hold the role. She briefly served as
Secretary of the United States Senate The secretary of the United States Senate is an officer of the United States Senate. The secretary supervises an extensive array of offices and services to expedite the day-to-day operations of that body. The office is somewhat analogous to that o ...
for a few months in 1994 before she was asked to assist in the Northern Ireland peace process. Pope is the only person in the history of the U.S. Senate to hold both the important Secretary and Sergeant at Arms positions. She was also Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader
George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...
. She is also a pastel artist.


Early life and education

Pope was born in
New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek, it is northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, approximately so ...
but grew up in
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
in 1967, where she majored in sociology and anthropology and minored in art before earning a master’s degree in art education at
Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...
.


Career in public service

After teaching art for five years in elementary and junior high school, Pope moved to Washington, D.C., to work for Senator
Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1984 and 1988 Democratic presidential nominations, until in 1988, he dropped out amid revelations of ex ...
from 1975 to 1977. In 1977, Pope left Capitol Hill to work for the
National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (i ...
, only to return to the Hill in 1979 to work for Senator
John Culver John Chester Culver (August 8, 1932 – December 26, 2018) was an American politician, writer, and lawyer who was elected to both the United States House of Representatives (1965–1975) and United States Senate (1975–1981) from Iowa. He w ...
. When Culver lost his bid for reelection in 1980, Senator
George J. Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 19 ...
kept her on at the Environment and Public Works Committee staff before hiring her first as his administrative assistant in 1985 and later as the chief of staff in 1989 when he became majority leader. In 1989, the second edition of ''The Almanac of the Unelected'' characterize her as "glue - she makes things work." In 1991, Mitchell had Pope appointed Sergeant at Arms to replace the retiring Henry K. Giugni. While serving as Sergeant at Arms, Pope updated the Senate's antiquated dress code in 1993 to allow women to wear pants on the Senate floor. This brought the Senate dress code rules more inline with contemporary rules used in the business world, in state legislatures, and in the House of Representatives. After Walter J. Stewart announced his retirement as Secretary to the Senate in 1994, Mitchell made arrangements so that Pope would succeed Stewart as Secretary prior to Mitchell's own planned retirement from the Senate. In January 1995, Pope left her job at the Senate to assist her former boss, the newly appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland and former Senator Mitchell, as Senior Advisor for the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations until July 1998, after the peace agreement went in effect. In recognition of "her outstanding contribution to peace talks, which led to the Good Friday Agreement", Pope was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) from
Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
on July 4, 2019. In 2001, Pope became a member of the
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
board of trustees.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Martha People from New Castle, Pennsylvania Living people University of Connecticut alumni Southern Connecticut State University alumni Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate Women in law enforcement American pastel artists Secretaries of the United States Senate American women diplomats 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women artists Painters from Pennsylvania Painters from Washington, D.C. Year of birth missing (living people) American women pastel artists