August 16 …

Carol Moseley Braun, born August 16, 1947 in Chicago, is an American attorney, diplomat, and politician who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999.

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After earning a law degree from the University of Chicago, Moseley Braun served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois from 1973 to 1977.

In 1979, Moseley Braun won election to the state legislature and to the recorder of deed for Cook County in 1986. Then, in 1992, she entered national politics, winning the U.S. Senate seat for the state of Illinois, becoming the first African American woman to serve in that body. She served one term, losing her reelection bid in 1998, in a close and politically charged campaign.

Following her Senate tenure, Moseley Braun served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 1999 to 2001. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, but withdrew from the race prior to the Iowa caucuses.

In November 2010, Moseley Braun began a campaign for mayor of Chicago to replace retiring incumbent Richard M. Daley. She placed fourth in a field of six candidates, losing the 2011 election to Rahm Emanuel.

In January 2023, Carol Moseley Braun was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a member and chair of the board of directors for the United States African Development Foundation (USADF). She began her six-year tenure in April 2024.