#7: Rosalyn Carter
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.”
Rosalynn Carter broke new ground as First Lady, initiating changes that reshaped the role. She introduced the position of a chief of staff with equal status and pay to West Wing aides and organized the official Office of the First Lady. Rosalynn also assumed a pivotal role in her husband’s political communications.
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Unprecedented in her involvement, she championed her husband’s constituents’ ideas, even scheduling weekly business lunches to discuss her work. Actively participating in politics, she attended cabinet meetings, provided counsel to Jimmy Carter, and, in 1977, served as the official presidential ambassador to Latin America.