Margaret Mary Heckler (née O'Shaughnessy; June 21, 1931–August 6, 2018) attended Boston College Law School (LL.B. 1956), and was the only woman in her law school class. She was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts.

From 1963-1967, Heckler was the first woman to serve on the Governor's council for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964 and 1968, and was elected as a Republican from the 90th to the 97th Congresses (January 3, 1967– January 3, 1983).In 1967, when she was first elected, Heckler was one of only 11 women in Congress.
Heckler voted in favour of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In 1972, she co-sponsored Title IX, which forbade sex discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

In 1974, on the Banking and Currency Committee, Heckler authored the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, giving women credit in their own names for the first time in American history.

In 1977, she launched and co-founded the Congresswoman's Caucus, a bipartisan group of 14 members focused on equality for women in Social Security, tax laws, and related areas. It was the first all-women's caucus in the Congress. Heckler was also an outspoken advocate for and co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment. At the Republican National Convention in 1980, Heckler urged Ronald Reagan to put the first woman on the Supreme Court.

In Massachusetts, she was noted for building an especially effective network of constituent services that allowed her to triumph through several re-election bids in an overwhelmingly-Democratic state. She also served on the Veterans Affairs committee, visiting Vietnam.In the early 1980s, Heckler became Health and Human Services Secretary, where she investigated the racial and ethnic disparities in US healthcare,leading to the landmark Heckler Report. She also raised awareness on the AIDS crisis.

In late 1985, Heckler was appointed Ambassador to Ireland.She helped obtain a US grant to the International Fund for Ireland. She advanced both countries' interests.

Margaret wed John Heckler and had 3 children.They divorced in 1984,which caused scandal.

Kimberly Heckler, A Woman of Firsts Margaret Heckler, Political Trailblazer, Foreword by Jean Sinzdak, The Globe Pequot Publishing Group, Inc. | Lyons Press, February 2025.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

This biography not only covers the period in which five presidents, from different parties were elected (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan) but when Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg made their mark on the Supreme Court. It would have been appealing without this context, but the additional information makes this biography exceptionally engaging. Of course, this context is only relevant to Margaret Heckler’s public life – her private life, including her upbringing with distant parents, her passion to do well and her marriage are also relevant. To have accomplished so much, to have been a loving and successful wife and mother, and to have made such a distinctive career makes for an absorbing read. Kimberly Heckler’s biography is the very readable story of a woman, as in the title, of firsts.

The biography is written in three parts, Early Life, 1914 – 1961; Elected Office 1961 – 1982; Appointments 1982 – 1989. There is an index, including subjects such as The Equal Opportunity Credit Act; the Northern Ireland Peace Process Testimony at the House of international Relations Committee, 1995; health issues such as abortion, Alzheimer’s Disease and AIDS; women in the armed forces (a current issue); bipartisanship; the Civil Rights Act; Divorce and Credit; ERA, and the Cold War; and people such as Hillary Clinton, Martin Luther King, Helen Gurley Brown, Shirley Chisholm, Anthony Fauci (again a current source of interest), Betty Freidan – all suggesting the breadth of the interests approached in the biography. Again, the wide appeal, whatever one’s own political stance is demonstrated in the notes for each chapter which are informative about the varied sources in the volume - Maeve Binchy appears, the Heckler Family Archives are there, reports from newspapers and interviews feature prominently.

Written with the family’s imprimatur, by Kimberly Heckler, married to John Heckler Jr and supported by Margaret Heckler’s daughter, Belinda, the volume is a sympathetic but a worthy contribution to women’s political history.

A bey good biography of Margaret Heckler. She truly was A Woman of Firsts and someone to be admired. A must read for 2025!

I really enjoyed reading this, it had that biography element that I was looking for and thought it did a great job in bringing Margaret Heckler to life in this book. I enjoyed getting to read this and appreciated Kimberly Heckler shared this story with the reader.