Olympia Snowe (born 1947) overcame the early deaths of both of her parents and her first husband to build a strong political career grounded in fiscal conservatism and to forge a fulfilling personal life based on a strong second marriage and community involvement.

Olympia Snowe's career is characterized by a number of firsts. Most notably, when she was elected to Congress from the Maine second congressional district in 1978 at the age of 31, she was the youngest Republican and the first Greek American woman to serve in Congress. As a U.S. Senator representing the state of Maine, Snowe is well-known for her work on budget-deficit reduction, fiscal issues, health care, women's issues, and foreign affairs.

Snowe was born Olympia Jean Bouchles in 1947 in Augusta, Maine. Her father, George, emigrated to the United States from Mytilene, Greece, and her mother, Georgia Goranites Bouchles, was a second-generation Greek whose parents had...