Ambassador, Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient and Politician. Armstrong graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in 1949. She had her first taste of politics as a volunteer worker for Harry S. Truman's presidential campaign in 1948. She switched parties during the 1952 presidential campaign. After college, she briefly worked as an assistant editor at Harper's Bazaar. She married Tobin Armstrong, a Texas cattleman, and they moved to his 50,000-acre ranch. After moving, she learned to ride a horse, fish, and handle a rifle. She served as vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1966 to 1968, as co-chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973, and as keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in 1972. Armstrong was the first woman to serve as the United States ambassador to Britain and served as an adviser to Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. Armstrong was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan (1987), the Republican Woman of the Year (1979), the Texan of the Year Award (1981), the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1989), inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame (1986), the Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award (2005), and an honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Mary's University (1978). In addition to her public life, Armstrong sat on the boards of many American firms, including American Express, Boise Cascade, Halliburton, and General Motors. She has served on the boards of non-profit organizations like the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Rothermere American Institute's Founding Council, as well as the University of Oxford.
Ambassador, Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient and Politician. Armstrong graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in 1949. She had her first taste of politics as a volunteer worker for Harry S. Truman's presidential campaign in 1948. She switched parties during the 1952 presidential campaign. After college, she briefly worked as an assistant editor at Harper's Bazaar. She married Tobin Armstrong, a Texas cattleman, and they moved to his 50,000-acre ranch. After moving, she learned to ride a horse, fish, and handle a rifle. She served as vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party from 1966 to 1968, as co-chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973, and as keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in 1972. Armstrong was the first woman to serve as the United States ambassador to Britain and served as an adviser to Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. Armstrong was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan (1987), the Republican Woman of the Year (1979), the Texan of the Year Award (1981), the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (1989), inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame (1986), the Gloria Lupton Tennison Pioneer Award (2005), and an honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Mary's University (1978). In addition to her public life, Armstrong sat on the boards of many American firms, including American Express, Boise Cascade, Halliburton, and General Motors. She has served on the boards of non-profit organizations like the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Rothermere American Institute's Founding Council, as well as the University of Oxford.
Bio by: Debbie Gibbons
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