Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California) late on November 14 was chosen to be the Democratic Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. In a move of historic proportions, she will be the first woman ever to lead a political party in the U.S. Congress.

"I didn't run as a woman," she told reporters shortly after the caucus of Democrats that voted her in. "I ran as a seasoned politician and experienced legislator. It just so happens that I am a woman, and we have been waiting a long time for this moment." She had set a goal of crafting a "down the center" program for economic growth.

Pelosi was elected to the leadership position by a wide margin (177-29) over Rep. Harold Ford (Democrat-Tennessee). She immediately appointed Rep. John M. Spratt. Jr. (Democrat-South Carolina) as her Assistant Democratic Leader in the House. Cuban-American Robert Menendez (Democrat-New Jersey) will be Democratic Caucus Chairman, the number three position in the hierarchy of Democratic leaders in the House. He was the first Hispanic ever chosen for a leadership position.

The first woman leader in Congress, Pelosi was the daughter of long-time Mayor of Baltimore Tommy D'Allesandro, who held that position throughout her growing-up years in Baltimore. Her father had served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives prior to becoming mayor of her hometown.

Only two years after college graduation and marriage, Nancy and her husband, Paul Pelosi, moved to San Francisco, where he went into private business. She became active in Democratic Party politics on the West Coast and in 1987 won election to Congress and has represented San Francisco in the House for the past 15 years.

She has been among the most liberal Democrats in the House during those years, with a perfect rating of 100 from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (ADA). She is an active supporter of gun control, legal abortion and homosexual rights. Mrs. Pelosi most recently led the Democratic opposition in the House to the resolution that authorized President Bush to use military force against Iraq.