Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana.
In August 2005, less than two years into her term as governor, Hurricane Katrina, the most devastating hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States, struck New Orleans and Louisiana. Many believed the immediate response from the city and state was inadequate, and Blanco later acknowledged there were failures on the part of her administration before and after the storm; much criticism, however, was directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for what was seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage and care for those trying to evacuate from New Orleans.
Blanco announced in March 2007 that she would not seek re-election later that year, saying that she would instead "focus time and energy for the on the people's work, not on politics."