Gail S. Shaffer | |
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58th Secretary of State of New York | |
In office January 1, 1983 – January 4, 1995 | |
Governor | Mario Cuomo |
Preceded by | Basil A. Paterson |
Succeeded by | Alexander Treadwell |
Member of the New York State Assembly for the 105th District | |
In office 1981–1983 | |
Preceded by | Arlington P. Van Dyke |
Succeeded by | Paul Tonko |
Personal details | |
Born | North Blenheim, New York, U.S. | August 1, 1948
Alma mater | Elmira College (B.A.) |
Gail S. Shaffer (born August 1, 1948) is an American politician and activist who served as the 59th Secretary of State of New York under Mario Cuomo.[1][2]
Shaffer grew up on a family farm in Blenheim, New York. She graduated from Gilboa-Conesville Central School in 1966 as valedictorian. Awarded a full scholarship to Elmira College, she graduated as class valedictorian in 1970, and a Phi Beta Kappa member, with a B.A. summa cum laude in Political Science. She studied abroad for her junior year at Sciences Po. She also spent a semester of her senior year on a kibbutz in Israel.