Kay Ivey

Kay Ellen Ivey (born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. Originally a conservative Southern Democrat, Ivey became a member of the Republican Party in 2002. She was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor of Alabama from 2011 to 2017. Ivey became Alabama's second female governor and the first female Republican governor upon the resignation of her predecessor, Robert J. Bentley. She won a full term in 2018 by 19.1 percentage points against Democratic nominee Walt Maddox and was reelected by 37.7 percentage points over Democratic nominee Yolanda Flowers in 2022. At , Ivey is the oldest currently serving governor in the United States. Ivey was born on October 15, 1944, in Camden, Alabama, as the only child to Boadman Nettles (1913–1997) and Barbara Elizabeth Ivey (née Nettles; 1915–1998). Her father, who served as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, worked with the Gees Bend community as part of the Farmers Home Administration. Growing up in Camden, Ivey worked on her father's farm. She graduated from Auburn University, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta, becoming president of her first-year pledge class, and served in the Student Government Association all four years. Ivey participated in a blackface skit in 1967, while a student at Auburn. When questioned about this in 2019 she initially claimed not to have taken part, but after a recording surfaced in which she discussed her participation, she admitted it. In 2021, Ivey received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Jacksonville State University. In 1967, Ivey moved to California following her first marriage and became a high school teacher for several years. Following the end of her marriage, she returned to Alabama and landed a position with Merchants National Bank, where she launched a school relations program to promote financial literacy. Ivey has been divorced twice and has no children. In 1979, she was appointed by then-Governor Fob James to serve in the state cabinet.