Martha Layne Collins

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Martha Layne Collins
Governor Collins giving a speech, November 1986
56th Governor of Kentucky
In office 1983 – 1987
Lieutenant	Steve Beshear
Preceded by	John Y. Brown, Jr.
Succeeded by	Wallace G. Wilkinson
Born	December 7, 1936 (1936-12-07) (age 71) Bagdad, Kentucky, United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Bill Collins
Profession	teacher

Martha Layne Collins (born December 7, 1936 in Bagdad, Kentucky) was Governor of the U.S. State of Kentucky from 1983 through 1987; she is a member of the Democratic Party. [1] She was Kentucky's first and to date only female governor.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Collins began her professional career as a school teacher in the public schools of Louisville and Woodford County. Collins worked in various Democratic campaigns. Her first elected office was that of Clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, where she served from 1975 through 1979. She was elected Lieutenant Governor for the state in 1979 and served in that office until she was elected Governor four years later. She defeated Jim Bunning by 561,674 (54.6%) to 454,650 (44.2%). Collins was the first and to date only woman to be elected Governor of Kentucky and only the third woman in United States history to be elected governor of a state who was not the wife or widow of a previous governor, and only the sixth to serve in that capacity. She served as Governor from 1983 through 1987. In 1998, Bunning was elected to the U.S Senate.

While governor, Collins was chairperson of the 1984 Democratic National Convention. During her term in office, some important educational reforms were enacted. Collins successfully sought state incentives for Toyota to locate its manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky; those incentives were controversial at the time but Toyota has been an important employer and source of numerous other businesses and jobs created in Kentucky since then. Collins' husband Dr. Bill Collins was the cause of an influence-peddling scandal while she was in office.

After her service as governor Collins was president of Saint Catharine College for six years and held various positions in residence at other colleges and universities in Kentucky. She is currently Executive Scholar in Residence at Georgetown College. She has not run for office after her service as governor, though her son ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Kentucky in 1987. Collins is currently on the Board of Directors of Eastman Kodak. She is also Chairwoman of the Kentucky World Trade Center.

v • d • e Governors of Kentucky Shelby • Garrard • Greenup • Scott • Shelby • Madison • Slaughter • Adair • Desha • Metcalfe • J. Breathitt • J. Morehead • Clark • Wickliffe • Letcher • Owsley • Crittenden • Helm • Powell • C. Morehead • Magoffin • Robinson • Bramlette • Helm • Stevenson • Leslie • McCreary • Blackburn • Knott • Buckner • Brown • Bradley • Taylor • Goebel • Beckham • Willson • McCreary • Stanley • Black • Morrow • Fields • Sampson • Laffoon • Chandler • Johnson • Willis • Clements • Wetherby • Chandler • Combs • E. Breathitt • Nunn • Ford • Carroll • Brown Jr. • Collins • Wilkinson • Jones • Patton • Fletcher • Beshear Kentucky also had two Confederate Governors: George W. Johnson and Richard Hawes.