Whitman, Christie (1946– )

US Republican politician, governor of New Jersey 1994–2001 and head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2001–03 under President George W Bush. Although fiscally conservative, she was situated on the ‘Wall Street’ left-wing of the Republican Party on social issues. In a 2005 book, she criticized the policies of the Bush administration as divisive.

She was born into a powerful New Jersey political family, the daughter of a millionaire, and began her career working for President Richard Nixon. As New Jersey's first female governor, she cut state income tax and appointed the first African-American to the state's supreme court. She supported feminism and minority rights, and was tipped as a future presidential candidate.