Virginia Paul Holm Bye was a Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party of Minnesota

The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...

, and the first woman to serve as Secretary of State

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....

 of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

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Holm was appointed to the position in 1952 by Gov. Elmer Anderson. She succeeded H.H. Chesterman, who had himself previously been appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of Holm's husband, former Secretary of State Mike Holm

Mike Holm

Mike Holm was a Swedish-born American politician and the longest-serving Minnesota Secretary of State, serving from January 4, 1921 until his death. His wife, Virginia Paul Holm, later succeeded him in the office...

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Holm won election in her own right in November 1952, but lost her bid for re-election in 1954.