Eleanor Roosevelt

After Franklin's death in 1945, she was appointed a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations by President Harry Truman. Later, she was named chairperson of the Human Rights Commission and, at age 61, was asked to serve as a delegate to the first meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Her common sense, constant optimism, and boundless energy were essential to the smooth facilitation of meetings. On any given issue, her informality and good humor were engaged not only to win over the majority of delegates who usually supported a particular U.S. position, but to ...