1990 – Washington, DC
Ambassador Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt was Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1982-1989, organizing over 1,000 visits of world leaders who came to the United States. She was also responsible for the Blair House restoration project, a six-year renovation of the nation’s 110 room Presidential guest house. Mrs. Roosevelt is an honors graduate of Vassar College. In 1950 she married Archibald B. Roosevelt, Jr., a grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic missions overseas. After 1967 she lived in Washington, working first for the Washington Post and then free lancing for numerous magazines. She serves on the Citizens Advisory Board of the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center and has written many medical articles. She was presented the Betty Ford Award of the Susan Komen Foundation of Dallas, Texas for the advancement of breast cancer research and awareness. She has been awarded the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal by the Department of the Army, was decorated by the Italian government and received the Ripon Society’s Salute to Republican Women award. She is a trustee of the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Washington Opera and the National Fund for the U.S. Botanic Gardens. She chairs the Blair House Restoration Fund and is on the board of Visitors of the North Carolina School of the Arts. Mrs. Roosevelt’s autobiography was published in 1990.
