Christine Todd Whitman

Christine Todd Whitman
Official portrait as Administrator of the EPA, 2001
Co-chair of the Forward Party
Incumbent
Assumed office July 28, 2022 Serving with Andrew Yang and Michael S. Willner
Preceded by	Position established
9th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
In office January 31, 2001 – June 27, 2003
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Carol Browner
Succeeded by	Mike Leavitt
50th Governor of New Jersey
In office January 18, 1994 – January 31, 2001
Preceded by	James Florio
Succeeded by	Donald DiFrancesco
President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
In office February 10, 1988 – January 16, 1990
Preceded by	Barbara A. Curran
Succeeded by	Scott Weiner
Member of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office January 1, 1983 – January 29, 1988
Preceded by	Doris W. Dealaman
Succeeded by	Kip Bateman
Personal details
Born	Christine Temple Todd (1946-09-26) September 26, 1946 (age 78) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Forward (2022–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (until 2022)
Spouse	John Whitman ​ ​ (m. 1974; died 2015)​
Relatives	Webster B. Todd (father)
Education	Wheaton College (BA)

Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. As of 2024^[update], Whitman is the only woman to have served as governor of New Jersey.

Born in New York City to a Republican political family, Whitman graduated from Wheaton College in 1968 and began her political career in the Nixon administration's Office of Economic Opportunity. After coming within three percentage points of unseating U.S. Senator Bill Bradley in 1990, she ran for governor of New Jersey, defeating Democratic incumbent Jim Florio. A self-described Rockefeller Republican, Whitman defeated Democrat Jim McGreevey to win re-election in 1997. She remained governor until stepping down in 2001 to become Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, where she served until 2003. During her tenure at the EPA, Whitman was noted for having assured the public that the air in lower Manhattan was safe to breathe following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; she apologized in 2016 for having made this statement.

In 2022, Whitman joined former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang to form the Forward Party, a centrist third party.