Grace Berg Schaible
| Grace Berg Schaible | |
|---|---|
| Alaska Attorney General | |
| In office 1987–1989 |
|
| Governor | Steve Cowper |
| Preceded by | Harold M. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Douglas B. Baily |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Grace L. Berg November 28, 1925 Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Arthur Schaible (December 25, 1958–January 1980) (his death) |
| Residence | Fairbanks, Alaska |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Grace Berg Schaible was the first female state's attorney general. She served as Alaska's attorney general from 1987 to 1989.[1]
Contents
Background
Grace L. Berg was the product of immigrant parents. Her father, Hans A. Berg, was from Otteren (near Davik), Nordfjord, Norway. Her mother, Mandis, hailed from a village near Lindesberg, Sweden. Both arrived in the United States separately in 1910. When her mother was seven month pregnant, she left the Alaska Territory and moved to Tacoma, Washington, where Berg was born on November 28, 1925. While still a babe in arms, she returned with her mother to Alaska. Although her parents were conservative Republicans, she would be a lifelong Democrat.[1]
She attended public schools in Juneau and graduated from high school in May 1943. Rather than immediately enroll in college, she took time off to work. She would alternate between work and academic pursuits until she finished her studies at Yale Law School in January 1959.[1]
Berg married the widowed Arthur Schaible on Christmas Day, 1958 at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. He was a prominent physician in Alaska and head of the Alaska Native Health Services Hospital in Tanana.[2]
Career
After graduating from law school, Schaible clerked for the law firm of McNealy, Merdes, Camarot and Fitzgerald in Fairbanks before taking the bar exam in October 1959. Beginning in 1960, she practiced law for the firm, eventually becoming a partner. For nine years she simultaneously served as general counsel for Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.[1]
In 1987, she became Alaska's attorney general, the first female attorney general of any state. She served in that capacity until 1989. Other positions she's held include chair of the Alaska Permanent Fund, the first female to do so.[1]
In 2009, Schaible was inducted into the inaugural class of the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.[3]
References
External links
- American Bar Association - Oral Histories of Women Trailblazers in the Law - Grace Berg Schaible
- University of Alaska
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by
Harold M. Brown
|
Secretary of State of Alaska 1987–1989 |
Succeeded by Douglas B. Baily |
