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Jane Byrne was an American politician who served as the 50th Mayor of Chicago from 1979 until 1983, making her the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. Byrne entered politics to volunteer in John F. Kennedy’s campaign for president in 1960. She then was appointed to several positions, beginning in 1964 with a job in a city anti-poverty program. The Executives’ Club of Chicago was one of her first stops where she shared her journey as the first female mayor of the City of Chicago.