Kathleen Sebelius (/sɨˈbiːliəs/; née Gilligan; born May 15, 1948) is an American politician who has served as the 21st United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since 2009. Previously, she was Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the second woman to hold that office. Sebelius was the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address and chair-emeritus of the Democratic Governors Association.