Dates

• Existence: 1932 - 2025

Biography

Born in Stillwater, Minnesota in 1932, Sally Johnson Novetzke attended Carlton College in 1950, joining the Republican Club and planning to study history and political science. In 1952, she met and married her husband, Richard Novetzke. After moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with her young family, Novetzke became increasingly involved in the Linn County and Iowa Republican Party.

In the late 1970s, she fostered an early and close relationship with George H.W. Bush. By 1980, Novetzke was a key activist and leader in the Republican Party. She was the Chair of the Linn County Republican Committee from 1980 to 1983 and the Co-chair of the 1980 Inauguration of Vice President Bush. In 1985, she became the first woman to hold the State Chair of the Iowa Republican Party and in 1988 became the State Co-Chair of Bush’s campaign for president. Rising in the Republican ranks, Novetzke found herself in competition for an open ambassadorship under President Bush.

In early 1989, Novetzke was named US Ambassador to Malta. She would move to Malta mere weeks before the planned Malta Summit between the United States and the Soviet Union in December. Novetzke had no foreign policy experience, however, her extensive time as a political activist molded her approach to ambassadorship. Using her connections with American politicians and businesspersons, she was able to increase investment and interest in the small island nation. While there, she would become accepted as a Dame of the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of St. John of Malta. Novetzke left Malta in 1993.

Sally Novetzke moved back to Iowa where she would continue to play a role in local Republican politics into the 2000s. She was also involved with organizations such as the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, National Council for Vocational Education, and American University in Rome. As his close friend of many years, Novetzke was invited to George H.W. Bush’s private funeral in 2018. Novetzke passed away in 2025.

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