Vera Katz

Vera Katz (née Pistrak; August 3, 1933 – December 11, 2017) was an American Democratic politician in the state of Oregon. She was the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and was the 49th mayor of Portland, Oregon's most populous city. She grew up in New York City, moving to Portland in 1962, and was elected to the Oregon House in 1972. She served as mayor from 1993 to 2005. Early life Vera Katz was born on August 3, 1933, as Vera Pistrak in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents, Elizar ("Lazar Michael Pistrak"; 1896–1985) and Raissa (1896–1986), fled Moscow, Russia, after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, settling in Germany. As Jewish Mensheviks, the family, including Vera's elder sister, Senaida ("Zena"; born March 5, 1925), fled for France when Vera was two months old as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power. Once World War II began and Hitler invaded France, the family of four fled over the Pyrenees Mountains to Spain on foot. After a time the family was able to emigrate to the United States, sailing on the ship Nea Hellas in 1940. They settled in Brooklyn. Vera's parents later divorced when she was 12 years old, and her mother was known as Raissa Goodman for the remainder of her life. Education