Lyda Green, a former Republican Senate President who began her 14-year tenure in the Texas Legislature in the mid-1990s, passed away on Tuesday. She was eighty-five.

In 1994, Green, a businessman and educator, was chosen to represent Wasilla in the Alaska Senate for the first time. She unseated Democrat Jalmar “Jay” Kerttula, the state representative with the longest tenure at the time, indicating a Republican electoral change in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

Green led the Senate for her final two years as president, becoming the third woman from Alaska to hold that position. Like the present Senate majority caucus, she led a bipartisan majority coalition in the Senate.

Green was a colleague of current Republican Senate President Gary Stevens, who described her as “She was just such an institution in the Senate.” Stevens stated that although she was prepared to make concessions, she was steadfast in her convictions.

Green served on the influential Senate Finance Committee for five years. According to Stevens, Green could write and approve a budget with any administration.

A fellow Republican from Wasilla, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that, in honor of Green, the American and Alaskan flags will fly at half staff on a date to be decided after conferring with her family. In a prepared statement, Dunleavy stated :

“Lyda was more than a colleague and a neighbor, she was a family friend and I counted on her for sound advice, experience and wisdom throughout my time in public office.”

A public memorial service for Green will be held at a later time, according to the governor’s office.