Elisabeth A. Gotbaum (née Flower; born June 11, 1938[1]) is an American civil servant, politician and a former New York City public advocate.

In 1990 newly elected Mayor David Dinkins appointed her the first female Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

[citation needed] After leaving the Parks Department in 1994, Gotbaum became President of the New-York Historical Society, a position she held until launching her campaign for Public Advocate in 2001.

She instituted exhibitions, education and public programs for a diverse and ever-increasing audience, leaving the society with a $33 million endowment.

As Public Advocate she focused on education policy, along with women's issues, child welfare, affordable housing and senior services.

At the request of the New York State Legislature, Gotbaum created a Commission on School Governance to examine mayoral control before it expires in 2009.

[citation needed] In the September 13, 2005, Democratic primary, Gotbaum beat civil rights advocate Norman Siegel, and real estate broker Michael Brown came in third with fifteen percent of NYC's vote.

On September 28, 2007, her stepdaughter-in-law, Carol Gotbaum, died in custody shortly after she was arrested at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, after getting into a confrontation with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane to Tucson, Arizona.