Thelma Loyace Stovall (née Hawkins; April 1, 1919 – February 4, 1994) was a pioneering American politician in the state of Kentucky.

Several times in her career, when she found herself in the position of acting governor, she was unafraid of exercising that power – she issued gubernatorial pardons, called the Kentucky General Assembly into session to consider bills, and, most famously, issued an executive injunction against the Assembly's attempt to repeal Kentucky's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

[2] The family lived an austere, working class life, a fact Stovall never resented: "I don't think it hurt to do without," she said.

[3] She joined the Young Democrats of Kentucky and served as a national committee member (1952 to 1956) and then as the group's first woman president (1956 to 1958).

[3] When the popular Democratic politician Happy Chandler ran for Governor in 1955, he tried to persuade Stovall to be on his ticket as Secretary of State of Kentucky.

[5] By the early 1970s, she was a figure of some national stature: the Cincinnati Enquirer described her as "one of the most knowledgeable women in America regarding state government" and noted that she was in high demand for speaking engagements around the country.

During one of Carroll's absences, Stovall called the Kentucky General Assembly into special session to reduce taxation.

[1] Her most famous intercession as acting governor came in March 1978 when, with Carroll out of the state, she vetoed the legislature's repeal of its ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

[9] In an oral history interview in 1977, Stovall gave her plainspoken view of the ERA: "It's ridiculous after 200 years that women are still second class citizens.

[13] To celebrate her 30 years of public service, a large party was held in the Kentucky State Capitol on December 3, 1979.

[13] Congratulations were sent by President Jimmy Carter and the date was officially proclaimed by the state as "Thelma Stovall Day".