Ben_Shelly

Ben Shelly (July 6, 1947 – March 22, 2023) was the 7th president of the Navajo Nation. He was the first president to have been elected both president and vice president of the Navajo Nation, as well as the first New Mexican Navajo to hold the Navajo presidency.On November 2, 2010, Shelly was voted in as the Navajo Nation's president-elect during the 2010 Navajo Nation Presidential Elections, defeating opponent New Mexico State Senator Lynda Lovejoy of the Navajo Nation. On August 16, 2014, Shelly lost in the Navajo Nation primaries to former Navajo Nation president Joe Shirley Jr and newcomer Christopher Deschene.