Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She was the first female Governor of New Mexico, and the first Hispanic female governor in the United States.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Martinez is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. After being admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico, she began her prosecuting career in 1986 as an Assistant District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District of New Mexico, based in Las Cruces. She was appointed Deputy District Attorney in 1992. She joined the Republican Party and ran for District Attorney in 1996, serving three terms, from 1997 to 2011.

After incumbent Governor Bill Richardson was term limited, Martinez declared her 2010 candidacy for the governorship. She won a five-candidate Republican primary and went on to defeat the then incumbent Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico Diane Denish with 53% of the vote in the general election. Four years later, she was reelected with 57% of the vote against New Mexico Attorney General Gary King. In 2013, Martinez was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

Susana Martinez was born on July 14, 1959, in El Paso, Texas. She was brought up in a middle-class family of Mexican descent. Her father, Jacobo "Jake" Martinez, was a boxer for the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, and won three straight Golden Gloves titles in the 1950s. He served as a deputy sheriff for El Paso County. Her mother, Paula Aguirre, worked in various offices. Susana Martinez has two siblings, a sister and a brother. Martinez was the legal guardian and caretaker of her older sister, Letitia "Lettie" Martinez, who had cerebral palsy and was developmentally disabled. Lettie died at age 64 on August 13, 2021. Martinez is a great-granddaughter of Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega.

Martinez attended Riverside High School in El Paso, Texas. As a student, she was actively involved in various clubs and councils. She ran for and won the position of student body president in her senior year. Being an honors student, she graduated as the valedictorian for the class of 1977. She earned her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1981. She moved to Oklahoma and pursued the J.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She graduated in 1986.

Martinez was Assistant District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District, serving Doña Ana County, New Mexico, from 1986 to 1992. As Assistant District Attorney, she developed a specialty in the office of working with sexually abused children and developing a multidisciplinary team (that included help for victims). She participated in seminars related to domestic violence and sexual offenses, rapes and women and children. The district attorney for whom she worked, Doug Driggers, promoted her to Deputy District Attorney.

Martinez was dismissed, but later returned, and was again appointed as Deputy District Attorney. She helped campaign for Driggers as he was running for a third term as District Attorney. Driggers lost the Democratic primary election to Gregory Valdez, a defense attorney. Martinez was fired by Valdez shortly after his victory in the general election. Valdez claims that he fired Martinez because she had missed key timelines in a case. Martinez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Valdez and was awarded an out-of-court settlement of $100,000 to $120,000. She later twice defeated Valdez in the general election for District Attorney with approximate 18-point and 20-point wins, respectively.

Martinez was first elected district attorney in the 3rd Judicial District in 1996 with nearly 60% of the vote. She was re-elected three more times.