Ben Shelly (born July 6, 1947) was the 7th one-term president of the Navajo Nation. Shelly was the first president to have been elected both president and vice president of the Navajo Nation. He is also 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 the Navajo Nation Primaries to former Navajo Nation president Joe Shirley Jr and newcomer Christopher Deschene. Early life and education Shelly was born in Thoreau, New Mexico. He is clan born for . His maternal grandfather is and his paternal grandfather is . Shelly's wife of 45 years, Martha Shelly, is originally from Coyote Canyon. She is and born for . They have five children and 10 grandchildren. Shelly lived in Chicago for 16 years, training in heavy equipment maintenance and working as a supervisor for a heavy equipment company. Shelly moved back to the Navajo Nation in 1976, and owned a fleet maintenance and mechanic shop. Politics In 1990, Shelly was chairman of the Dineh Rights Association. Navajo Nation Council Delegate Shelly became the Thoreau Navajo Nation Councilman in 1991, and in 1993 he campaigned for legalized gambling in Navajo areas. Shelly became a member of the Transportation and Intergovernmental Relations Committees, and chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee as well as serving 12 years as a McKinley County Commissioner. He was in the leadership of the National Associations of Counties Organization, where he helped form a Native American coalition of county officials from Apache, Coconino, San Juan of Utah, San Juan of New Mexico, Navajo, Sandoval, and McKinley counties. Navajo Nation Vice-President In 2006, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr. selected Shelly as his running mate in the 2006 presidential election. At the time of his selection, President Shirley said of Shelly, "He has the necessary knowledge of our government, and the government outside, He is down to earth and knows the heart of the people. He was raised with culture, as I was, on a sheepskin rug." Shirley and Shelly won the 2006 Navajo Nation presidential election. Shelly was sworn in as Vice President of the Navajo Nation on 9 January 2007. Shelly serves on the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid