Sauerbrey was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a 1955 graduate of Towson High School and a 1959 graduate of Western Maryland College, and was a teacher before entering politics. From 1978 to 1994, she was a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, and served as minority leader from 1986 to 1994. Her committee assignments included the Appropriations Committee; Subcommittee on Education and Transportation; Ways and Means and Economic Matters. In 1990, she was elected as the national chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, serving in 1991 when President George H. W. Bush spoke to the organization. Sauerbrey ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Maryland twice, in 1994 and 1998. She was defeated by Democrat Parris Glendening both times, the first time by a very narrow margin. The 1994 election was in doubt as charges of voter fraud led to a lawsuit by the Sauerbrey campaign to overturn the election, which was ultimately unsuccessful. , President of the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation, and Alim Seytoff, General Secretary of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, 2006. In 2002, George W. Bush nominated Sauerbrey to be Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador. In that post, Sauerbrey focused mostly on three issues: the need for more education for women, the importance of empowering women economically and politically, and protection of the right to life. In January 2006, while the Senate was recessed, President Bush appointed Sauerbrey as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration. It was reported then that this and other such appointments would end at the conclusion of the congressional session in January 2007. In a January 15, 2007, hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic lawmakers and advocates for refugees called for increased help for fleeing Iraqis. Sauerbrey said a UN-predicted wave of refugees did not occur right after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and was instead occurring at that present time. Sauerbrey was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2013 and has written opinion articles published by The Washington Times as recently as 2017.
