Claire Shulman, the first woman to become Queens Borough president, died August 16 at her home in Beechhurst, Queens. She was 94.

Ms. Shulman was the deputy to Donald R. Manes, the borough president for 14 years and one of New York’s most powerful politicians, when he resigned in February 1986 in the wake of a municipal corruption scandal and a suicide attempt. Claire Shulman was chosen by the City Council as interim president, then won election after election for 16 years.

As borough president, she was a champion of Queens cultural institutions, including the Queens Museum of Art, the Museum of the Moving Image, and Flushing Town Hall. The hall honored her last year on its 40th anniversary.

“When you spend taxpayers’ money,” she said at the time, “you want to make sure that it goes to a good purpose.”