Michael Steele
Michael S. Steele is the current chairman of the Republican National Committee and of the conservative grassroots organization GOPAC. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 2003 through 2007.
Steele, who became Lieutenant Governor in 2003, was the first African American elected to state-wide office Maryland.
He was born October 19, 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland. In 1981, he received a bachelor's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. After considering becoming a priest and spending three years at the Order of St. Augustine seminary, he received a law degree when he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. From 1991 through 1997 he was a corporate securities attorney at the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Washington, D.C., specializing in sophisticated financial transactions on behalf of Wall Street underwriters.[1]. He also was a corporate finance counsel for the Mills Corporation and founded his own company, The Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.
In late 2000, Steele was elected Chair of the Maryland Republican Party and in 2003, he was elected as Maryland's Lieutenant Governor. He ran for Senate in 2006 against Democrat Ben Cardin but lost with 44% of the vote compared to Cardin's 54.[2][3] After his loss, he was thought to be a leading candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee,[4] but former Florida senator Mel Martinez was picked instead.[5]
However, in 2009, in the wake of Barack Obama's election, Steele was selected as the new Republican National Committee chairman over then-current Chairman, Mike Duncan. [6]
Steele serves on the Administrative Board of the Maryland Catholic Conference and is a member of St. Marys Catholic Church in Landover Hills, MD, where he attends mass regularly with his wife Andrea and their two sons. His writings on law, business and politics have appeared in The Washington Times, Politico.com, Townhall.com, and The Journal of International Security Affairs, among others.
References
- ↑ Maryland State Archives, "LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: MICHAEL S. STEELE, Lt.Governor (Republican)"
- ↑ Washington Post, "Election Profile - U.S. Senate, Maryland"
- ↑ Washington Post, Matthew Mosk and Ann E. Marimow, November 9, 2006, "Governor and U.S. Senate Losses Just the Tip of State GOP Collapse"
- ↑ Washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog, Chris Cillizza, November 8, 2006, "Michael Steele for Republican NationalChairman?"
- ↑ Washington Post, Jim VandeHei, November 14, 2006, "Florida Senator Will Be a Top RNC Officer"
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/30/republicans-pick-new-party-chief/ref>http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/