Mel Martínez

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Mel Martínez

Melquiades Rafael "Mel" Martínez (* 23. October 1946 in Sagua la Grande , Cuba ) is an American politician of the Republican Party . He was the United States Secretary of Construction under President George W. Bush and represented the State of Florida in the US Senate from 2005 to 2009 .

biography

Martínez was born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba. He came to the United States through a Catholic aid program, Operation Peter Pan , which brought over 14,000 children to the United States. Catholic aid organizations offered him accommodation in two different youth facilities, and he also lived with two foster parents. In 1966 he moved back in with his family in Orlando , who had followed suit.

He graduated from the College of Law , a faculty at Florida State University , in 1973 . During the 25 years of his legal activity he was involved in various civil organizations and was vice-president of the board of the Catholic aid organizations in the diocese of Orlando .

Martínez and his wife have three children and two grandchildren and is the brother of Rafael E. Martínez, who was to be elected to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights as US representative in 2003 , but failed.

Political career

Prior to becoming Minister of Construction in the Bush Cabinet , he was president of the Orlando Utilities Commission , served on the board of directors of a bank, and chaired the Orlando Housing Authority . He was later also an elected chairman of Orange County and a member of the Growth Management Study Commission .

As vice chairman of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign, he was a leading campaign donor and one of the 25 Florida electorates who ultimately voted for Bush.

From 2001 to December 12, 2003 Martínez was then responsible for the US Department of Construction, followed by Alphonso Jackson .

In 2004 he ran as a Republican in Florida for election to the Senate post of Bob Graham , where he ran against former Congressman Bill McCollum within his party . During the campaign, Martínez referred to McCollum as "the new darling of homosexual extremists", whereupon McCollum and a former Florida senator, Connie Mack , appeared in front of the press and attacked Martínez heavily. McCollum also criticized Martínez's origins and his attitude towards tort reform , a reform of civil rights, as too soft.

In the end, he won the duel and then defeated the Democrat Betty Castor in the actual election for the Senate post. He was both the first senator to be born in Cuba and the first Spanish-speaking senator since 1977. He sat in the Senate on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations . In 2007 he briefly chaired the Republican National Committee , the party organization of the Republicans, together with Mike Duncan , with Martínez acting as the so-called General Chairman . After criticism from within the party, he resigned this office in October 2007.

In August 2009, Martínez then announced that he would resign before the end of his term as Senator in November 2010, as soon as Governor Charlie Crist has chosen a successor. When this was established with George LeMieux , Martínez left the Senate on September 9 of the same year. Immediately thereafter, he joined the international law firm DLA Piper as a partner .

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Commons : Mel Martínez  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Martínez, Mel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Martínez, Melquiades Rafael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Republican Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 23, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Sagua la Grande , Cuba