Mitt Romney

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Mitt Romney (2019) Romney's signature

Willard Mitt Romney [ ˈɹɑːmnɪ ] (born March 12, 1947 in Detroit , Michigan ) is an American businessman and politician of the Republican Party . From 2003 to 2007 he was the governor of the state of Massachusetts . He was one of his party's candidates for the 2008 presidential election and the Republican Party candidate for the 2012 presidential election , but was defeated by the Democratic incumbent Barack Obama . He was elected to the U.S. Senate for Utah on November 6, 2018 ; the term of office began on January 3, 2019.

Life

Previous career

Mitt Romney was born in Detroit. His father, George W. Romney, was governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. His mother Lenore applied for a seat in the US Senate for the Republicans in Michigan in 1970 and was then subject to the mandate holder Philip Hart . Romney has three siblings and attended the elite Cranbrook School (now the Cranbrook Kingswood School ) in Bloomfield Hills , a private school belonging to the Cranbrook Educational Community . There he graduated from high school in 1965 .

At the Cranbrook School he met Ann Lois Davies (* 1949). She converted to Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ in 1966 and became his wife in 1969. The couple has five grown sons, Taggart (* 1970), Matthew (* 1971), Joshua (* 1975), Benjamin (* 1978) and Craig (* 1981) as well as 24 grandchildren. The Romney couple now live near Boston and maintain an oceanfront home in La Jolla , California .

Romney's great-great-grandfather Parley P. Pratt was a founding member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, had four wives. After polygamy in federal territories of the United States - the legal status of Utah at the time - was banned by the Edmunds Act 1882, he fled with other Mormons to Chihuahua in Mexico in 1885 , although polygamy was also prohibited there. The Romneys were part of the fundamentalist LeBaron family , whose descendants still live in Mexico today. His father, George W. Romney , returned to the United States in 1912. Romney is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormons"). Initially, as a young adult, Mitt Romney worked for a mission in France for two years from 1966 . Romney studied at Brigham Young University (including with W. Cleon Skousen ), from which he graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, and at Harvard University , where he obtained a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration in 1975 . He was a Mormon bishop in Belmont , a suburb of Boston, from 1981 to 1986 and served as stake president for approximately 4,000 Mormons in eastern Massachusetts from 1986 to 1994.

After graduating, he worked for the management consultancy Bain & Company in Boston. Later, he was a founding partner of the 1984 founded private equity -Gesellschaft Bain Capital , which he headed until 1999th His personal fortune, estimated at $ 260 million to $ 350 million in 2007, comes from the proceeds of his work at Bain Capital. In 2010, Romney paid the low tax rate on investment income of 13.9 percent (2011: 15.4%), which political opponents discussed during the pre-election period .

In the 1994 election to the US Senate , he ran in Massachusetts against longtime Senator Edward Kennedy and lost with 41 percent of the vote - the second-best result ever achieved by a Republican candidate against Kennedy.

In 1999 Romney became executive director of the organizing committee of the XIX. 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah .

Massachusetts Governor (2003-2007)

Romney's official portrait as governor

In 2002 he was nominated by the Republican Party as a candidate for Massachusetts governorate. In November of the same year, Romney was elected the 70th governor of Massachusetts: he received 50% of the vote, the Democratic candidate Shannon O'Brien 46% of the vote. As governor, he managed to balance the state budget and even record surpluses.

In November 2004, he attempted to prevent the state's Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage-like partnerships by amending the constitution that would limit marriage to relationships between men and women.

In December 2004, Romney announced that he would bring forward a proposal to reinstate the death penalty for terrorism , mass murder and murder of police officers in Massachusetts . The bill was passed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on April 28, 2005 by 99 votes to 53. He also put his veto against stem cell research one; however, Parliament clearly overruled its veto.

In a survey on the popularity of governors in the 50 US states in December 2005, it came in 33rd (with an agreement of 41% against 51% disagreement).

2008 presidential candidacy

2008 presidential candidacy logo

When he announced on December 24, 2005 that he would not stand for re-election as governor, many saw it as a decision that was made in view of a nomination for the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination.

Mitt Romney officially announced his candidacy for president on February 13, 2007 and raised a total of 44 million US dollars in donations, significantly more than his competitors Rudolph Giuliani , Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee .

On August 11, 2007, Romney emerged as the winner of the Straw Poll in Ames , Iowa , with approximately 32 percent of the vote . This non-binding vote was the first important indicator for the organization of the candidates before the internal party primaries ( caucus and primaries ) in January 2008. The then governor of Texas , George W. Bush , also won this test election in 1999 and then became a Republican presidential candidate Political party. According to surveys, Mitt Romney has long been a favorite in the important primary state of New Hampshire as well as Iowa . In both primaries, however, he was only able to book second place for himself despite an initially undisputed leadership position (25 percent in Iowa, behind Mike Huckabee; 32 percent in New Hampshire, behind John McCain ). In Iowa, he received just 12 votes, while his competitor Huckabee got 17 votes there.

Nevertheless, he united the most votes in the primary elections in the states of Wyoming , Nevada , Michigan, Maine , Massachusetts, Colorado , Minnesota , Montana , North Dakota and Utah : On January 5, 2008, he won the primary in the state of Wyoming. There he received 8 out of 12 votes, which were counted after the end of the primary at the party convention of the Republicans. In particular, he was able to win the primary in Michigan, as well as the primary in Maine. After such pre-election successes failed to materialize in most states, Romney stepped out of the running for the presidential candidacy on February 7, 2008. "I feel like I have to step aside now," he explained. The immediate reason for this was his unsatisfactory performance in the internal party votes on the top candidate on Super Tuesday .

2012 presidential candidacy

Mitt Romney at a campaign rally in Arizona
Logo of the 2012 presidential candidacy

In April 2011, Romney announced that he was preparing to run for the 2012 presidential election . In the primary elections in Iowa on January 3, 2012, "the tightest primaries of all time", initially (and as it later turned out wrongly) a vote lead of 8 votes was reported. A recount resulted in a 34 vote lead for his opponent Rick Santorum , but the votes from eight polling stations were completely missing in both counts. In the following area code, which was in New Hampshire on January 10, 2012, he won by a clear margin. Was funded his campaign mostly of so-called super PACs ( P olitical A ction C omitees), loose support groups of multimillionaires. Many of the inner-party competitors for the office of candidate for the presidency feuded with one another, sometimes using mud- fighting methods.

On 21/22 January (CET) Newt Gingrich won the Republican primary in South Carolina ; the race for the presidential candidacy was thus once again completely open. On January 31, Romney won the primaries in the populous state of Florida. He received 46% of the vote; Gingrich only 31%. Der Spiegel wrote: “After his 46 percent triumph [...] Romney's candidacy can no longer be taken. [...] the loser misjudges the signals: Despite his massive pre-election defeat in Florida, Newt Gingrich does not want to give up. ”At the beginning of April, observers identified the former Senator Rick Santorum as Romney's only serious competitor .

On April 10th, Santorum also announced his withdrawal, on May 3rd Gingrich and on May 14th 2012 Ron Paul . By his primary victory in Texas on May 29, 2012 Romney received so many votes that he united more than the necessary 1144 votes for the nomination. On August 11, 2012, he finally declared Paul Ryan his running mate , that is, a candidate for the vice presidency . On August 28, 2012, Romney was officially elected presidential candidate by a large majority at the Republican Congress in Tampa . A total of 2061 of the 2286 delegates voted for him.

Romney's wife Ann campaigned with him. He published his tax return in September 2012 after much public pressure.

Democratic incumbent Barack Obama received 51.1% of the vote and the majority of the electoral vote in the November 6, 2012 election and was re-elected. Romney got only 47.2% and admitted defeat. Obama's success in several swing states such as Florida , Ohio , Colorado , Virginia , Iowa and Nevada contributed significantly to the election result .

In a conference call with funders for his campaign on November 14, Romney explained his defeat as caused in part by "financial gifts" from Obama and his campaign to "certain members" of his base. Some Republicans, including Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal , rejected this.

Return to the private sector and political statements

After losing the presidential election in November 2012, Mitt Romney returned to the private sector as a member of the board of directors of the hotel operator Marriott .

After Romney initially ruled out another presidential run, he announced in early January 2015 that he was considering running for the 2016 election . On January 30th, however, reports became known that Romney would rule out a candidacy. Romney did not speak out in favor of a candidate in the Republican primary campaign. However, he was positive about John Kasich , Marco Rubio and Chris Christie . At the same time, Romney criticized the real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump , who was clearly the leading real estate entrepreneur in surveys until the end of 2015 , who was also considered controversial within the party due to numerous controversies. On March 3, 2016, after Trump had already won a series of primary elections , Romney gave a keynote address at the University of Utah in front of a large audience in which he warned of a Trump candidacy. He canceled Trump's eligibility for president; among other things, its policy would lead to a recession . Regarding Trump's foreign policy proposals, Romney said that they were “very very not smart”, after Trump had previously described himself as “very, very clever”. Romney also criticized Trump's demeanor and rhetoric. The efforts of Romney and other high-ranking Republicans were ultimately unsuccessful after Trump secured his candidacy for the Republican Party following further victories in early May and was elected 45th President of the United States in the US presidential election on November 8, 2016 .

Senate candidacy 2018

After months of speculation, Romney announced on February 16, 2018 that he was running for the Republican nomination for Orrin Hatch's seat in Utah in the 2018 US Senate election after Hatch announced he would not run in 2018. Romney's election in this Mormon-dominated, conservative state was considered certain. After Romney had been one of the harshest inner-party critics of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign , he was conciliatory in 2018: He fully agreed with Trump's political agenda for low taxes and less regulation and bureaucracy. In his announcement speech for his Senate candidacy, however, he criticized Trump without naming his name; Romney said the state of Utah is welcoming legal immigrants while the capital is sending a message of exclusion. On February 19, Trump declared his support for Romney's candidacy. At the Utah Republican Convention on April 22, 2018, Romney failed to reach the nomination: He received 49 percent of the delegate's votes compared to 51 percent for his challenger, former State Senator Mike Kennedy; 60 percent would have been necessary for an immediate nomination. Both competed against each other in an internal party primary , which Romney won on June 26, 2018 with 71.7 percent of the vote. In the main election in November 2018, he met Democrat Jenny Wilson , a former Salt Lake City councilor . Romney won the election with 62.6% of the vote and entered the US Senate on January 3, 2019. In February 2020, Romney was the only Republican to vote in impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump on the abuse of office charge with the Democratic senators, thus pronouncing the president guilty.

Political positions

Mitt Romney with his wife Ann (2007)

Domestic politics

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney was considered a moderate representative of his party. The health reform passed there under his leadership together with the Democrats was a central reference for the health reform of the Obama administration. In the course of the primary elections, Romney, whom the conservative wing of the Republican Party often accused of having a “moderate profile”, emphasized his conservative positions. Since he turned away from the views he once held (especially abortion), he was repeatedly accused of opportunism.

He rejects same-sex marriages , but agrees to the introduction of registered partnerships in each state. He is also committed to the education voucher model, which enables parents to freely choose the school for their child and possibly send them to a private school. He also welcomes the millions practiced in the US home schooling ( home schooling ) and would like children from pornography and violence to protect the media. Romney has a tough stance on illegal immigrants and opposes post-legalization. He is also planning a health care reform that will expand and deregulate the market and thus make it easier for Americans to access private health insurance. This should be done without tax increases.

He is an opponent of the right to abortion , which he advocated in his 1994 and 2002 election campaigns in Massachusetts. However, he wants to allow abortions in the event of rape and incest as well as in danger to the mother's life.

Romney warned in a campaign speech that the US should not "become the France of the 21st century" - "still a great nation, but no longer the world leader, not the superpower". In Romney's view, "Europe [...] is facing a demographic disaster, [the] inevitable product of weakened belief in the Creator, failed families, a disregard for the sanctity of human life, and an eroded morality."

Romney described the 2010 health care reform as an abuse of power and “a historic usurpation of the legislative process,” although, as Paul Krugman pointed out, it came pretty close to his own reform plans.

In March 2012, he voted in favor of Congressman Paul Ryan's budget . The plan provides for a lowering of the top tax rate as well as cuts in transfer payments for low-wage earners and the poor.

Foreign policy

Romney's foreign policy expertise was questioned early on. In March 2012, he described Russia as "geopolitical enemy number one". The reason he cited was the attitude of the Russian government to Iran's nuclear program and the uprising in Syria ; Russia supports the Assad regime in Syria. Romney, on the other hand, called for the Syrian opposition to be supported with heavy weapons, which the US should not supply, as well as a preventive military strike against Iran. But Romney rejected a military strike against Syria . He also promised that US troops would withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014.

Romney supported the sending of additional soldiers to Iraq, but could envision a troop reduction in the long term.

In the civil war in Libya Romney supported Although Obama's intervention, however, criticized that he had intervened too late.

He also criticized the People's Republic of China and called it a "currency manipulator" because China keeps the yuan low in order to be able to offer goods cheaper. Regarding the Middle East conflict , Romney said he did not think the US should play a leading role in resolving the conflict. In addition, the Palestinians would be solely to blame for the conflict. Romney said America should wait for something to happen that resolves the conflict. In addition, Romney protested against Israel being publicly criticized for human rights violations, but instead professed unconditional solidarity with Israel. During a visit to Warsaw he called Belarus a dictatorship.

In the third presidential debate on foreign policy between Obama and Romney, the Republican stressed "extremism in the world of Islam". On October 22, 2012, he also said that the “radical wave” that was developing after the revolts in the Middle East and that was a defeat of Obama's policies had to be countered.

Publications

  • Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games , Washington: Regnery Publishing 2001. ISBN 0-89526-084-0 (with Timothy Robinson)
  • No Apology: The Case for American Greatness , New York: St. Martin's Press. 2010. ISBN 0-312-60980-9
  • Believe in America: Mitt Romney's Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth , Amazon Digital Services. 2012.

Web links

Commons : Mitt Romney  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ washingtonpost.com: Romney asserts his independence - and Trump's GOP critics see an opening
  2. ↑ Searching for candidates in the USA. In: n-tv , March 6, 2007.
  3. ^ The LeBaron family in Mexico ... a history of conflict , The Yucatan Times, November 5, 2019
  4. ↑ LeBaron family, which lost relatives in Mexico attack, has had "run-ins" with cartels , CBS News, November 6, 2019
  5. ↑ Massacre of US citizens puts spotlight on Mormon community with deep roots in Mexico , Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2019
  6. ↑ US election 2012: Mitt Romney's life as a poor Mormon missionary in France questioned. In: The Daily Telegraph , December 15, 2011.
  7. ↑ Mitt Romney's Nutty Professor. In: Mother Jones . April 30, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  8. ^ Franklin Foer: Election 2008: A Voter's Guide. Yale University Press, New Haven, London 2007, p. 119 limited preview in Google Book search.
  9. ↑ Frank Herrmann: Mitt Romney: A "Moneyman" who solves tricky problems. In: Der Standard , August 27, 2012.
  10. ↑ Michael Luo: Romney Aides Say His Worth Is at Least $ 260 Million. In: The New York Times , May 12, 2007.
  11. ↑ Jannis Brühl: Multimillionaire Mitt Romney pays 14 percent tax. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , January 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ approval ratings for all 50 governors as of 05/10/05 , Survey USA
  13. ↑ A Mormon wants to go to the White House ( Memento of February 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Straw Poll: Bread and Games in American. In: diepresse.com. August 12, 2007, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  15. ↑ a b wrap 8-US Republican Romney wins Michigan primary. In: reuters.com. January 15, 2008, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Mitt Romney wins Maine Republican primary. In: Stern (magazine). Archived from the original on February 13, 2012 ; accessed on February 13, 2015 .
  17. ^ Romney suspends presidential campaign. In: cnn.com. February 7, 2007, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  18. ^ Republican Mitt Romney wants to become US President. In: tagesschau.sf.tv. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012 ; accessed on February 13, 2015 .
  19. ^ Sebastian Fischer: Primary elections in America: Romney wins in the class struggle. In: Spiegel Online . January 11, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  20. ↑ Results at a glance: So it is with the US primaries. In: Spiegel Online . January 11, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Marc Pitzke: US Republican primaries: Super-rich donors fuel mud battle. In: Spiegel Online . January 11, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  22. ^ Frank Herrmann: Mud battle before US area code. In: nachrichten.rp-online.de. January 9, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  23. ↑ Sebastian Fischer: Primary elections for the US Republicans: Gingrich forces Romney into a duel. In: Spiegel Online . January 22, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  24. ↑ Sebastian Fischer: Republican area code in Florida: Romney wins, Gingrich continues to fight. In: Spiegel Online . February 1, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  25. ↑ US presidential campaign: Republicans send Romney into the race. August 29, 2013, archived from the original on August 30, 2012 ; accessed on February 13, 2015 .
  26. ↑ Frank Herrmann: Key speech at the Republican Convention: Mitt Romney's trump card is Ann. In: rp-online.de. August 28, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  27. ↑ Sebastian Fischer: Romney's tax return: candidate super-rich bows to the pressure. In: Spiegel Online . September 22, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  28. ↑ In Electoral College, 332 electors voted for Obama and 206 for Romney.
  29. ↑ Presidential election in the USA: Obama did it again. November 7, 2012, archived from the original on November 10, 2012 ; accessed on February 13, 2015 .
  30. ↑ Marc Pitzke: US election campaign: Romney's escape to the front. In: Spiegel Online . September 20, 2012, accessed on February 13, 2015 : “100 percent, that's the new language rule: Mitt Romney convulsively asserts that he cares about all Americans. But he can no longer capture his derogatory words about Obama's voters - the PR debacle is perfect. He falls behind in new polls. "
  31. ^ Jordan Fabian: Analysis: The Myths and Facts of Romney's "Gift" Remarks. In: abcnews.go.com. November 16, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  32. ↑ Bobby Jindal Again Explodes Over 'Insulting' Romney Comments ( Memento from November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ^ Romney gets back to business on Marriott board. In: bostonglobe.com. December 4, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  34. ↑ Romney is also considering candidacy ( memento from January 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Tagesschau, January 10, 2015
  35. ↑ Mitt Romney Won't Run in 2016 Presidential Election , The New York Times, January 30, 2015 (English)
  36. ↑ Mitt Romney Can't Bring Himself To Say He'd Vote For Donald Trump , HuffingtonPost, October 18, 2015 (English)
  37. ↑ Mitt Romney: Donald Trump is "very very not smart" , CBS News, March 3, 2016 (English)
  38. ↑ Lisa Riley Roche, Dennis Romboy: Mitt Romney: 'I'm in the fight,' and with Trump's policy agenda. In: Deseret News , February 16, 2018 (English).
  39. ↑ Mitt Romney is running for Senate seat in Utah. In: Spiegel Online , February 16, 2018.
  40. ↑ Trump speaks out for critic Romney. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , February 20, 2018.
  41. ^ Lee Davidson, Courtney Tanner: Utah Republican delegates force Mitt Romney into a primary election with state lawmaker Mike Kennedy in the race for the US Senate. In: The Salt Lake Tribune , April 22, 2018.
  42. ^ Utah Primary Election Results. In: The New York Times , June 28, 2018.
  43. ↑ Impeachment proceedings end with Trump's acquittal. Salzburg news. February 6, 2020, accessed February 6, 2020.
  44. ^ Romney's Dilemma. In: newyorker.com. June 6, 2011, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  45. ↑ Martin Kilian: The Republicans are missing a draft horse for 2012. In: tagesanzeiger.ch. April 1, 2011, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  46. ↑ CNN: Massachusetts governor urges gay civil unions, not marriage ( Memento of February 6, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  47. ↑ Christina Bergmann: "My teacher's name is mom": Homeschooling in the USA. In: dw.de. January 17, 2009, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  48. ↑ a b US election: The most important applicants. In: diepresse.com. Retrieved February 13, 2015 .
  49. ↑ Mitt Romney - «Secret Favorite». In: nzz.ch. October 30, 2007, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  50. ↑ Mitt Romney says he opposes abortion. In: msnbc.msn.com. February 7, 2007, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  51. ^ Matthias Rüb: Opponent of abortion brings Romney into need of explanation. In: FAZ.net . October 24, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  52. ↑ Reuters / AP / DPA: US primaries: Europe has 'failed morally and religiously'. In: stern.de . February 7, 2008, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  53. ^ Paul Krugman: Going to Extreme. The New York Times , March 25, 2010 (subscription required)
  54. ↑ Mitt Romney: Russia is America's 'number one geopolitical foe'. In: telegraph.co.uk. March 27, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  55. ^ A b Ansgar Graw, Uwe Schmitt: Obama versus Romney - the great candidate check. In: welt.de . November 4, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  56. ↑ "Hope is not a strategy": Romney criticizes Obama's foreign policy - and calls for more toughness. In: Focus Online . October 9, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  57. ↑ TV duel in the USA: Barack Obama attacks - Romney is peaceful. In: Focus Online . October 24, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  58. ↑ Abc News: Where Is Mitt Romney on Libya? In: abcnews.go.com. October 20, 2011, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  59. ↑ Romney rumbles against China. In: handelsblatt.com . September 14, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
  60. ↑ Boaz Bismuth: Romney: Obama threw Israel under the bus. In: Israel HaYom , October 28, 2011.
  61. ↑ Gavriel Queenann: GOP frontrunners Unite Behind Israel. Arutz Sheva , January 27, 2012. Also CNN: Florida Republican Presidential Debate, January 26, 2012.
  62. ↑ In new video, Romney says Palestinians have no interest in peace with Israel. In: Haaretz Newspaper , September 18, 2012.
  63. ↑ Joshua Mitnick: Romney's Israel speech: Iran will be 'highest national security priority'. In: CSM , July 29, 2012.
  64. ^ Israel and the occupied territories. US Department of State, February 25, 2004
  65. ^ Mitt Romney condemns dictatorship in Belarus. In: charter97.org. July 31, 2012, accessed February 13, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Romney, Mitt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Romney, Willard Mitt (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit , Michigan