Eleni Kounalakis (née Tsakopoulos; born March 3, 1966) is an American politician, businesswoman, and former diplomat serving as the 50th

lieutenant governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to l ...

since 2019. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, she is the first woman elected to the office. Kounalakis previously served as the

United States Ambassador to Hungary This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Hungary. Until 1867 Hungary had been part of the Austrian Empire, when the empire became Austria-Hungary. Hungary had no separate diplomatic relations with other nations. The United States had ...

from 2010 to 2013. She was sworn into office on January 7, 2010, and presented her credentials to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

László Sólyom László Sólyom ( hu, Sólyom László, ; born 3 January 1942) is a Hungarian political figure, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 until 2010. Previously he was Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Hungary f ...

on January 11, 2010. On April 24, 2017, Kounalakis announced her bid for the office of

Lieutenant Governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to l ...

in the 2018 election. She came in first place in the June 5, 2018 primary election; she was elected on November 6, 2018.

Career

Private career

Before accepting President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's nomination to an ambassadorship, Kounalakis was President of AKT Development Corporation, one of California's largest housing development firms, which was founded by her father. Kounalakis earned her undergraduate degree from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and a Master of Business Administration from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as Berkeley Haas, is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a public university i ...

. Kounalakis and her husband, print and broadcast journalist

Markos Kounalakis Markos Kounalakis ( el, Μάρκος Κουναλάκης; born December 1, 1956) is an American syndicated journalist and scholar who is the second gentleman of California as the husband of lieutenant governor Eleni Kounalakis. Kounalakis wri ...

, founded two university chairs in Hellenic studies, the Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, held by the scholar of late Classical and early Hellenistic Greek literature, Dr. Alexander Sens, and the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair in honor of

Constantine Mitsotakis Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, held by

Josiah Ober Josiah Ober is an American historian of ancient Greece and classical political theorist. He is Tsakopoulos- Kounalakis Professor in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis, and professor of classics and political science, at Stanford University. His te ...

. Both chairs focus on the understanding of the origins of Athenian democracy. They also established the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis lecture series at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...

to focus on democracy and international relations. Kounalakis served for nearly ten years as a Trustee of the World Council of

Religions for Peace Religions for Peace is an international coalition of representatives from the world's religions dedicated to promoting peace founded in 1970. The International Secretariat headquarters is in New York City, with regional conferences in Europe, As ...

. In recognition for her work with the WCRP, she was awarded the medal of St. Paul, the Greek Orthodox Church of America’s highest honor. San Francisco Mayor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

appointed her to serve as a Trustee of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. San Francisco Mayor

Ed Lee Edwin Mah Lee (Chinese: 李孟賢; May 5, 1952 – December 12, 2017) was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco from 2011 until his death. He was the first Asian American to hold the office. Born in ...

appointed her to serve on the Port Commission Board.

Political career

She served four times as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

and as an at-large member of the California State Democratic Central Committee. She also served as a member of the First 5 California Commission, and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism. She served as a Trustee of Robert Redford's Sundance Preserve and on the

Conservation Fund The Conservation Fund is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a dual charter to pursue environmental preservation and economic development. From 2008–2018, it has placed more than 500,000 acres under conservation management through a program wh ...

’s National Forum on Children and Nature. She is also a senior advisor at

Albright Stonebridge Group Dentons Global Advisors ASG, formerly Albright Stonebridge Group, is a global business strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., United States. It was created in 2009 through the merger of international consulting firms The Albright Group, found ...

. On April 24, 2017, Kounalakis announced her bid for the office of

in the 2018 election. She came in first place on June 5, 2018 in the top-two statewide primary; Democratic State Senator Ed Hernandez placed second. On November 6, Kounalakis was elected by a 56.6% to 43.3% margin against her opponent. Kounalakis, along with then Governor-elect

, took office on January 7, 2019. After her candidacy announcement, she visited all 58 counties in California during her campaign. Her grassroots campaign earned the recognition of ''Time'' magazine for engaging hundreds of volunteers to text over 1 million voters before Election Day. On November 6, 2018, Kounalakis became the first female elected Lieutenant Governor of California in history;

Mona Pasquil Mona Pasquil Rogers (born Simeona Fortunata Pasquil; April 3, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 47th List of lieutenant governors of California, lieutenant governor of California from November 4, 2009 to April 27, 2010. Upon taking ...

was appointed in an acting capacity in 2009 following the resignation of

John Garamendi John Raymond Garamendi (; born January 24, 1945) is an American businessman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who has represented areas of Northern California between San Francisco and Sacramento, including the cities of Fairfiel ...

but was not elected to the post.

Personal life

Kounalakis and Markos married in 2000. They have two sons. She is the daughter of

Angelo Tsakopoulos Angelo Tsakopoulos (born August 4, 1936) is a Greek American businessman and real estate developer in Sacramento, California and the founder and owner of AKT Development. Tsakopoulos attended California State University, Sacramento. Tsakopoul ...

, a Sacramento developer. Kounalakis is of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

descent and grew up a member of the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

. In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the

American College of Greece The American College of Greece (ACG) is a private college and high school in Agia Paraskevi, Greece. It was founded by United Church of Christ American missionaries in 1875. It was originally a primary and secondary school for girls. As of 2020, ...

Notes

References

External links

Official website
of the California Lt. Governor
Campaign website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kounalakis, Eleni 1966 births 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Ambassadors of the United States to Hungary American politicians of Greek descent American real estate businesspeople American women ambassadors Businesspeople from Sacramento, California California Democrats Dartmouth College alumni Haas School of Business alumni Lieutenant Governors of California Living people Politicians from Sacramento, California Women in California politics