Francisco Lopes Borges (born November 17, 1951) is an

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politician and business executive who served as

Connecticut State Treasurer The Connecticut State Treasurer serves the office of treasurer for the state of Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Ma ...

from 1987 to 1993, succeeding

Joan R. Kemler Joan Rosen Kemler (March 28, 1926 – August 9, 2020) was an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1986 to 1987. Governor William A. O'Neill appointed her to the office after Henry E. Parker resigned to work for a ...

. A member of the

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, Borges was Connecticut's third Black state treasurer.

Early life and education

Borges was born in

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

to parents Manuel and Maria Lopes Borges. He grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, the oldest of five siblings. He spoke only Portuguese until he was 8. He attended Millbrook School on a scholarship and went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in 1974 and a J.D. from the

University of Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

in 1978. He was associate counsel at

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from 1978 to 1986.

Political career

Borges was elected to the Hartford City Council in 1981 and served as deputy mayor from 1983 to 1985. He was elected Connecticut State Treasurer in 1986, defeating Republican opponent and Middletown mayor Sebastian J. Garafalo by 11 points. Borges won reelection in 1990 by a much narrower 3-point margin, defeating former state treasurer

. Borges divested the state's pension portfolio from companies doing business in Northern Ireland and apartheid South Africa. Effective March 1, 1993, Borges resigned from office to become an executive at the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, a subsidiary of

General Electric Capital GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric. The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services. It had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 201 ...

. US Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman had lobbied the

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

to appoint Borges to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, but the administration moved slowly and Borges opted to accept the Wall Street job offer. The Connecticut General Assembly selected Bloomfield mayor

Joseph M. Suggs Jr. Joseph M. Suggs Jr. (born August 1, 1940) is an American politician who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1993 to 1995. Biography Suggs was appointed to the office of state treasurer by the Connecticut General Assembly to complete t ...

to fill the remaining two years of Borges' term.

Business career

Borges is chair and managing partner of

Landmark Partners Landmark Partners, an SEC Registered Advisor, is one of the most experienced participants in the private equity secondary market for private equity (also known as secondaries) and real estate investments. Founded in 1989, the firm is a leadin ...

, an investment company based in Simsbury. Landmark was the subject of a 2000 civil complaint by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, charging that Landmark's leaders provided kickbacks to Republican state treasurer

Paul J. Silvester Paul J. Silvester (born 1963) is an American white collar criminal who served as Connecticut State Treasurer from 1997 to 1999. Convicted of racketeering and conspiracy to launder money, he served four years and three months in prison. Personal l ...

in exchange for Silvester's 1998 award of major state pension-fund investment contracts to Landmark. The misdeeds took place before Borges joined the company. Borges disputed the charges. Silvester subsequently pled guilty to federal racketeering charges. Landmark agreed to settle the case and pay a $100,000 fine; its chair, Stanley J. Alfeld, paid an additional fine of $50,000. Neither Landmark nor Alfeld admitted wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borges, Francisco L. 1951 births Living people American politicians of Cape Verdean descent Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni University of Connecticut School of Law alumni State treasurers of Connecticut Connecticut Democrats 20th-century American politicians African-American people in Connecticut politics African-American business executives 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics 21st-century African-American politicians