Frank Edelblut is an American businessman and politician who is the Commissioner of the

New Hampshire Department of Education The New Hampshire Department of Education is the state education agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is headquartered in Concord. Frank Edelblut has led the department as commissioner since February 16, 2017. History New Hampshire ha ...

. Edelblut formerly served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. During his term in the House, Edelblut represented Hillsborough County District 38, including the towns of Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenville, Greenfield, Hancock, Hillsborough, Lyndeborough, Wilton, and Windsor. He served on the Finance Committee, Special Committee on Pensions, and the Child and Family Law Committee. He was a

candidate for

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, narrowly finishing second in the primary.

Education

Edelblut attended the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

where he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

, Business Administration – Accounting in 1983. Edelblut also holds a Masters of Theological Studies from the

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, 2015.

Career

Professional

Edelblut started his career as an auditor for

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

(PwC) in South Florida (

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

) where he worked as a Certified Public Accountant auditing a variety of businesses. He then briefly worked as the

CFO The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

for one of his PwC clients, Niagara Corp., In 2013, he left Common Angels and now does early-stage investing on his own.

Political

Edelblut served on the New Hampshire House of Representatives Finance Committee, Special Committee on Pensions and on the Child and Family Law committee. Edelblut was the prime sponsor of a number of bills in 2016, including bills on net metering, freedom of speech on college campuses, arming otherwise-unarmed

New Hampshire National Guard The New Hampshire National Guard is the militia of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As a state militia, units in the New Hampshire National Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Governor of New Hampshire through the office of the state adjut ...

facilities, supporting the ability of members of the military to wear dress uniforms in graduation ceremonies, and several measures in the family court to try to reduce conflict in already difficult divorce proceedings. In 2016, Edelblut announced he would not seek reelection as state representative and would instead be a

candidate for

during the 2016 primary election. Edelblut ultimately lost the election to now-Governor

Chris Sununu Christopher Thomas Sununu ( ; born November 5, 1974) is an American politician and engineer who has served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Sununu was a member of the New Hampshire Executive Coun ...

by fewer than 900 votes. The pair appeared at a joint press conference on the steps of the Capital Building the day following the election, where Edelblut endorsed Sununu. In January 2017, Governor

nominated Edelblut to be the Commissioner of the

. Edelblut was confirmed by the Republican led New Hampshire Executive Council in February.

Personal life

Edelblut has been married for 30 years and has seven children. Five are college graduates, one is currently in college, and one is still at home. All of his children have been home educated. Edelblut also has three grandchildren. Edelblut has competed in triathlons and Nordic ski racing, including a biathlon.

References

External links

Official campaign website

BallotPedia page

List of New Hampshire House of Representatives members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelblut, Frank Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology alumni Living people Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives People from Wilton, New Hampshire State cabinet secretaries of New Hampshire University of Rhode Island alumni 1961 births