James Carew Rosapepe (born May 20, 1951) is an American politician from Maryland and 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 ...

. He is currently serving in his third four-year term in the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

, representing Maryland's District 21 in Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties. From 1998 to 2001, he served as the

United States Ambassador to Romania A United States diplomatic representative to Romania has existed since 1880. The United States formally recognized Romania in 1878, following the Treaty of Berlin; diplomatic relations were opened in 1880, and American diplomats were sent to the ...

Background

Rosapepe was born in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

. He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1986, serving 2 full and one partial terms before being appointed as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Romania in early 1998 during the Clinton administration. An internal State Department report was strongly critical of Rosapepe's leadership and management during this ambassadorial service, while crediting him with several accomplishments. Upon his recall from Romania, Rosapepe was appointed to serve on the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland. He left that board to run against incumbent Senator John Giannetti in District 21.

In the legislature

Rosapepe defeated the incumbent senator, John Giannetti, in the 2006 election for Maryland State Senator in District 21. Giannetti had been accused of being too conservative by many Democrats, specifically for his position against an assault weapons ban in Maryland. After his defeat in the primary election, Giannetti switched parties to run against Rosapepe as a Republican, and was again defeated. Rosapepe currently serves as vice chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and is a member of the Joint COVID-19 Response Legislative Workgroup. He was unopposed in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 elections.

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* * Jim Rosapepe is also co-author of 1951 births American people of Italian descent Democratic Party Maryland state senators Living people Ambassadors of the United States to Romania Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Rome Italian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American politicians {{Maryland-politician-stub