John Rakolta Jr ( ro, Racolța; born June 15, 1947 in

Oakland County, Michigan Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...

) is an American businessman and a former diplomat who served as the

United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates The ambassador of the United States to the United Arab Emirates is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The U.S. embassy to the UAE is located in Embassies Dist ...

from 2019 to 2021. He is the former CEO of Walbridge (formerly known as Walbridge Aldinger), a full-service construction company headquartered in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He was also one of the National Finance Chairs for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and 2012 presidential campaigns.

Education and early life

Rakolta received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in 1970 and then studied smaller company management at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

. All four of Rakolta's grandparents were immigrants from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He was - until he assumed office of US Ambassador to the UAE - the Honorary-Consul General for Romania in Detroit.

Business career

Rakolta's father, John Rakolta Sr. (1923–2003), was the head of Walbridge Aldinger before Rakolta. Rakolta Jr. began his career at Walbridge in 1970, and became president in 1979 and CEO and chairman in 1993. Rakolta is also on the board of the Munder Funds since 1993. In 2015, Walbridge and partnered with Brazilian company Construcap in the construction of a new 6-million-square-foot Jeep assembly complex and supplier park in Goiana, Brazil, and were honored by Engineering News-Record with the publication's Global Best Manufacturing Project of the Year Award. In 2015 Rakolta was co-chair of the Coalition for the Future of Detroit School Children, which recommended reform for the school system of Detroit, including limiting the number of charter schools in the city. Also in 2015, Walbridge began a multi-year transformation of the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. In 2017, Ford Motor Company selected Walbridge to provide construction services for the redevelopment of its

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

, world headquarters and campus facilities.

Political career

Rakolta was one of the National Finance Chairs for

and 2012 presidential campaigns. Along with his work for the Romney campaigns, Rakolta was a major fundraiser for the Bush campaign in 2004. Most recently he was State Finance Chair for Gov.

Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previo ...

of Michigan. Rakolta served as the chairman of

New Detroit Planning and development in Detroit since the late 20th century has attempted to enhance the economy and quality of life of Detroit, Michigan, United States. In 1970, the private group Detroit Renaissance began to facilitate development in the city ...

from 2003 to 2010. He was a financial advisor for Trump in Michigan and helped fund Trump's transition team after the election. In May 2018, Rakolta was nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

to be the next

. The U.S. Senate confirmed him on September 17, 2019, by a vote of 63–30. In March 2020, Rakolta was appointed commissioner general of the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. His tenure as an ambassador ended on January 19, 2021.

Personal life

Rakolta and his wife

Terry Rakolta Terry Lynn Rakolta (née Stern) is an American former anti-obscenity activist, best known for leading a boycott against the Fox Broadcasting Company sitcom '' Married... with Children'' in 1989.A Mother Is Heard as Sponsors Abandon a TV Hit (March ...

were married in 1976 and have four children: Paige, Eileen, Lauren, and John Rakolta III. He is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Terry Rakolta is the sister of

's former sister-in-law,

Ronna Romney Ronna Eileen Romney ( Stern; born September 24, 1943) is an American Republican politician and former radio talk show host. Early life and family Romney, née Stern, was born in Detroit, Michigan to parents Eileen Boyd and James Albert Stern. S ...

. John Rakolta is also the uncle to

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

Chairwoman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Ronna Romney McDaniel Ronna McDaniel (' Romney; born March 20, 1973) is an American politician and political strategist serving as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since 2017. A member of the Republican Party and the Romney family, she was chair of th ...

. In 1993, the Rakoltas bought a property on Everglades Island near

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. The gardens, designed by Jorge Sanchez, were given the Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach in 2013. In 2018, Rakolta was named Michiganian of the Year by ''The Detroit News'' for his advocacy work for the Detroit Public School System.

Organizations and affiliations

* Chairman of New Detroit * Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren (Co-chair) * Engineering Society of Detroit * Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (Co-chair)

Awards and recognition

* Black Family Development, Inc's Dr. Gerald K. Smith Award (2014) * Engineering Society of Detroit's Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award * Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit's Executive Leadership Award (2014) * New Detroit's Leadership in Race Relations Award (2015) * Urban Land Development Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) * Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship (2005)

References

External links

Romanian consulate bio of RakoltaBusiness Week bio of RakoltaMarquette University page on Rakolta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakolta, John Latter Day Saints from Michigan American people of Romanian descent Harvard Business School alumni Living people Marquette University alumni Mitt Romney People from Oakland County, Michigan Michigan Republicans 1947 births People associated with the 2008 United States presidential election Florida Republicans Ambassadors of the United States to the United Arab Emirates