Richard Hartvig Bagger (born March 27, 1960) is an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and former

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

who later served as chief of staff to Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

.Bagger Will Be Christie's Chief of Staff

Politicker NJ The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the '' New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's '' New York Observer'' blog, "''The Po ...

. Accessed December 3, 2009. He left the Christie administration in early 2012, and is now an Executive Vice President with

Celgene Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid ( lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in ...

. He is a resident of

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. Raised in nearby Westfield, Bagger attended

Westfield High School Westfield High School may refer to: * The Westfield School, Perry, Georgia * Westfield High School (Westfield, Indiana) * Westfield High School (Massachusetts), Westfield, Massachusetts * Westfield Technical Academy, Westfield, Massachusetts * West ...

. He received an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1982 from the

School of Public and International Affairs A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law. Bagger served as a Planning Board member, Councilman, and

Mayor of Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

from the 22nd Legislative District in 1991, succeeding

Chuck Hardwick Charles Leighton Hardwick (born November 8, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey. Early life Hardwick was bo ...

, his longtime mentor. During his time as an assemblyman, he served as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and was elected to be Majority Conference Leader. In 2000, he declined a race to succeed

Bob Franks Robert Douglas Franks (September 21, 1951 – April 9, 2010) was an American Republican politician who served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey. Early life Franks was born on September 21, 1951, in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Norm ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. In 2001, he was elected to the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

for the 21st Legislative District. He resigned as a

in 2003 in order to pursue private business interests and was succeeded by

Thomas Kean Jr. Thomas Howard Kean Jr. ( ; born September 5, 1968) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and the U.S. representative-elect from New Jersey's 7th congressional district. From 2001 until 2003, he was a New Jersey Ge ...

Bagger remained a political leader in Union County after leaving the legislature. Earlier in his career, Bagger was an Assistant General Counsel to

Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey is the only licensed Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association plan in New Jersey, providing health insurance coverage to over 3.2 million people thr ...

and practiced law with the firm of McCarter and English. After leaving the Senate, he worked as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy for

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

.Richard H. Bagger - NJN Foundation Board of Trustees
, accessed April 13, 2007. He also was a member of the NJN Foundation Board of Trustees as well as Board Chair of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey and the National Pharmaceutical Council. In December 2009, then-Governor-elect Chris Christie appointed Bagger as his chief of staff. He served in that role until January 2012. Bagger served on the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...

Board of Commissioners, having been confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate on June 28, 2012 and remained on the Board until June 2021. He was Chair of the Gateway Program Development Corporation in 2017, served on the Board of the

National September 11 Memorial and Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

while a Port Authority Commissioner, and joined the Board of the

Regional Plan Association The Regional Plan Association is an independent, not-for-profit regional planning organization, founded in 1922, that focuses on recommendations to improve the quality of life and economic competitiveness of a 31-county New York–New Jersey– ...

in 2022. Bagger was Executive Director of the 2016 transition planning team of

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 ...

, after his friend and close associate

endorsed him and was named Chair of the planning group. After Christie was dropped by Trump as leader of the transition team in favor of

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

, Bagger left the transition team on the same day. In May 2017, Bagger was appointed to the

President's Commission on White House Fellowships The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...

and served there until 2021. Bagger is also an adjunct faculty member of the Eagleton Institute at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, and a Director of

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Tonix Pharmaceuticals (Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.) is a pharmaceutical company based in Chatham, New jersey that focuses on drug repurposing, repurposed drugs for central nervous system conditions and as of 2020 was also pursuing a vaccin ...

, the

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1949, is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer in the world. The LLS's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's l ...

, and the

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagger, Rich 1960 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Chiefs of staff to United States state governors Living people Mayors of places in New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Plainfield, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni Westfield High School (New Jersey) alumni