Dexter Wayne Lehtinen (born March 23, 1946) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

attorney, former

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 ...

, interim

U.S. Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for south

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and a law professor. He is the husband of former U.S. Congresswoman

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She wa ...

Early life and education

Lehtinen is of Finnish ancestry. He graduated from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in 1968

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts 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 ...

degree. He then graduated with an MA from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 1974. In 1975, he graduated first in his class from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. At the University of Miami, he was the Commander of the Corps of Cadets, president of the Florida Federation of College Republicans, and was inducted into the

Iron Arrow Honor Society The Iron Arrow Honor Society is an honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the university. Founded at the University of Miami in 1 ...

, the highest owner bestowed at the university. He joined the United States Army as an officer. He received a

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in 1971 for severe facial injuries during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Florida legislature

In 1980, Lehtinen ran against incumbent Democratic State Representative Gene Flinn in a

multi-member An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections ma ...

southwest Dade County district. Lehtinen came in first in the Democratic primary, garnering 44% of the vote against Flinn and another candidate. In the September primary runoff, Lehtinen defeated Flinn, 64 to 36%. In the general election, he narrowly defeated Republican nominee Chris Ferrer with 51.3% of the vote. In 1982, he won reelection in the newly redrawn 118th district—encompassing parts of rural southwestern Dade and areas stretching from

Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

to Richmond Heights—with 65%. In 1984, he won reelection unopposed. In February 1985, he left 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 ...

to become a

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. This was only a few months before he married Republican State Representative

. Lehtinen and his wife were both elected in 1986 to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

; he was elected in District 40—which included large parts of western and southwestern Dade, including parts of Coral Gables—and she was elected in neighboring District 34.

U.S. Attorney for South Florida

In June 1988, Lehtinen resigned his Florida Senate seat after

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Edwin Meese Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan pres ...

took a "high-risk gamble" in naming him to succeed Leon Kellner as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. His three biggest cases during his 3 ½ year tenure were the cases of former

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

leader

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

, religious sect leader

Yahweh ben Yahweh Yahweh ben Yahweh (born Hulon Mitchell Jr.; October 27, 1935 – May 7, 2007) was an American religious leader, Black separatist and founder of the Nation of Yahweh, a new religious movement headquartered in Florida that had thousands of Blac ...

, and of Hialeah Mayor Raúl L. Martínez. The

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

refused to act on his nomination and Lehtinen on January 13, 1992, called a news conference to announce his resignation. Lehtinen said his departure had nothing to do with a well-publicized internal Justice Department investigation of him because of the Martinez case. The Justice Department opened a case against Lehtinen on charges of misconduct and potential conflicts of interest for investigating "a potential political rival of his wife."

Post U.S. Attorney career

Lehtinen served as the general counsel for the

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving fed ...

Tribe of Florida Indians until May 2010. In November 2011, the same tribe filed a lawsuit against Lehtinen for alleged malpractice regarding tax advice. He also was a professor at

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, the University of Miami School of Law is the oldest law school in ...

and at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

Personal life

Lehtinen married then-Florida State Representative Ileana Ros on June 9, 1984, while they were both serving in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. They have two children,

Rodrigo Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vis ...

and Patricia Marie. He was previously married to Donna L. Stevenson and had two children with her, Katharine Natasha and Douglas Hooper.

References

External links

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehtinen, Dexter 1946 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Columbia Business School alumni American people of Finnish descent Florida state senators Florida Republicans Florida lawyers Members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Miami Spouses of Florida politicians Stanford University alumni United States Attorneys for the Southern District of Florida University of Miami alumni Florida Democrats People from Homestead, Florida United States Army officers