Manuel Alberto Diaz (born November 5, 1954) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

politician who served as the chair of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governo ...

from 2021 to 2023. From 2001 to 2009, he served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Miami, Florida.

Early life and career

Diaz and his mother, Elisa, left Cuba in 1961. He graduated from

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of J ...

in 1973. He scored the first touchdown in his high school's football history, and was named "Mr. Belén" in his graduating class. In 1977, Díaz received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a 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 university in Florid ...

. In 1980, he earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from the

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 ...

. Diaz's law firm was hired to represent Lázaro Gonzalez in the custody case over his grand-nephew Elián González. Diaz's participation in the trial and presence at the González household during the April 22, 2000 raid propelled him to national prominence.

Mayorship

Diaz ran in the 2001 Miami mayoral election as an Independent. He and Maurice Ferré were the top candidates in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, locking out incumbent mayor

Joe Carollo Joe Carollo (born March 12, 1955) is a Cuban-American politician who served as mayor of Miami from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001. Following his loss in the 2001 mayoral election, he served as Doral, Florida city manager from Janua ...

. Diaz won the runoff election, and was re-elected in 2005. As mayor, Díaz remained a partner in the law firm, but stated he would not be able to take new cases. When he first took office, Miami city government was bankrupt, held junk bond status, and was under a state financial oversight board. Mayor Diaz pursued a vast administrative overhaul that brought with it financial stability, healthy level of financial reserves, continued tax cuts, lowered millage rates, and an A+ bond rating on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

. Diaz was awarded the "Urban Innovator of the Year" award by the Manhattan Institute in 2004. In 2007, Diaz served on the selection committee for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. In 2008, Díaz became president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. As an Independent, and a former registered Democrat, Diaz spoke at the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...

and endorsed Obama's presidential bid. Following Obama's election, Diaz was considered for HHS Secretary; the position would ultimately go to

Kathleen Sebelius Kathleen Sebelius (; née Gilligan, born May 15, 1948) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebel ...

Later career

Mayor Díaz left office in 2009 because of term limits. In the spring of 2010, Díaz was an IOP Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Today Díaz is a partner at Lydecker Díaz, LLP in Miami. On January 22, 2014, Manny Diaz and four other attorneys from his law firm, Lydecker Diaz, filed papers to represent

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

in its battle to build in Midtown Miami. On November 23, 2020, Diaz declared his campaign for chair of the Florida Democratic party. He has been endorsed by Mike Bloomberg, whom he supported when Bloomberg ran for president and

Jorge M. Perez Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

who has ties with both former presidents

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

Personal life

Diaz is married to Robin Smith and has four children and three grandchildren. His son, Manny, is the defensive coordinator for the

Penn State Nittany Lions football The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 a ...

team and is the former head coach for the

Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Coastal Division of the Atlant ...

team. His daughter, Natalie, recently received her master's degree in public health with honors from

. His son, Robert, is pursuing a political science degree. His daughter, Elisa, recently received her Juris Doctor from the

Florida International University College of Law The Florida International University College of Law is the law school of Florida International University, located in Miami, Florida in the United States. The law school is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is the only public law sch ...

. His grandchildren are Colin, Gavin, and Manny Jr.

References

External links

Manny Díaz profile at CityMayors.com

Díaz, O'Naghten & Borgognoni, L.L.P.

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Manny 1954 births American politicians of Cuban descent Cuban emigrants to the United States Florida Democrats Florida Independents Florida International University alumni Hispanic and Latino American mayors in Florida Living people Mayors of Miami People from Havana Presidents of the United States Conference of Mayors State political party chairs of Florida University of Miami School of Law alumni