Matthew Kipling Fong (November 20, 1953 – June 1, 2011) was an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who served as the 30th

California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-five individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Fiona M ...

. He was a government appointee, finance industry director, and consultant after retiring from the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commi ...

. As of 2023, he is the most recent Republican to serve as California State Treasurer.

Life and education

Fong was born in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

. He was the adopted son of

March Fong Eu March Kong Fong Eu ( Kong; March 29, 1922 – December 21, 2017) was an American politician. She was a member of the California State Assembly and went on to serve as Secretary of State of California. Early life and education Eu was born March ...

, a Democrat who served as the 25th

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeh ...

. He graduated from Skyline High School, and went on to earn a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

in 1975. In 1982, he received 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 ...

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, and in 1985 attained his J.D. degree at the

Southwestern University School of Law Southwestern Law School is a private law school in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register o ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Public career

Fong retired from his

assignment at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, serving as an adviser to the

U.S. Secretary of the Air Force The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United S ...

on budget and finance with the rank of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

in the Air Force Reserve.

California politics

In 1990, Fong unsuccessfully ran for

California State Controller The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-two individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. The incumbent is Betty Yee ...

, where he lost to Democrat

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

. In 1991, Fong was appointed to the

State Board of Equalization The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United States. The authorities of the Board fall into four broad areas: sales and use t ...

by Governor

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

. Fong would serve as Vice Chairman of the board from 1991 to 1994. In 1994, Fong ran to succeed

Kathleen Brown Kathleen Lynn Brown (born September 25, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 29th Treasurer of California from 1991 to 1995. Brown unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in the 1994 election. Early life and e ...

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

. Fong defeated Democrat

Phil Angelides Phillip Nicholas Angelides ( ; born June 12, 1953) is an American politician who was California State Treasurer and the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of California in the 2006 elections. Angelides served as the Chair of the Apoll ...

to secure a four-year term beginning in January 1995. In the 1998 U.S. Senate election, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent California

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S ...

. Fong earned endorsements from national Republican leaders, including

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...

and House Speaker

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U. ...

Private sector career

He was president of the Strategic Advisory Group, providing counsel to

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

s and senior executives on strategy and business development. He was also Special Counsel to the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. Fong held

Series 7 Series 7 may refer to: *The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and *Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA *'' Series 7: The Conte ...

and 63 securities licenses and was a principal of Belstar Group, a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based

asset manager Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings ...

. Fong was an independent director of

TCW Group TCW Group is an asset management firm based in Los Angeles, California. History Founded by Robert Addison Day in 1971 and headquartered in Los Angeles, TCW manages a broad range of investment products. The TCW Group was originally known as Tr ...

's complex of

mutual fund A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICA ...

s. He also served on two technology start-up companies' boards of directors—one dealing with earthquake detection devices (Seismic Warning Systems) and the other involved with energy-saving devices (American Grid). U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Fong chairman of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Advisory Board. Fong also served as a

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

and a Trustee of

Personal life

Fong lived in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

with his wife, Paula, with whom he had two children: Matthew II and Jade. Fong died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in his Pasadena home on June 1, 2011. He was buried at the

United States Air Force Academy Cemetery The United States Air Force Academy Cemetery is a cemetery at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. It is administered by the 10th Air Base Wing. History The U.S. Air Fo ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. He was survived by his late mother and his wife and children.

References

External links

Matthew Fong's profile at Sheppard Mullin
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Matt 1953 births 2011 deaths California politicians of Chinese descent California Republicans Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from skin cancer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation People from Alameda, California People from Pasadena, California People from Greater Los Angeles Pepperdine University alumni Southwestern Law School alumni State treasurers of California United States Air Force Academy alumni Politicians from Oakland, California United States Air Force colonels Military personnel from California Asian conservatism in the United States