Джек Маркелл: Биография и политическая карьера

American politician and diplomat (born 1960)

Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician and diplomat. He has been the United States ambassador both to Italy and to San Marino since September 2023. He had served as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Markell served three terms as the state treasurer of Delaware from 1999 to 2009. After term limited Governor Ruth Ann Minner was prevented from running for reelection, Markell announced his intention to run. He defeated lieutenant governor of Delaware John Carney with 51% of the vote in the Democratic primary, and defeated the Republican nominee, former Delaware Superior Court judge William Swain Lee, with 67% of the vote in the 2008 general election, becoming Delaware's first Jewish governor. Markell won reelection in 2012 by a margin of over 40%. On May 12, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Markell to serve as the United States ambassador to Italy and San Marino. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 27, 2023.

Markell was born and raised in Newark, Delaware, the son of Elaine "Leni", a social worker, and William Markell, who taught accounting at the University of Delaware. He graduated from Newark High School. As a child, he attended Camp Galil, a summer camp in the Labor Zionist youth movement, Habonim Dror. He graduated from Brown University earning his Bachelor of Arts in economics and development studies, and went on to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, earning his Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Markell began his business career in 1982, working as a banker at First Chicago Corporation. He then became a consultant at McKinsey & Company in 1986. Markell joined Fleet Call – later known as Nextel Communications (a name that Markell coined) – where he served as the senior vice president for corporate development from 1989 to 1995. Becoming the company's 13th employee, Markell joined Nextel when the company was in a nascent stage; helping lead Nextel to nationwide success during the wireless telecommunications revolution of the 1990s. After leaving Nextel, Markell worked as a senior manager at Comcast Corporation from 1996 to 1998.

Markell was first elected state treasurer of Delaware in 1998, unseating four term Republican incumbent Janet C. Rzewnicki, and was re elected in 2002 and 2006. As treasurer, Markell led the development of several educational efforts in personal financial management, known collectively as "the Financial Literacy initiatives". He created the "Delaware Money School", which offers free classes to Delaware residents on topics such as saving for college and retirement planning. He also started the "Delaware Bank at School Program" which takes banks and financial education to schools. He partnered with the University of Delaware, Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, as well as several Delaware banks, to teach young people the basics of money and savings. In 2001, Governor Ruth Ann Minner chose Markell to chair the information services task force, which developed and implemented recommendations to modify the state's management of information technology. In 2002, he led an effort to streamline and coordinate the procurement of goods and services while using state of the art purchasing techniques. He also led the "Health Rewards" initiative, which offers Delaware state government employees comprehensive physical assessments, detailed statistics about how their health compares with their peers across the country, and recommendations about how they can improve their health.

On June 6, 2007, Markell officially launched his candidacy for governor of Delaware, setting up a primary with lieutenant governor John Carney. Beginning in the summer of 2007, Markell released fourteen policy papers on issues ranging from energy to health care to education. Early, Markell was far behind in polls and endorsements; the Young Democrats Movement and other organizations allowed Markell to gain early momentum, but these efforts were offset by the endorsement of Carney by the Delaware Democratic Party. Markell closed in the polls slowly until election day when Carney still held a small lead. Markell won an upset victory over Carney, with 51.2% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Against former judge William Swain Lee, who also had been the Republican nominee for governor in 2004, Markell won the general election with 67% of the vote.

Markell won a second term on November 6, 2012, defeating Republican challenger Jeff Cragg by nearly 40 points.

In December 2013, following a lengthy investigation, special prosecutor E. Norman Veasey released a 101 page report that found that some campaign donors contributed in excess of the legal limits to several state campaigns, including Markell's 2008 race. The report found that personal emails from Markell to several of his contributors advised them on the parameters of the campaign laws, information that the donors later used to donate beyond the legal limit. Special prosecutor Veasey released evidence that even when presented with information from donors that would identify their ownership in a business as being beyond the allowable limit for multiple donations, Markell and his campaign accepted funds above and beyond legal limits. The information that revealed that the donors were exceeding the allowable limit, however, was provided to the Markell campaign, along with the donations, in a column on a spreadsheet that was only viewable by using "formatting features on the spreadsheet software." Special prosecutor Veasey did not press charges against elected officials as the statute of limitations had expired and they found "no credible evidence" that Markell's campaign had intentionally broken the law; however, multiple donors had previously pleaded guilty for their participation.

After being elected by a large margin in 2008, Markell served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and the National Governors Association, before being re elected by an even larger margin of over 40%. This record setting margin and his overall national profile led some to believe that he wanted to seek the Democratic nomination in 2016, though he did not run. Although Markell expressed interest, he also said that he would support Joe Biden if he were to run.

In 2018, the Jack A. Markell (JAM) bike trail was dedicated to Markell, a 5.5 mile route built on an abandoned railroad line. The trail connects the Wilmington Riverfront with New Castle's Battery Park. The trail features off road boardwalks and bridges, paved pathways, benches, a bike repair station, and scenic views of the Christiana river's tidal marshes. The trail is included as part of the East Coast Greenway.

During the evacuation of Afghan civilians as part of Operation Allies Refuge in 2021, Markell was named White House coordinator for Operation Allies Welcome, a civilian led program to assist refugee resettlement in the United States.

On June 23, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Markell to serve as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 28, 2021. The committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor on October 19, 2021. On December 18, 2021, Markell was confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development via voice vote. Markell was sworn in on January 14, 2022, and presented his credentials to OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann on February 11, 2022.

On May 12, 2023, President Biden nominated Markell to be the US ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

Markell is married to Carla Smathers, with whom he has two children. On November 16, 2013, Markell and his wife performed A. R. Gurney's play Love Letters at a fundraiser for the Delaware Theater Company in Wilmington, Delaware.