Michael Steele

Chairman of the Republican National Committee

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael S. Steele is an up-and-comer on the American political scene and the newest chair of the Republican National Committee.

A self-described Lincoln Republican, Michael S. Steele earned a place in history in 2003 when he became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland. His experience as a successful elected conservative Republican African-American and his engaging speaking style have launched Steele into national prominence. His first major exposure was during an appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Since then President George W. Bush chose Steele to be part of the US delegation to the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI, and Steele has been an entertaining and articulate guest on cable political talk shows such as HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

An expert on political strategy, fund-raising, PACs, and election reform, Michael Steele has served on the National Federal Election Reform Commission and the NAACP Blue Ribbon Commission on Election Reform. As a senior advisor to GROWpac, he advised House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R-OK) on strategic and political issues.

Born in 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland, Michael Steele was raised in Washington, DC. He spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood, but, ultimately, chose a career in law instead. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

From 1991 to 1997, Michael Steele was a corporate securities attorney at the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in Washington, DC, specializing in sophisticated financial transactions on behalf of Wall Street underwriters. He also was a corporate counsel for the Mills Corporation and founded The Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.

Named a 2005 Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership and awarded the 2005 Bethune-DuBois Institute Award for his ongoing work in the development of quality education in Maryland, Michael Steele also has served on a variety of boards and commissions including East Baltimore Development Corporation, Export-Import Bank Advisory Board, the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, and the Republican National Committee.