page_title: Ronald Gidwitz
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Ronald Gidwitz / Career / Politics
caption_attribution_description: U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo chats with U.S. Ambassador to the Belgium Ronald Gidwitz upon arrival to Brussels, Belgium on July 10, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: Ronald J. Gidwitz is an American businessman, diplomat, and political candidate serving as United States Ambassador to Belgium, while concurrently serving as acting United States Ambassador to the European Union.
context_section_description: Gidwitz was appointed to Chairman of the Board of City Colleges of Chicago by mayor Richard M. Daley in 1991. His tenure ended when he resigned on April 14, 1999 amid a power struggle with the new chancellor Wayne Watson. Gidwitz's tenure was highly criticized by faculty in the system. Between 1991 and 1995, the system lost $50 million in high-risk investments.
  Gidwitz was appointed a member of the Illinois State Board of Education in 1999. Gidwitz, having been nominated by Governor George Ryan, was confirmed by the Illinois Senate on November 14, 2001 to serve as Chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education. His term expired on April 18, 2003. He continued to serve as a member of the board until the following year.
  Gidwitz was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Illinois in the 2006 election. He came in fourth place, having been defeated by Judy Baar Topinka. Rod Blagojevich would go on to win the general election. Gidwitz spent $5 million of his own funds on the campaign. 
  In 2008, Gidwitz and Greg Baise formed the Economic Freedom Alliance, a 527 organization, to oppose the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.
  Gidwitz served as finance chair for Bruce Rauner's successful 2014 bid for governor, later serving as Donald Trump's Illinois campaign finance chairman in the 2016 presidential election. In May 2018, he was nominated to become the Trump administration's Ambassador to Belgium. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 28, 2018. He presented his credentials to King Philippe on July 4, 2018.
caption: Gidwtiz (left) speaks to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2018
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