Rahm Emanuel

__NOTOC__ 
Rahm Emanuel is senior counselor with Centerview Partners LLC, a boutique investment firm founded in 2006. He took the post in June 2019, opening a new Chicago office for the bank, after completing his second term as mayor of Chicago. 
He was elected Chicago's 55th mayor on February 22, 2011 and took office on May 16, 2011, succeeding Mayor Richard M. Daley, who retired. He was re-elected for a second term in April 2015, declined to run for a third and stepped down from the post on May 20, 2019. He was succeeded by Lori Lightfoot. Emanuel, a Democrat, resigned from the position of chief of staff in the Obama White House in October of 2010 in order to run for mayor of Chicago. 
== Background ==
The son of an Israeli immigrant, Emanuel was born in Chicago in 1959 and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. He began his career with Illinois Public Action, a consumer rights organization. He worked on Paul Simon’s 1984 election to the U.S. Senate and in 1989 served as a senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley. Emanuel served as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton (and chief fundraiser). After leaving the White House, he returned to Chicago to serve as a managing director at Dresdner Kleinwort, an investment bank, where he reportedly earned $8 million in his three years there.
But he returned to politics and in 2002 was elected member of the House of Representatives for Illinois's fifth district (Chicago’s North Side). His decision to run for Congress was greeted with disdain by many of those who had toiled for years in Chicago politics.
In Congress, he gained a reputation as an "attack dog" who was particularly good at raising funds for the Democratic party. He is known for peppering his speech with profanities. He once sat on the board of Freddie Mac and recused himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant. 
In 2005, Emanuel was named the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which recruits candidates and raises funds. He was praised for his role in orchestrating significant success for the party in the 2006 elections, in which it gained 30 seats in the House, securing control for the first time in 12 years.
In January 2005, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed him as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). As the popularity of President Bush and Republicans declined, he recruited actively to expand the playing field of competitive House contests. In the 2006 elections, the DCCC expanded the Democratic Party's reach in every region of the country and ushered in a new Democratic majority in the House. In January 2007, Emanuel was elected Democratic Caucus Chair, the 4th highest ranking member of the House Democratic leadership. He led the Caucus in passing legislation that strengthened national security, increased the minimum wage, expanded stem cell research, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, cut interest rates on student loans, and ended the subsidies for the oil industry. 
Emanuel accepted the appointment of White House Chief of Staff on Nov. 6, 2010, "after a personal struggle over family and career."
He is a former member of the board of directors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, having been appointed to a two-year term on May 7, 1999. At that time he was managing director of the investment banking firm Wasserstein Perella & Co.
Early in 2008, Emanuel and Sen. Richard Durbin wrote a letter to the Justice Department criticizing it for raising questions about the merger between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The character of Josh Lyman, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, on the television show "The West Wing," is said to have been based on Emanuel. He has been given the nickname "Rahmbo" by journalists who cover the political beat.
In January of 2011, an Illinois appellate panel unexpectedly knocked Emanuel from the Feb. 22 ballot, contending he didn't meet Chicago residency requirements, but after an appeal by the Emanuel camp, the Illinois Supreme Court restored the former White House chief of staff to the mayoral ballot by unanimous vote just in time for early balloting.
== Education ==
Emanuel graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where he studied liberal arts and ballet. He received a master's degree in speech and communication from Northwestern University.
== John Lothian News Articles ==
Rahm Emanuel spoke at the Marketswiki Education Series event in 2015.
 
Chicago Mayor Emanuel addresses FinTank meeting, makes case for Chicago as crypto and fintech hub
In what might prove to be a seminal moment in the development of the cryptocurrency and blockchain community in Chicago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addressed an audience of nearly 150 on Monday. Extolling the virtues that Chicago possesses, Emanuel made the case that the city has the opportunity to become a preeminent global fintech center.
== References ==	
Category:MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Category:Mayors
Category:City of Chicago
Category:Government Officials