Alejandra Diaz Ramirez

**Alejandra Maria Diaz Ramirez** (née **Diaz**; born October 22, 1963) is an American politician, businesswoman, and entrepreneur serving as the senior U.S. Senator from Florida since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, she also served as Governor of Florida from 2011 to 2015.

Diaz Ramirez was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of five. Settling in Miami, Florida, Diaz Ramirez attended St. Theresa School and Immaculata-LaSalle High School, graduating from high school in 1981. After graduating, she enrolled in the University of Miami, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship in 1985. With her husband Samuel Ramirez, Diaz Ramirez founded Diaz Ramirez Group in 1987, a corporation specializing in restaurants and nightclubs. Their first nightclub was opened that year in Miami Beach, and Diaz Ramirez Group has went on to become a multimillion-dollar corporation, operating a number of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs throughout the United States and Canada.

Diaz Ramirez first entered politics in 2004, launching an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives, winning the Republican primary for Florida's 27th district, but losing the general election to incumbent Rita Powell. She returned to politics in 2009, launching her campaign for Governor of Florida. She narrowly won the Republican primarily, and later won the general election in a surprise result. Diaz Ramirez was sworn in as Governor on January 4, 2011. In 2013, she announced that she did not plan on running for a second term and announced her candidacy for United States Senate. She won the Republican primary, and was later elected in the general election. She took office as Senator on January 3, 2015.

## Early life and family

Diaz Ramirez was born on October 22, 1963 in Havana, Cuba to parents Raul Diaz (born 1929) and Rosalía Gutiérrez (born 1933). Raul worked as a banker, while Rosalía was a homemaker. Following the rise of communism in Cuba, the family fled and immigrated to the United States in 1969. They settled in Miami, Florida, and Diaz Ramirez was raised in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. After arriving in the United States, Diaz Ramirez spoke only Spanish; she learned English within a few months of living in the United States. Diaz Ramirez grew up in a large Catholic family. She is one of five children; her siblings include Nicolas, born  (1960-05-17) May 17, 1960 (age 63), Miriam, born  (1965-08-03) August 3, 1965 (age 58), Natalia, born  (1969-12-16) 16 December 1969 (age 54), and Francisco, born  (1971-03-05) March 5, 1971 (age 52). For much of her early life, her maternal grandparents lived with them in their Miami home; they did not move out until finding their own home when Diaz Ramirez was in high school.

## Education and Diaz Ramirez Group

Diaz Ramirez attended Catholic schooling in Miami. She began her education in 1969, attending St. Theresa School, a private coeducational PK–8 Catholic school. After graduating in 1977, she began attending Immaculata-LaSalle High School, a private coeducational Catholic high school. In high school, Diaz Ramirez was a self-admitted "party girl", who also was a member of her school's varsity cheerleading team. She graduated from high school in 1981. After graduating, Diaz Ramirez began attending the University of Miami, where she studied business. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship in 1985. While at the University of Miami, Diaz Ramirez became a member of the Sigma Delta Tau (ΣΔΤ) sorority.

While in college and shortly after graduating, Diaz Ramirez worked as a promotional model, bartender, and nightclub promoter in the Miami club scene. In 1987, she founded Diaz Ramirez Group with her husband Samuel Ramirez. The corporation owns and operates restaurants, nightclubs, and bars in the United States and Canada. Their first nightclub St. Tropez, was founded in Miami Beach in 1987. They opened a second club Julieta in Miami Beach in 1989. They first entered the restaurant industry in 1994, opening the Miami Cuban restaurant La Habana. By 2002, the corporation had been operating over 200 restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, and was worth over $730 million. Diaz Ramirez and Samuel Ramirez served as co-CEOs of the corporation. After entering politics in 2011, Diaz Ramirez resigned from her position as CEO, although her husband continued.

## Political positions

*Main article: Political positions of Alejandra Diaz Ramirez.*

## Personal life

Diaz Ramirez met Samuel Ramirez at a college party in 1982, while they were both students at the University of Miami. They dated on-and-off for a year, before moving in together in their junior year of college. They later became engaged in 1984, and married the following year. They have four children together: Julieta, born  (1988-05-20) May 20, 1988 (age 35), Paulo, born  (1989-11-18) 18 November 1989 (age 34), Serena, born  (1991-06-22) 22 June 1991 (age 32), and Sebastian, born  (1995-10-27) October 27, 1995 (age 28). The family owns several residences in Miami Beach, Florida, New York City, Washington, D.C., Beverly Hills, California, Barcelona, Spain, Geneva, Switzerland, and Honolulu, Hawaii, although their primary residence is their Miami Beach home, valued at $10.7 million.

Diaz Ramirez held solely Cuban citizenship until naturalizing as an American citizen with the rest of her family in 1976. After becoming an American citizen, she relinquished her Cuban citizenship. Diaz Ramirez is fluent in both Spanish and English, and can understand some Portuguese and Italian. She is a practicing Roman Catholic.