Mel MartÃnez
Melquiades Rafael " Mel" Martínez ( born October 23, 1946 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba ) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was Minister of Construction of the United States under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009 and represented the state of Florida in the U.S. Senate.
Biography
Martínez was born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba. In the United States, he came through a Catholic utility that Operation Peter Pan, which brought 14,000 children in the United States of America. Catholic aid agencies offered him accommodation in two different youth facilities where he also lived with two foster parents. In 1966 he then moved back with his family in Orlando together, which was complied with.
He took his degree in 1973 at the College of Law, a faculty at Florida State University. During the 25 years of his legal career, he was involved in various civic organizations as well as Vice - President of the Board of Catholic charities in the Diocese of Orlando.
Martínez and his wife three children and two grandchildren and is the brother of Rafael E. Martínez, who was to be elected in 2003 as a U.S. representative to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it but failed.
Political career
Before he became minister of construction in the Cabinet Bush, he was president of the Orlando Utilities Commission ( " Commission for Orlandoer Utilities " ), held a seat on the board of a bank and was Chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority. Later, he was also elected chairman of the district and member of the Orange County Growth Management Study Commission (the " Commission for corporate growth ").
As vice chairman of the election campaign of George W. Bush in 2000, he was one of the leading campaign contributors and also one of the 25 electoral from Florida, who ultimately voted for Bush.
From 2001 to December 12, 2003 Martínez was then for the U.S. construction ministry responsible, he was succeeded by Alphonso Jackson.
In 2004, he introduced himself as a Republican in Florida for election for the Senate post by Bob Graham, where he took within his party against former Congressman Bill McCollum. During the election campaign Martínez McCollum referred to as "the new darling of homosexual extremists " ( "The new boyfriend of homosexual extremists" ), whereupon McCollum with a former senator of Florida, Connie Mack, appeared before the press and Martínez attacked violently. In addition, McCollum criticized the origin of Martínez and his attitude toward tort reform, a reform of the civil law, as too soft.
In the end, he won the duel and then defeated Democrat Betty Castor also in the actual election to the Senate post. He was thus both the first senator who was born in Cuba, and since 1977 the first Spanish-speaking senator. He sat in the Senate in the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 2007 he had a short time together with Mike Duncan chair the Republican National Committee, the party organization of the Republicans held, in which Martínez served as the so-called General Chairman. After intra-party criticism he put this office already down in October 2007.
In August 2009, then Martínez announced his intention to resign as a senator in November 2010 before the expiration of his term of office as soon as Gov. Charlie Crist have appointed a successor. When he stood firmly with George LeMieux, Martinez left the Senate on September 9 of the same year. Immediately thereafter, he joined as a partner in the international law firm DLA Piper.