Terry McAuliffe

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Terence Richard "Terry" McAuliffe (b. 1957) is an American political leader from the Democratic Party; he served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from February 2001 to February 2005.

[edit] Early history and personal life

McAuliffe grew up in Syracuse, New York; his father was treasurer of the local Democratic organization. He received his undergraduate degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. Immediately after graduation, McAuliffe took a job in the campaign of Jimmy Carter, who was running for reelection as President of the United States. After the campaign ended, McAuliffe got his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Georgetown University, graduating in 1984.

McAuliffe lives in Virginia with his wife Dorothy and five children.

[edit] Political career

McAuliffe then served as Finance Director of the DNC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, National Finance Chairman of the Gephardt for President Committee, National Finance Chairman and then National Co-Chairman of the Clinton-Gore re-election committee. He also served as the Chairman of the 53rd Presidential Inaugural Committee and as Chairman of the White House Millennium Celebration. In 2000, McAuliffe chaired the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles -- the convention that helped give the Democratic ticket a 20-point bounce in the polls, on its way to a popular vote victory in the fall.

In February 2001, McAuliffe was elected as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Under Chairman McAuliffe’s tenure, for the first time in Party history, the DNC was debt-free and outraised the RNC. The DNC shattered all fundraising records by raising over $535 million.

This success enabled the party to fund an unprecedented political campaign recruiting over 25,000 trained field precinct captains, conducting 530 organizing conventions across the country, mobilizing 233,000 volunteers, knocking on 11 million doors and making 38 million volunteer phone calls and 56 million paid calls. McAuliffe produced a new headquarters, and created a computer database of more than 2.7 million grassroots donors; increased email addresses from 70,000 to over 4 million; built a database of more than 175 million individuals; etc.

However, losses for the Democrats in 2002 and in 2004 soured some on McAuliffe and he chose not to seek another term as chairman. His successor, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, was elected at the DNC's Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 12, 2005.

[edit] Other business interests

McAuliffe also has been a successful entrepreneur since he started his first business, McAuliffe Driveway Maintenance, when he was only 14 years old.

He also managed to turn a $100,000 investment in Global Crossing into $18,000,000. He has steadfastly denied that his relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton had anything to do with the profit. He has never been prosecuted for insider trading, and has threatened to sue anyone making unfair allegations about the deal.

He is an attorney and is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and the United States Supreme Court. He has successfully started over two-dozen companies in the fields of banking, insurance, marketing, and real estate. McAuliffe served as Chairman of the Federal City National Bank by the age of 30.

Preceded by: Ed Rendell

Chairman of the Democratic National Committee 2001 – 2005

Succeeded by: Howard Dean