Philip D. Murphy (* 1957 in the Boston, Massachusetts area) is an American businessman and the United States Ambassador to Germany. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2009. Murphy arrived with his family in Berlin on August 21, 2009.
Murphy graduated from Harvard University in 1979 with an A.B. in Economics and received an M.B.A. in 1983 from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Tammy, have four children, Josh, Emma, Charlie and Sam. Murphy and his family own a large waterfront estate in Middletown, New Jersey that he and his wife purchased for $5.95 million in 1998.[1]
From 1993-1997, Murphy headed Goldman Sachs’ Frankfurt office, where he had oversight responsibility for activities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, as well as in the then-emerging nations of Central Europe. From 1997-1999, Murphy served as the President of Goldman Sachs (Asia). In all, he spent 23 years at Goldman Sachs and held a variety of top-level positions before becoming a Senior Director of the firm in 2003, a position he held until his retirement in 2006.
After leaving Goldman Sachs, Murphy served from 2006-2009 as the National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Murphy has devoted substantial time over the years to civic, community and philanthropic affairs. He has served on boards and/or committees of the NAACP, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Center for American Progress, 180 Turning Lives Around and several programs of the University of Pennsylvania, among other entities. Additionally, Murphy co-chaired a national task force on 21st century public education and chaired a task force on public sector employee benefits in his home State of New Jersey.
Murphy has served on the boards of the U.S. Soccer Foundation[2] and the U.S. Soccer Federation World Cup Bid Committee. He owns a stake in the professional New Jersey women’s soccer club Sky Blue FC.
The United States diplomatic cables published by Wiki Leaks contained negative statements signed by the ambassador about senior German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel and Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister.