Tom Schweich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Schweich
36th State Auditor of Missouri
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 10, 2011
Preceded by Susan Montee
Personal details
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Kathleen P. Schweich
Children Emilie Schweich
Thomas Schweich, Jr.
Residence Clayton, Missouri
Alma mater Yale University, Harvard University
Occupation Politician
Website Campaign Website

Thomas A. "Tom" Schweich is an American politician, diplomat, attorney, and author. In the 2010 election, Schweich won the race for State Auditor of Missouri, defeating Democratic incumbent Susan Montee.[1]

Prior to being elected State Auditor, he served as U.S. Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan.[2] While in that position, he was given the rank of Ambassador by U.S. President George W. Bush.[3]

He is also the author of three books: Protect Yourself From Business Lawsuits (…and Lawyers Like Me) (Simon & Schuster 1998), Crashproof Your Life: A Comprehensive Three-Part Plan for Avoiding Financial Disasters (McGraw-Hill 2002), and Staying Power (McGraw-Hill 2003).[3][4]

Education and legal career

Schweich is a fifth generation Missourian and a graduate of Missouri's public school system.[4] Schweich received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, and he obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School.[5] After law school he joined the oldest law firm in Missouri, Bryan Cave.[5] As a partner at Bryan Cave, Schweich specialized in corporate compliance, helping to manage internal audits and investigations for large companies.[3]

Public Service Career

Danforth Special Counsel Investigation into Waco Siege

Schweich began his public service career in 1999, when he was named Chief of Staff for former U.S. Senator John Danforth's investigation of the federal government's actions in connection with the 1993 FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; a siege which resulted in the deaths of over 80 people, including 23 children.[5] The investigation concluded that the Davidians died as a result of a suicide pact, but it also uncovered numerous instances of negligent conduct in the way that the federal government conducted the siege.[6]

United Nations

John Danforth appointed Schweich to be his chief of staff when he was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.[3] Schweich also served as chief of staff to the next two ambassadors to the United Nations, Anne W. Patterson and John R. Bolton.[2] During his time serving the United Nations delegation, he helped the delegation uncover the Oil for Food Scandal, a scheme by Saddam Hussein to circumvent United Nations sanctions using bribery and kickbacks to UN and other officials.[4]

Bush Administration

In 2005, Schweich became the second-highest ranking and then highest-ranking international law enforcement official in the U.S. State Department as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Acting Assistant Secretary of State at the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.[4] He directed four thousand people located in dozens of countries with a budget of more than 2.5 billion dollars.[2] He was subsequently appointed Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan and was accorded the rank of Ambassador by President George W. Bush.[4]

Missouri Auditor

In 2010, Schweich sought and won the Republican nomination for Missouri State Auditor, defeating Missouri State Representative Allen Icet with 58.6% of the vote.[7] Schweich was supported by Lieutenant Governor of Missouri Peter Kinder, former Governor of Missouri John Ashcroft, former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, four Missouri state senators, and two former United States ambassadors.[4]

In the general election, he faced incumbent and Democratic nominee Susan Montee.[7] Schweich defeated Montee on November 2, 2010, with a 51% to 45% margin of victory.[1] He is the first man to head the Missouri State Auditor's office since James Antonio in 1984.[8]

Record as State Auditor

Early in his term as Auditor, Schweich set up two new programs: the Auditor’s Swift Assessment Program (ASAP) and Auditor’s Follow-up Team to Effect Recommendations (AFTER). The ASAP program is intended to serve as a rapid response team capable of quick action in cases with serious, time-sensitive allegations of waste or fraud. The AFTER program is intended to encourage compliance with audit recommendations by following up on audits which uncovered trouble spots and examining whether recommended procedures have been implemented.[9]

Additionally, Schweich implemented a new “Citizens Summary” for each audit to provide a short, easy-to-follow explanation of audit results, including a grading scale running from Excellent to Good, Fair, and Poor.[10]

As of July 2012, Schweich’s office released a report documenting that audits produced during his time in office had uncovered the theft of more than $1.3 million in taxpayer funds, including a $568,974 embezzlement scheme in Schuyler County, $14,669 stolen in the Cole county Circuit Court, and many other instances of stolen funds.[11]

Writing Career and Personal Interests

In addition to his public service career, Schweich is an avid numismatist and a collector of movie memorabilia.[12]

He is also an accomplished author, having written three books and numerous articles on topics including business law, numismatic history, and international relations. Accolades for his work include three literary awards from the American Numismatic Association.[4] He wrote his first book, Protect Yourself From Business Lawsuits (…and Lawyers Like Me) (Simon & Schuster), in 1998, and it became the best selling business law book on Amazon.com.[5] He wrote his second book, Crashproof Your Life: A Comprehensive Three-Part Plan for Avoiding Financial Disasters (McGraw-Hill), in 2002.[4] He wrote his third book, Staying Power (McGraw-Hill), in 2003.[4] In addition, he recorded an audio series on personal finance entitled "Protect Your Wealth," which was released in 2004. [4]

Before becoming state auditor, Schweich was a member of the Washington University faculty, where he taught law and foreign policy.[3]

Electoral history

2010 Race for State Auditor of Missouri
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tom Schweich 974,517 50.8%
Democratic Susan Montee 871,867 45.5% -5.3%
Libertarian Charles W. Baum 70,816 3.7% -47.1%

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/allresults.asp?eid=300
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://freestrongamerica.com/candidate/tom-schweich
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_79c39b9c-4285-521f-8869-2e9a6e72a078.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 http://www.tomschweich.com/About
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2000/01/10/focus32.html
  6. ↑ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Danforthreport-final.pdf
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_d8d5d278-a016-11df-8a51-0017a4a78c22.html
  8. ↑ http://www.auditor.mo.gov/auditinfo/historical.htm
  9. ↑ http://www.auditor.mo.gov/AuditInfo/RapidResponseAndFollowUp.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.auditor.mo.gov/News/20110127est.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.auditor.mo.gov/News/vNews.aspx?id=450
  12. ↑ http://themissouritimes.com/1168/thomas-schweich-qa-part-3-personal-information/

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Susan Montee		 Missouri State Auditor
2011 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.