John Rakolta

John Rakolta Jr[1] (Romanian: Racolța; born June 15, 1947, in Oakland County, Michigan)[1] is an American businessman and a former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2019 to 2021. He is the former CEO of Walbridge[2][3] (formerly known as Walbridge Aldinger), a full-service construction company headquartered in Detroit.[4] He was also one of the National Finance Chairs for Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.[5]

John Rakolta
United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates
In office
October 27, 2019 – January 19, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byBarbara A. Leaf
Succeeded byMartina A. Strong
Personal details
Born (1947-06-15) June 15, 1947
Oakland County, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseTerry Stern (1976–present)
Children3 daughters
1 son
RelativesSee Romney family
EducationMarquette University (BS)

Education and early life

Rakolta received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Marquette University in 1970 and then studied smaller company management at the Harvard Business School.[6]

All four of Rakolta's grandparents were immigrants from Romania.[7][8] He was - until he assumed office of US Ambassador to the UAE - the Honorary-Consul General[9] for Romania in Detroit.

Business career

Rakolta's father, John Rakolta Sr. (1923–2003), was the head of Walbridge Aldinger before Rakolta.[5] Rakolta Jr. began his career at Walbridge in 1970,[10] and became president in 1979 and CEO and chairman in 1993.[11]

Rakolta is also on the board of the Munder Funds since 1993.[12]

In 2015, Walbridge and partnered with Brazilian company Construcap in the construction of a new 6-million-square-foot Jeep assembly complex and supplier park in Goiana, Brazil, and were honored by Engineering News-Record with the publication's Global Best Manufacturing Project of the Year Award.[13] In 2015 Rakolta was co-chair of the Coalition for the Future of Detroit School Children, which recommended reform for the school system of Detroit, including limiting the number of charter schools in the city.[14][15] Also in 2015, Walbridge began a multi-year transformation of the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.[16] In 2017, Ford Motor Company selected Walbridge to provide construction services for the redevelopment of its Dearborn, Michigan, world headquarters and campus facilities.[17]

Political career

Rakolta was one of the National Finance Chairs for Mitt Romney's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.[5] Along with his work for the Romney campaigns, Rakolta was a major fundraiser for the Bush campaign in 2004.[18] Most recently he was State Finance Chair for Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan. Rakolta served as the chairman of New Detroit from 2003 to 2010.[12]

He was a financial advisor for Trump in Michigan and helped fund Trump's transition team after the election.[19]

In May 2018, Rakolta was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.[20][21] The U.S. Senate confirmed him on September 17, 2019, by a vote of 63–30.[22] In March 2020, Rakolta was appointed commissioner general of the U.S. pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.[23] His tenure as an ambassador ended on January 19, 2021.[24]

Personal life

Rakolta and his wife Terry Rakolta were married in 1976 and have four children: Paige, Eileen, Lauren, and John Rakolta III. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[12] Terry Rakolta is the sister of Mitt Romney's former sister-in-law, Ronna Romney. John Rakolta is also the uncle to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.

In 1993, the Rakoltas bought a property on Everglades Island near Palm Beach, Florida. The gardens, designed by Jorge Sanchez, were given the Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach in 2013.[25]

In 2018, Rakolta was named Michiganian of the Year by The Detroit News for his advocacy work for the Detroit Public School System.[26][27]

Organizations and affiliations
  • Chairman of New Detroit[28]
  • Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren (Co-chair)[29]
  • Engineering Society of Detroit[30][31]
  • Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (Co-chair)[32]

Awards and recognition
  • Black Family Development, Inc's Dr. Gerald K. Smith Award (2014)[33]
  • Engineering Society of Detroit's Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award[30][31]
  • Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit's Executive Leadership Award (2014)[34]
  • New Detroit's Leadership in Race Relations Award (2015)[35]
  • Urban Land Development Michigan Lifetime Achievement Award (2017)[36]
  • Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship (2005)[27]

References
  1. "Birth results for John Rakolta, Jr". familysearch.org. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  2. "Finely:Rakolta of to U.A.E for a tough new job". Detroit News. October 24, 2019.
  3. "Building Design and Construction Consultants". Walbridg.come. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  4. "Walbridge Aldinger Co Bloomberg Profile". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  5. "U.S. Senate confirms Walbridge CEO John Rakolta for ambassador to UAE". Crain's Detroit Business. September 17, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  6. Constructorul Archived February 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, May 22, 2005, Ana-Maria Luca, Jurnalul Național
  7. John Rakolta Biography Archived March 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Constructorul Archived February 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, 22 mai 2005, Ana-Maria Luca, Jurnalul Național, accesat la 23 aprilie 2017
  9. Honorary Consulates of Romania in the US Archived June 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "John Rakolta joins Agree Realty board, is company's 16th-largest investor". Crain's Detroit Business. September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  11. Melissa Nann Burke. "Senate advances Rakolta nomination for UAE ambassador". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  12. Bewig, Matt (May 6, 2018). "United States Ambassador to United Arab Emirates: Who Is John Rakolta, Jr.?". AllGov.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  13. "Best Project, Manufacturing: Goiana Jeep Assembly Plant". Engineering News-Record. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  14. article on Coalition for the Future of Detroit School children
  15. Michigan Radio article on coalition cocharied by Rakolta
  16. Ken Haddad (August 30, 2017). "See renderings of new upgrades coming to Warren GM Tech Center". Click on Detroit. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  17. "Walbridge Ford Dearborn Campus Transformation (DCT) Project Receives MIOSHA's MVPPC Rising Star Award". Michigan.gov. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  18. "The John McCain-Mitt Romney bond warms on the trail". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. July 19, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  19. article mentioning Rakolta as one of funders of Trump's transition team
  20. Gray, Kathleen (March 28, 2018). "Detroit executive, GOP benefactor John Rakolta Jr. nominated by Trump as Ambassador to UAE". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  21. "PN2021 – John Rakolta Jr. – Department of State". U.S. Congress. May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  22. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: John Rakolta, Jr., of Michigan, to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Arab Emirates )". United States Senate. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  23. Ranju Warrier. "Commissioner general named for Expo 2020 Dubai US Pavilion". Construction Week. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  24. @USAinUAE (January 19, 2021). "مع انتهاء فترة عمله كسفير للولايات المتحدة في دولة الإمارات، يوجه السفير جون راكولتا رسالة الوداع هذه إلى شركائنا الإماراتيين. #شركاء_متحدون #UnitedPartners @USAExpo2020" (Tweet). Retrieved January 20, 2021 – via Twitter.
  25. Holt, Kaki (March 18, 2013). "Everglades Island garden honored with Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award". Palm Beach Daily News.
  26. Max Ortiz. "John Rakolta Jr., 2018 Michiganian of the Year". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  27. "Ambassador John Rakolta Jr. Profile". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in the United Arab Emirates. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020.
  28. Marti Benedetti and Constance Crump. "Transforming leadership is challenge of a generation" (PDF). Crains Detroit Business. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  29. Melissa Nann Burke. "Senate advances Rakolta nomination for UAE ambassador". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  30. "Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award". ESD. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  31. "AIAG Names AlliedSignal, Walbridge Aldinger Executives To the Board of Directors". The Auto Channel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  32. Caline Malek (March 29, 2018). "Trump administration reveals new US ambassador to UAE". The National. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  33. "Archive: Black Family Development, Inc. 2014 Presidents' Dinner". Michigan Chronicle. December 3, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  34. "Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit honors top achievers". The Oakland Press.31 July 2020}
  35. AJ Williams (June 3, 2015). "New Detroit's 'Closing the Gap' announces 2015 honorees". Michigan Chronicle. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  36. Adrienne Roberts (August 6, 2015). "Event at Lingenfelter's Classic Car Collection to Benefit Ronald McDonald House". D Business. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
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