Morial, Marc H. (Marc Haydel), 1958-

Marc Haydel Morial (born January 3, 1958) is an American political and civic leader and the current president of the National Urban League. Morial served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1994 to 2002 as the city's youngest Mayor, President of the United States Conference of Mayors in 2001, and as a Louisiana State Senator from 1992 to 1994.

Born in New Orleans, he graduated from Jesuit High School in New Orleans before earning a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. After working during his third year in law school for Congressman Mickey Leland, Morial returned to New Orleans to join the firm Barham and Churchill. In 1985, Morial established a private law practice. After a narrow defeat in his first race for public office for Louisiana second congressional district, Morial was elected as Louisiana State senator in 1991 where he served until 1994. As a Louisiana State Senator, Morial was Chairman of the Educational Institution Subcommittee; and member of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. Marc Morial was elected Mayor of New Orleans, LA in 1994 by defeating Donald Mintz with 54% of the vote. During his two terms in this office, the city of New Orleans saw a reduction in violent crime and poverty, a drop in unemployment, the securing of federal funding for local programs, and police reform.

Morial was chosen to become the CEO and president of the National Urban League, a civil rights organization, in May 2003. Under Morial’s leadership, the organization has had successful fundraising campaigns and has created a number of initiatives to help young adults and minority businesses.