Kounalakis, Eleni, 1966-

<p>Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (born March 3, 1966) is an American politician, businesswoman and former diplomat serving as the 50th lieutenant governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman elected to the office.</p>

<p>Kounalakis previously served as the United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013. She was sworn into office on January 7, 2010, and presented her credentials to President László Sólyom on January 11, 2010. On April 24, 2017, Kounalakis announced her bid for the office of Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2018 election. She came in first place in the June 5, 2018 primary election; she was elected on November 6, 2018.</p>

<p>Before accepting President Barack Obama's nomination to an ambassadorship, Kounalakis was President of AKT Development Corporation, one of California’s largest housing development firms, which was founded by her father. Kounalakis earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the American College of Greece.</p>

<p>Kounalakis and her husband, print and broadcast journalist Markos Kounalakis, founded two university chairs in Hellenic studies, the Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair at Georgetown University, held by the scholar of late Classical and early Hellenistic Greek literature, Dr. Alexander Sens, and the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis at Stanford University, held by Josiah Ober. Both chairs focus on the understanding of the origins of Athenian democracy. They also established the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to focus on democracy and international relations.</p>

<p>Kounalakis served for nearly ten years as a Trustee of the World Council of Religions for Peace. In recognition for her work with the WCRP, she was awarded the medal of St. Paul, the Greek Orthodox Church of America’s highest honor. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed her to serve as a Trustee of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee appointed her to serve on the Port Commission Board.</p>

<p>She served four times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and as an at-large member of the California State Democratic Central Committee. She also served as a member of the First 5 California Commission, and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism. She served as a Trustee of Robert Redford’s Sundance Preserve and on the Conservation Fund’s National Forum on Children and Nature. She is also a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group.</p>

<p>On April 24, 2017, Kounalakis announced her bid for the office of Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2018 election. She came in first place on June 5, 2018 in the top-two statewide primary; Democratic State Senator Ed Hernandez placed second. On November 6, Kounalakis was elected by a 56.6% to 43.3% margin against her opponent. Kounalakis, along with then Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, took office on January 7, 2019.</p>

<p>After Kounalakis announced her candidacy in 2018 for the lieutenant governorship, she visited all 58 counties in California during her campaign. Her grassroots campaign earned the recognition of <i>Time</i> magazine for engaging hundreds of volunteers to text over 1 million voters before Election Day. On November 6, 2018, Kounalakis became the first female elected Lieutenant Governor of California in history.</p>

<p>Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis was sworn in as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of California by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 7th, 2019. She is the first woman elected Lt. Governor of California. A native Californian, she visited each of the state’s 58 counties during her historic campaign.</p>

<p>From 2010 to 2013, Kounalakis served as President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary. Kounalakis was the first Greek-American woman – and at age 43 one of America’s youngest – to serve as U.S. Ambassador. Her highly acclaimed memoir, “Madam Ambassador, Three Years of Diplomacy, Dinner Parties and Democracy in Budapest” (The New Press, 2015), chronicles the onset of Hungary’s democratic backsliding.</p>

<p>Governor Jerry Brown appointed Kounalakis to chair the California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment in 2014. Kounalakis was a Virtual Fellow at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) between 2014 and 2017, specializing in international trade and immigration. She is currently a director of the Association of American Ambassadors and a National Democratic Institute (NDI) “Ambassadors Circle” advisor.</p>

<p>Prior to her public service, Kounalakis was president of one of California’s most respected housing development firms, AKT Development, where she worked for 18 years. She built master-planned communities and delivered quality housing to the Sacramento region’s working families – recognizing her as one of the capital region’s most prominent businesswomen. Passionate about early childhood development, Kounalakis served as a member of California’s First 5 Commission and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism.</p>

<p>Eleni Kounalakis graduated from Dartmouth College in 1989 and earned her Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in 1992. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the American College of Greece. She is married to Dr. Markos Kounalakis and the couple has two teenage sons, Neo and Eon.</p>

<p>Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis was sworn in to office by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on January 7, 2010. She presented her credentials to the President of Hungary, László Sólyom on January 11, 2010.</p>

<p>Before accepting President Obama’s nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis was president of AKT Development Corporation, one of California’s largest and most respected land development firms. A prominent and successful businesswoman, Ambassador Kounalakis earned her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2011 she received an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the American College of Greece.</p>

<p>Ambassador Kounalakis and her husband, veteran print journalist Markos Kounalakis, have founded two university chairs in Hellenic studies. These are the Eleni and Markos Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair at Georgetown University, and the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis at Stanford University. Both chairs focus on the understanding of the origins of Athenian democracy. Further to their support of the understanding of democracy and international relations, they established the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.</p>

<p>Ambassador Kounalakis is a staunch advocate of interfaith dialogue, and served for nearly ten years as a Trustee of the World Council of Religions for Peace. In recognition for her work with the WCRP, she was awarded the medal of St. Paul, the Greek Orthodox Church of America’s highest honor. Her appointment by the Mayor of San Francisco to serve as a Trustee of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center allowed her to combine her skills in business and real estate with her love of the arts.</p>

<p>Actively involved in civil society organizations throughout her home state of California, Ambassador Kounalakis served four times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and as an at-large member of the California State Central Committee. She also served as a member of the California First Five Commission, and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism. She served as a Trustee of Robert Redford’s Sundance Preserve and on the Conservation Fund’s National Forum on Children and Nature. Ambassador Kounalakis and her husband have two children.</p>

<p>Ambassador Kounalakis concluded her service as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary on July 20, 2013.</p>