Katz, Allan Jack, 1947-

<p>Ambassador Allan Katz has experience with a broad range of public policy issues, including growing energy needs and systems around the world, as well as complex business negotiations. He has been a member of the Democratic National Committee and served on the National Finance Committee of “Obama for America,” where he helped draft the party’s policy position for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In Florida, Ambassador Katz was elected commissioner for the city of Tallahassee from 2003 to 2009, and he also was appointed by the state of Florida to serve on the Board of Directors for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the largest property insurer in Florida.</p>

<p>Ambassador Katz has been recognized for his work as a lawyer and a community leader. He practiced insurance law at a firm in Tallahassee, Fla., from 2004 to 2010. Prior to that, he served as the managing partner of another firm in Tallahassee from its inception. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Florida Wildlife Federation Fund honored him with the Champion for Climate Change Award. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer by many organizations, including by The Best Lawyers in America for insurance law and in Chambers USA.</p>

<p>President Barack Obama nominated Katz to be ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Portugal in November 2009. During his ambassadorship, Katz worked on the 2010 Lisbon NATO Summit. While serving as Ambassador, Portugal’s financial situation forced them into a bailout program. Ambassador Katz worked closely with the Portugal and U.S. governments to deal with the complexities of the fiscal crisis in the Eurozone. Portugal also served on the Security Council during his service, and Ambassador Katz worked extensively with Libya, Iran, and Syria along with the Portuguese Government. He developed an extensive network of contacts in Portugal and the rest of Europe, as well as Portuguese speaking Africa that helped him initiate numerous commercial programs for U.S. companies abroad.</p>

<p>Prior to entering private legal practice, Ambassador Katz was assistant insurance commissioner and general counsel for the State of Florida Insurance Department. In Washington, D.C., he served as general counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives Commission on Administrative Review (1976-1978); as legislative director for Congressman David Obey (1975-1976); and legislative assistant to Congressman Bill Gunter (1972-1974).</p>

<p>Despite lobbying from the Portuguese-American community to choose someone else, President Barack Obama went with a key campaign fundraiser and organizer for the post of U.S. ambassador to Portugal. Allan J. Katz, a lawyer and lobbyist who helped run Obama’s Florida campaign, was selected instead of Massachusetts state Senator Marc Pacheco, for whom numerous Portuguese organizations and U.S. legislators reportedly lobbied. Katz was confirmed by the Senate in March 2010 and presented his credentials in Portugal on April 28, 2010.</p>

<p>Katz attended college at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, receiving a bachelor’s degree. He then earned a law degree at American University.</p>

<p>In the 1970s Katz began his career working in Congress, serving first as a legislative assistant to Representative Bill Gunter (D-Florida). He later worked as legislative director for Representative David Obey (D-Wisconsin), before serving as general counsel for the House Commission on Administrative Review.</p>

<p>Relocating to Florida, Katz went to work for the state’s Insurance Department as general counsel and then as assistant insurance commissioner.</p>

<p>He joined the firm of Katz, Kutter, Alderman & Bryant, P.A. in 1987 and eventually became a managing partner. He joined Akerman Senterfitt in 2004 when the two firms merged, making Akerman the largest law office in Florida. It has more than 500 lawyers and lobbyists nationwide, with offices in New York, Washington, DC, California, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada and Texas.</p>

<p>Katz was made head of the firm’s Government Affairs and Public Policy practice, which grew significantly during his leadership.</p>

<p>While in Florida, Katz was appointed by the state’s chief financial officer, Alex Sink, to serve on the Citizens Insurance board. He also served as the head of the Joint Planning Board, which coordinates the distribution of funds to social service agencies on behalf of the city of Tallahassee, the county and the United Way. In addition, he was a city commissioner for Tallahassee for seven years, and helped found the Village Square, a bi-partisan community-based organization.</p>

<p>Katz was one of Obama’s key bundlers during the 2008 presidential campaign, pulling together at least $500,000 in contributions, according to OpenSecrets.org. He was a member of the National Finance Committee of Obama for America, and served on the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Drafting Committee for the 2008 convention.</p>

<p>Katz is married to Nancy Cohn and the couple has two sons, Ethan and Matthew.</p>

<p>Allan Jack Katz (born April 30, 1947) is a former City Commissioner of Tallahassee and American Ambassador to Portugal. President Barack Obama nominated Allan to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Portuguese Republic in November 2009. Ambassador Allan Katz is a distinguished professor with the University of Missouri Kansas City Bloch School's Department of Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Science's Political Science Department. He is the founder of the American Public Square, an organization using civil discourse to bridge the partisan divide. In 2019, American Public Square announced a new partnership with William Jewell College, changing its name to American Public Square at Jewell, and Ambassador Katz was brought on as Distinguished Professor in Residence in William Jewell’s Department of Political Science. Katz is a lawyer by profession who has been active in local and national government and politics for many years. He has been a member of the Democratic National Committee where he helped draft the party's platform for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Ambassador Katz holds a B.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in Washington D.C. He was raised in a Jewish family in St. Louis, the son of Fred and Eileen Katz. His father escaped Nazi Germany for the United States where he worked as a salesman; and was one of the original founders of the St. Louis Holocaust Museum. Katz graduated from University City High School.</p>