Murphy, Phil, 1957-

<p>Governor Phil Murphy, as he says, “grew up in a family that was middle class on a good day,” the youngest of four children with only one parent who graduated high school. His upbringing – where religion, a strong work ethic, education, and civic awareness were pillars of family life – shaped his values, his priorities, and the leader he is today.</p>

<p>Since taking office, Governor Murphy has focused on building a stronger and fairer New Jersey that works for every family. He has signed legislation putting New Jersey on the path to a $15-an-hour minimum wage, enacted the nation’s strongest equal pay law to combat gender wage discrimination, ensured all workers have access to paid sick days, and expanded the state's Paid Family Leave provisions.</p>

<p>Governor Murphy has put a new emphasis on restoring the state’s dominance in the innovation economy by reinvesting in workforce development and supporting the growth of innovative and start-up companies.</p>

<p>Under his leadership, New Jersey is also emerging as a leader in combatting climate change through the deployment of offshore-wind energy technologies and banning offshore fossil-fuel exploration and drilling, among other measures to spur growth in the clean and renewable energy sectors.</p>

<p>Governor Murphy has reversed prior years of budget cuts and increased funding for both New Jersey’s top-ranked public schools and NJ TRANSIT. And, he restored state funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health programs, including family planning services.</p>

<p>He has made New Jersey a national leader in tackling gun violence, and has expanded protections for the state’s immigrant and LGBTQ communities, among others.</p>

<p>Prior to taking office, Governor Murphy had long been deeply engaged in civic life and philanthropic pursuits. He has led and supported charities to lift up troubled teens and domestic abuse survivors. Nationally, he served proudly as New Jersey’s sole representative on the board of the NAACP, the world’s oldest civil rights organization, and as Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee. The Governor has also led national and state task forces, respectively, on education and public employee pensions and benefits.</p>

<p>In 2009, he answered President Obama’s call to service and, following his confirmation by the United States Senate, became the U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, where he served until 2013.</p>

<p>Governor Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy live in Monmouth County and are the parents of Josh, Emma, Charlie, and Sam.</p>

<p>A proud public-school product, Governor Murphy holds degrees from Harvard University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.</p>

<p>Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat and politician who has served as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013, during which time he dealt with fallout from the United States diplomatic cables leak. He served as finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee in the mid-late 2000s under Howard Dean. Before that, Murphy had a 23-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he held several high-level positions and accumulated considerable wealth before retiring in 2006. He is involved in many civic organizations and philanthropic pursuits.</p>

<p>While planning to run for governor, Murphy launched New Way for New Jersey, a progressive organization intended to increase his political visibility in the state. He defeated then Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno in the 2017 gubernatorial election. In December 2019, Murphy became the chairperson of the Democratic Governors Association.</p>

<p>Murphy was born in Needham, Massachusetts, and was raised in both Needham and nearby Newton, the son of Dorothy Louise (Dunton) and Walter F. Murphy. According to Murphy, his family was "middle class on a good day." The family was Irish American, with Phil being third generation. By his recollection, his mother, a secretary, and father, a high-school dropout who took any job he could (including liquor store manager and for-pay pallbearer), lived paycheck to paycheck.</p>

<p>Murphy graduated from Harvard University in 1979 with an AB degree in economics. At Harvard he aspired to become a professional musical theater performer and was elected president of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, a theatrical student society. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where he received a MBA in 1983.</p>

<p>Murphy began his career with a summer associate internship at Goldman Sachs in 1982. He was hired after graduating in 1983.</p>

<p>From 1993 to 1997 Murphy headed the firm's Frankfurt office. His business responsibilities were later expanded to encompass Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, as well as in the emerging post-Warsaw Pact economies of Central Europe. In this role he engaged in a number of transactions with the German government's Treuhandanstalt agency, whose purpose was to conduct the privatization of formerly state-owned enterprises within the boundaries of no-longer-extant East Germany. Murphy was also active in the Atlantik-Brücke organization, including co-founding its International Advisor Council.</p>

<p>From 1997 to 1999 Murphy served as the President of Goldman Sachs (Asia). In that capacity, he was officed in Hong Kong. During this time Goldman Sachs profited from its investment in Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings, a shoe manufacturer that became notorious for its harsh labor practices. The $55 million investment was made the year before Murphy took the Asia post and it is unclear to what extent Murphy was aware of the firm's operational characteristics. In 1998 Murphy told the Wall Street Journal that "We [at Goldman Sachs] are elite in the sense the Marine Corps is elite".</p>

<p>In 1999 Murphy secured a spot on the firm's Management Committee. There his colleagues included Hank Paulson and Gary Cohn, both of whom later served at highest levels of the federal government. This coincided with the Glass–Steagall: aftermath of repeal and made a profound change in how Murphy and his colleagues made their profits, with much greater use of leverage than before.</p>

<p>In 2001 Murphy became global co-head of the firm's Investment Management Division. This unit oversaw the investments of foundations, pensions, hedge funds, and wealthy personages, and by 2003 had amassed $373 billion in holdings. Hedge funds in particular received large lines of credit from Murphy's unit. Another company initiative that Murphy helped to undertake was the unit that did major business in the emerging markets within the EMEA region.</p>

<p>In 2003 Murphy's day-to-day responsibilities at the firm ended, and he became a Senior Director of the firm. He retired in 2005-06. Murphy spent 23 years at Goldman Sachs in all.</p>

<p>After leaving Goldman Sachs, Murphy served from 2006 to 2009 as the National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), where he worked with DNC Chair Howard Dean. Murphy liked both Dean's vision for the party and the discipline Dean brought to the task, and the two became close friends.</p>

<p>Murphy served as United States Ambassador to Germany under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. The possibility of his being named to the post was first reported by Spiegel Online International in May 2009. The former U.S. Ambassador John Kornblum supported the choice, saying, "Murphy has been involved in German-American relations for many years. He's a good choice." An agrément was issued, and Obama formally nominated him to the position on July 9. Murphy was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, and appeared with his family in Berlin on August 21. That they arrived in an expensive Gulfstream V executive jet irked Chancellor Merkel, who saw it as evidence of the long practice of presidents awarding wealthy donors with ambassadorships. Murphy presented his credentials in Berlin to German President Horst Koehler on September 3, which the State Department considers his effective start date. He was sworn into the position on September 13.</p>

<p>During his tenure Murphy promoted American trade and focused on engaging Germany's youth through town hall meetings, exchange programs, and social media communication. He said, "The legacy of our time together in Germany will be measured by how well we 'set the table' for tomorrow, by how deeply today's youth understand the ongoing relevance of the transatlantic bridge. They are tomorrow's leaders and our investment in their future is our highest priority." In doing so he paid particular attention to children who were part of immigration to Germany, who rarely had the opportunity to meet Americans.</p>

<p>On May 29, 2013, it was announced that Murphy was stepping down from the post. He was still ambassador as of July 3; he returned to the United States at some point during July and formally stayed in the role until his mission terminated on August 26.</p>

<p>Murphy was mentioned as a potential candidate in the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election, but did not run. Rather, upon returning to the United States he returned to Murphy Endeavors LLC, a business management consultancy firm, of which he was the principal, with offices in Red Bank, New Jersey. He started the firm in 2009 after leaving the DNC position, but it was soon put on hold due to his ambassadorial nomination. He also gave speeches about his experiences in Germany, especially in connection with the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.</p>

<p>In May 2016 Murphy announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election. He became the race's first announced candidate. He said of his rationale, "I am running for governor because New Jersey desperately needs adult leadership that puts our people first."</p>

<p>In January 2017 Murphy was endorsed by New Jersey's two U.S. senators, Bob Menendez and Cory Booker. He also had the endorsements of all 21 county party organizations. In statewide races, these designations offer favorable ballot position, which some voters pick by default, and are often central to success.</p>

<p>Murphy won the June 6 primary decisively, with 48% of the vote. Johnson and Wisniewski finished second and third with 22% apiece, Lesniak got 5%, and scattered others less.</p>

<p>Murphy faced Guadagno, the Republican nominee, in the November general election. In that campaign Guadagno ran as a moderate, attempting to avoid association with both Christie, who held a record-low approval rating for a governor, and Donald Trump. Instead she sought to focus on Murphy's Goldman Sachs background.</p>

<p>Murphy was sworn in as governor of New Jersey on January 16, 2018.</p>

<p>Murphy first met his future wife, Tammy Snyder, in 1987 when they both worked at Goldman Sachs, but Murphy did not ask her out for another seven years. When he finally did, things progressed quickly: they became engaged 18 days later and were married within six months, in 1994.</p>

<p>Murphy and his wife have four children, three sons and a daughter. They live in Monmouth County in New Jersey. The children have been educated at Rumson Country Day School and Phillips Academy. Tammy Snyder Murphy has held a variety of financial, civic, and political positions as well as having been a homemaker.</p>