Sununu, John H. (John Henry), 1939-

<p>John Henry Sununu (born July 2, 1939) is an American politician who was the 75th Governor of New Hampshire (1983–1989) and later White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. He is the father of John E. Sununu, the former United States Senator from New Hampshire, and Christopher Sununu, the current governor of New Hampshire. Sununu was the chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party from 2009 to 2011.</p>

<p>Sununu was born in Havana, Cuba while his parents were visiting Cuba on a business trip. He is the son of John Saleh Sununu, an international film distributor, and Victoria Sununu (née Dada). His father's family came to the United States from Lebanon at the turn of the 20th century. His father's ancestry is from the Greek Orthodox Lebanese and Palestinian communities in Jerusalem and Beirut. John Saleh Sununu was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother Victoria Dada was born in El Salvador. Her family were also Greek Orthodox practitioners of Lebanese and Palestinian descent and had settled in Central America at the turn of the 20th century. Sununu visited Beirut, Lebanon as a child in the late 1940s. He grew up in New York City and graduated from the La Salle Military Academy on Long Island.</p>

<p>Sununu earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1961, a Master of Science degree in 1963, and a Ph.D. in 1966 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in mechanical engineering. He is a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.</p>

JOHN H. SUNUNU was born in Havana, Cuba. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1961, a master’s degree in 1962, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1966. He was a mechanical engineering professor at Tufts University from 1966 to 1968 and associate dean of the College of Engineering until 1973. From 1963 until his election as governor, he served as president of JHS Engineering Company and Thermal Research Inc. He represented Salem in the New Hampshire State Legislature from 1973-1974. He became New Hampshire’s 75th Chief Executive on January 6, 1983, and served three consecutive terms. Sununu served on the Advisory Board of the Technology and Policy Program at MIT from 1984-1989. On January 21, 1989, Governor Sununu was commissioned Chief of Staff to President George H. W. Bush, serving in the White House until March 1, 1992. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineers’ Committee on Public Engineering Policy and has served as a member of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality Advisory Committee. Sununu chaired the National Governors Association, the Coalition of Northeastern Governors, and the Republican Governors Association. From 1992 until 1998, he co-hosted CNN’s nightly Crossfire program, a news/public affairs discussion program. He is president of JHS Associates, Ltd. and a partner in Trinity International Partners, a private financial firm. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.