Mandell, Robert A., 1947-

Following his nomination by President Barack Obama and confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Robert A. Mandell was sworn in as the 21st Ambassador of the United States of America to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on October 25, 2011, in Washington, DC.

Prior to becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg, he was Chairman and CEO of Greater Properties Inc., a closely held commercial real estate venture in Central Florida. Previously, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Greater Construction Corp. from 1998 until 2005. Greater was a family-owned homebuilding business established in Central Florida in 1965. During its history, Greater built 45 new communities in which it sold more than 12,000 homes in Central Florida. In October 2005, Greater Construction was sold to Meritage Homes, Inc., an Arizona company, and became part of the twelfth-largest homebuilder in America.

Ambassador Mandell has been involved in several capacities in the federal, state, regional and local governments. Two years ago President Barack Obama appointed him to serve on the President’s Export Council, where he was Vice Chairman of the Trade Promotion and Advocacy Subcommittee, as well as a member of the Small and Medium Sized Business Engagement Subcommittee. He took an active part in advancing President Obama’s goal of doubling exports within five years.

He also served on the Board of Directors of Florida Hospital, a 2000-bed, acute care hospital in Florida and part of the Adventist Health System. The Ambassador also was on the Audit and Finance Committee of the Adventist Health System. Other boards he served on include the Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research of LaJolla, California, and the Vermont Studio Center. He also was on the Central Florida Advisory Board of Orange Bank.

Additionally, Ambassador Mandell was Chairman of the State of Florida Environmental Regulation Commission from 1987-1990; Chairman of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in 1990 and 1991 and Vice Chairman from 1992 to 1995. He was a member of Orange County Chairman Richard Crotty’s Transportation Commission in 2002 and the Blue Ribbon Panel on Education for the Orange County Public School System in 2004-2005.

The Ambassador is a 1969 graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Advertising and, in 1972, a Juris Doctor degree. He is an “AV” rated lawyer in the Martindate-Hubbell legal list. In addition, he graduated from the Harvard Business School’s OPM Executive Program in 2000.

Ambassador Mandell is married to Julie Walker Mandell and is the father of two boys: Zack, 26, and Xan, 20. Mrs. Mandell has two children: Lauren, aged 17, and Daniel, 25. The Ambassador’s hobbies are painting, traveling, and reading.