Mitt Romney 美国总统候选人简介(英文).doc

Mitt RomneyFrom WikipediaMitt Romney70th Governor of MassachusettsIn office: January 2, 2003 January 4, 2007Lieutenant Kerry HealeyPreceded by Jane Swift (Acting)Succeeded by Deval PatrickWillard Mitt RomneyPersonal detailsBorn March 12, 1947 (age65) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.Political party RepublicanSpouse(s) Ann Romney (m.1969)ChildrenTaggart (b. 1970)Matthew (b. 1971)Joshua (b. 1975)Benjamin (b. 1978)Craig (b. 1981)ResidenceBelmont, MassachusettsWolfeboro, New HampshireSan Diego, CaliforniaAlma materBrigham Young University (BA)Harvard University (MBA, JD)Religion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)PositionsCo-founder, Bain Capital(19841999)CEO, Bain & Company(19911992)CEO, 2002 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee(19992002)SignatureWebsiteMittR2012 Presidential campaignWillard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and he is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for the 2012 presidential election.The son of George W. Romney (the Governor of Michigan) and Lenore Romney, he was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1966, after one year at Stanford University, he left the United States for thirty months in France as a Mormon missionary. He married Ann Davies in 1969 and they have five children together. He earned an undergraduate degree in English from Brigham Young University in 1971, and then a joint JD and MBA from Harvard University in 1975. He entered the management consulting business, which led to a position at Bain & Company. Eventually serving as CEO, he brought the company out of crisis. He was co-founder and head of the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the nation. His wealth helped fund most of his future political campaigns. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as ward bishop and later stake president in his area. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to long-time incumbent Ted Kennedy. Romney was President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which organized the 2002 Winter Olympics, and he helped turn the financially troubled games into a success.He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 but did not seek re-election in 2006. He presided over a series of spending cuts and increases in fees that eliminated a projected $1.5billion deficit. He also signed into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, which provided near-universal health insurance access via state-level subsidies and individual mandates. During the course of his political career, his positions or rhetorical emphasis have shifted more towards American conservatism in several areas.Romney ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, winning several primaries and caucuses but losing the nomination to John McCain. In the following years, he gave speeches and raised campaign funds on behalf of his fellow Republicans. In June 2011, he announced that he would seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The results of the caucuses and primaries have placed him as the clear leader and in April 2012, the Republican National Committee declared him the presumptive nominee.Early life and educationHeritage and youthRomney was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was the youngest child of George W. Romney, a self-made man who by 1948 had become an automobile executive, and Lenore Romney (ne LaFount), an aspiring actress who had become a homemaker. His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father had been born in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico, to American parents. Romney is of primarily English descent, and also has more distant Scottish and German ancestry. Romney is a fifth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A great-great-grandfather, Miles Romney, converted to the faith in its first decade, and another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was an early leader in the church during the same time.He was preceded in birth by three siblings: Margo Lynn, Jane LaFount, and G. Scott. Mitt followed after a gap of six years. He was named after hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, his fathers best friend, and his fathers cousin Milton Mitt Romney, 19251929 quarterback for the Chicago Bears. When he was five, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills. His father became CEO of American Motors and turned the company around from the brink of bankruptcy; by the time he was twelve, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television. Romney idolized his father, read automotive trade magazines, kept abreast of automotive developments, and aspired to be an executive in the industry. His father also presided over the Detroit Stake of the LDS Church.The Cranbrook School,which Mitt Romney attended from seventh grade onRomney went to public elementary schools.12 In the seventh grade, began commuting to Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, a private boys preparatory school of the classic mold where he was the lone Mormon and where many students came from even more privileged backgrounds. He was not particularly athletic and at first did not excel academically. While a sophomore, he participated in the 1962 campaign in which his father was elected Governor of Michigan. When Romneys parents moved to the state capitol, he took up residence at the schools Stevens Hall. George Romney was re-elected twice; Mitt worked for him as an intern in the governors office, and was present at the 1964 Republican National Convention when his moderate father battled conservative party nominee Barry Goldwater over issues of civil rights and ideological extremism. During these years, Romney had a steady set of chores and worked summer jobs, including being a security guard at a Chrysler plant. At Cranbrook, Romney was a manager for the ice hockey team and a member of the pep squad, and during his final year joined the cross country running team.12 He belonged to eleven school organizations and school clubs, including founding the Blue Key Club boosters group. During his final year at Cranbook, Romney improved academically, but was still not a star pupil. He won an award for those whose contributions to school life are often not fully recognized through already existing channels. Romney was an energetic child who enjoyed pranks. In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies, two years behind him, whom he had once known in elementary school; she attended the private Kingswood School, the sister school to Cranbrook. The two informally agreed to marriage around the time of his June 1965 graduation.Business careerManagement consultingRomney was recruited by several firms and chose to remain in Massachusetts to work for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), thinking that working as a management consultant to a variety of companies would prepare him for a future job as a chief executive. He was part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a major company directly. His legal and business education proved useful in his job, and he became a rising star. while applying BCG principles such as the growth-share matrix. Private equityLogo of Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney co-founded in 1984Romney left Bain Capital in February 1999 to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee.Net worthIt has been estimated that Romney has amassed twice the net worth of the last eight presidents combined, and would rank among the four richest in American history if elected.Local church leadershipDuring his years in business, Romney also served in the local lay clergy. As such, he formulated Sunday services and classes, using the Bible and the Book of Mormon to guide the congregation, and also did home teaching.1994 U.S. senatorial campaignUnited States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994Romney changed his affiliation from Independent to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994. He stepped down from his position at Bain Capital, and from his church leadership role, during the campaign. In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious re-election challenger of his career in the young, telegenic, and well-funded Romney. In the November general election, despite a disastrous showing for Democrats overall, Kennedy won the election with 58percent of the vote to Romneys 41percent.2002 Winter OlympicsRomney, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, speaking before a curling matchGovernor of Massachusetts2002 gubernatorial campaignTenure, 20032007Massachusetts State House portrait of Governor Mitt Romney, by artist Richard WhitneyRomney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003. Both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature held large Democratic majorities. He picked his cabinet and advisors more on managerial abilities than partisan affiliation.At the beginning of his governorship, Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions, but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits. Faced with the dilemma of choosing between same-sex marriage or civil unions after the November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health), Romney reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned same-sex marriage but still allow civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. In May 2004, Romney instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, no marriage licenses were to be issued to out-of-state same-sex couples not planning to move to Massachusetts. In June 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that the amendment confused voters who oppose both same-sex marriage and civil unions. Instead, Romney endorsed a petition effort led by the Coalition for Marriage & Family that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions. In 2004 and 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment. 2008 presidential campaignRomney holding an Ask Mitt Anything session in Ames, Iowa, in May 2007Activity between presidential campaignsBoth Mitt Romney and his wife Ann (pictured) spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 20112012 presidential campaignRomney making an appearance in Livonia, Michigan, days after his June 2011 formal campaign announcementPolitical positions and public perceptionsFor much of his business career, Romney did not take public political positions. He had kept track of national politics while in college, and the circumstances of his fathers presidential campaign loss would grate on him for decades, but his early philosophical influences were often non-political, such as in his missionary days when he read and absorbed Napoleon Hills pioneering self-help tome Think and Grow Rich and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. Until his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, he was registered as an Independent. In the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries, he voted for the Democratic former senator from the state, Paul Tsongas.Mitt Romney speaking at a supporters rally in Paradise Valley, Arizona on December 6, 2011In the 1994 Senate race, Romney aligned himself with Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld, saying I think Bill Welds fiscal conservatism, his focus on creating jobs and employment and his efforts to fight discrimination and assure civil rights for all is a model that I identify with and aspire to. As a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, and then initially as Governor of Massachusetts, Romney generally operated in the mold established by Weld and followed by Welds two other Republican successors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift: restrain spending and taxing, be tolerant or permissive on social issues, protect the environment, be tough on crime, try to appear post-partisan.Later during his time as governor, Romneys position on abortion changed in conjunction with a similar change of position on stem cell research.Also during that time, his position or choice of emphasis on some aspects of gay rights, and some aspects of abstinence-only sex education, evolved in a more conservative direction. The change in 2005 on abortion was the result of what Romney described as an epiphany experienced while investigating stem cell research issues. He later said, Changing my position was in line with an ongoing struggle that anyone has that is opposed to abortion personally, vehemently opposed to it, and yet says, Well, Ill let other people make that decision. And you say to yourself, but if you believe that youre taking innocent life, its hard to justify letting other people make that decision.This increased alignment with traditional conservatives on social issues coincided with Romneys becoming a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for President. He displayed a new-found admiration for the National Rifle Association and portrayed himself as a lifelong hunter. He downplayed the Massachusetts health care law, became a convert on signing an anti-tax pledge, and backed away from further closings of corporate tax loopholes. He also displayed aggressiveness on foreign policy matters such as wanting to double the number of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Romney with opportunism and having a lack of core principles. The fervor with which Romney adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity which hampered that campaign. While there have been many biographical parallels between the lives of George and Mitt Romney, one particular difference is that while George was willing to defy political trends, Mitt has been much more willing to adapt to them. Mitt Romney has said that learning from experience and changing views accordingly is a virtue, and that, If youre looking for someone whos never changed any positions on any policies, then Im not your guy. Romney responded to criticisms of ideological pandering with the explanation that The older I get, the smarter Ronald Reagan gets. Journalist Daniel Gross sees Romney as approaching politics in the same terms as a business competing in markets, in that successful executives do not hold firm to public stances over long periods of time, but rather constantly devise new strategies and plans to deal with new geographical regions and ever-changing market conditions. Political profiler Ryan Lizza notes the same question regarding whether Romneys business skills can be adapted to politics, saying that while giving customers exactly what they want may be normal in the corporate world, it can be costly in politics. Writer Robert Draper holds a somewhat similar perspective: The Romney curse was this: His strength lay in his adaptability. In governance, this was a virtue; in a political race, it was an invitation to be called a phony. Writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells sees Romney as a detached problem solver rather than one who approaches political issues from a humanistic or philosophical perspective. Journalist Neil Swidey views Romney as a political and cultural enigma, the product of two of the most mysterious and least understood subcultures in the country: the Mormon Church and private-equity finance, and believes that has led to the continued interest in a 1983 episode in which Romney kept his family dog on the roof of his car during a long road trip. Political writer Joe Klein views Romney as actually more conservative on social issues than he portrayed himself during his Massachusetts campaigns and less conservative on other issues than his presidential campaigns have represented, and concludes that Romney has always campaigned as something he probably is not.Immediately following the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as an unconscionable abuse of power and said the act should be repealed. The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for the former governor, since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during Romneys term; as one Associated Press article stated, Obamacare . looks a lot like Romneycare. While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Romney did not back away from it, and has consistently defended its underpinning state-level health insurance mandate. He has focused on its bipartisan support in the state legislature, the absence of Congressional Republican support for Obamas plan, and has contended that it was the right answer to Massachusetts specific problems at the time. While Romney has not explicitly argued for a federally imposed mandate, and as of 2010 explicitly opposes one, during his 1994 Senate campaign he indicated he would vote for an overall health insurance proposal that contained one. He suggested during his time as governor and during his 2008 presidential campaign that the Massachusetts plan was a model for the nation and