Richard Grenell
| Richard Grenell | |
|---|---|
 Grenell in 2005 | |
| Born | September 18, 1966 |
| Alma mater |
Evangel University (BA) Harvard University (MPA) |
| Political party | Republican |
Richard Grenell (born September 18, 1966) is an American media commentator and former diplomat. He is the longest serving U.S. spokesman at the United Nations. Grenell also briefly served as national security spokesman for Mitt Romney in his 2012 campaign for President of the United States, becoming the first openly gay spokesman for a Republican presidential candidate.[1][2] He resigned after pressure from social conservatives.[3]
Career
In 2001, Grenell was appointed by President George W. Bush as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy for the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Serving in that role until 2008, Grenell became the longest serving U.S. spokesman at the United Nations, advising four different U.S. Ambassadors. During his tenure, Grenell led communication strategies on such issues as the War on Terror, global peacekeeping operations, Iran and North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, and the UN Oil for Food corruption scandal.[4]
Prior to his post at the UN, Grenell was a political adviser to a number of prominent Republicans, including George Pataki and Dave Camp.[5]
In 2009, Grenell founded Capitol Media Partners, an international strategic media and public affairs consultancy with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C.[4] He is under contract with Fox News where he is a "Contributor" commenting on foreign affairs and the media.[6][7] He has written for The Wall Street Journal,[8][9] CBS News,[10][11] CNN,[12] Politico,[13] Huffington Post,[14] The Washington Times,[15] Newsmax,[16] and Al Jazeera.[17] In 2012, CNN ranked Grenell's social media outreach as one of the top 5,[18] and Time magazine named Grenell as one of the Top 10 Political Twitter Feeds of 2014.[19]
In 2013, Grenell was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[20]
Personal life
Grenell is a registered Republican.[21] He received a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor's degree in Government and Public Administration from Evangel University.[4] In June 2013, Grenell revealed that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and started chemotherapy.[22] In September 2013, Grenell announced that he was cancer-free.[23]
References
- ↑ "Mitt Romney's Appointment of Gay Aide Richard Grenell Signals New Attitude". ABC News. April 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Mitt Romney's Gay Spokesman: A Milestone in Republican Politics". The Atlantic. April 24, 2012.
- ↑ Rubin, Jennifer (May 1, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Richard Grenell hounded from Romney campaign by anti-gay conservatives". The Washington Post.
- 1 2 3 "About". richardgrenell.com.
- ↑ "Richard Grenell, Openly Gay Romney Spokesman, Resigns From Post". ABC News. May 1, 2012.
- ↑ "Richard Grenell". Fox News.
- ↑ "Richard Grenell Re-Signs with Fox News Through Election 2016". Mediaite. October 15, 2014.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (May 22, 2012). "Marriage, Gay Republicans and the Election". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (November 21, 2011). "Obama's Failing Iran Diplomacy". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (January 30, 2010). "Holden Caulfield and Me". CBS News.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (April 18, 2010). "Why Yahoo Ought to Follow Google's Lead on China". CBS News.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (December 1, 2009). "GOP rescuing Obama's Afghan policy". CNN.
- ↑ "Arena Profile: Richard A. Grenell". Politico.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard. "Richard Grenell". The Huffington Post.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (March 19, 2015). "Nigeria on the brink". The Washington Times.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (November 19, 2012). "Obama Praises Burma, Ignores Strife in Iran, Syria". Newsmax.
- ↑ Grenell, Richard (December 30, 2009). "A year of little change for Obama". Al Jazeera.
- ↑ "CNN's Gut Check for August 31, 2012". CNN. August 31, 2012.
- ↑ "The Best Twitter Feeds of 2014: Richard Grenell". Time. May 5, 2014.
- ↑ "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay-Marriage Brief". The Daily Beast. February 28, 2013.
- ↑ "Gay Bush Appointee Loses Appeal for Fair Treatment". The Advocate. September 27, 2008.
- ↑ "Joining the Fight". richardgrenell.com. June 10, 2013.
- ↑ Richard Grenell [RichardGrenell] (September 30, 2013). "I'm officially in remission. #CancerFree @cityofhope" (Tweet) – via Twitter.