Harold E. Ford, Jr. UG – 92
Vice Chairman, Merrill Lynch & Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council
Harold E. Ford, Jr., born May 11, 1970, spent a decade as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2006, Ford lost the closest Senate race in Tennessee�s history to Republican Bob Corker, by less than three percentage points. Described by President Clinton as �the walking, living embodiment�of where America ought to go in the 21st century,� U. S. Representative Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) has distinguished himself as a charismatic, results-oriented politician with fresh ideas and a pragmatic approach.
Elected in 1996 to Tennessee�s 9th congressional district, Ford was re-elected four times by an average of 80% of the vote. During his time in Congress, he built a reputation on Capitol Hill as a consensus builder. While serving on the House Financial Services Committee, Ford worked to improve corporate governance, strengthen U.S. capital markets and increase access to capital. He developed expertise on fiscal and economic policies during his time with the House Budget Committee.
Known to his colleagues as a fiscal watchdog conservative, Ford played an active role as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats seeking middle-ground, bipartisan answers to the current challenges facing our Country. He created ideas for faith and community based groups to solve social challenges as co-chair of the Community Solutions and Initiatives Caucus. He also served as a member of the New Democrat Coalition, the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as co-chaired the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus.
With American troops fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the global war on terror, Congressman Ford believes national security is a top priority. As a member of the Department of Defense's Transformation Advisory Group, he helps to advise the Pentagon on developing a new organizational framework to defend the country and our future.
A gifted speaker and accomplished writer, Ford was the keynote speaker for the 2000 Democratic National Convention and the author of Tomorrow�s Patriots, a political memoir detailing his forward looking ideas and vision for our country. He is a regular guest on popular news and political commentary television, including MSNBC�s �Hardball,� and has been featured on the cover of Newsweek, in New York Magazine, Washington Post and Time. He now serves as a political contributor to FOX News, providing political commentary and analysis on international events and the 2008 election.
Currently, Congressman Ford is a visiting professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University, teaching a class on American political leadership, and also serves as the Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council. Ford joined Merrill Lynch as vice chairman and senior policy advisor, effective March 5 of this year. In this role he advises senior management on domestic policy issues, serves as a member of the firm's public policy and social responsibility management committee, and supports a variety of business development initiatives in the institutional and retail markets.
Ford received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996 and earned a bachelors degree in American history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.