Chairman of US Vote Foundation

Michael Steele | Biography

Politician, Lawyer, and Businessman

• By Anil Pradhan
• Update : May 16, 2022

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Who is Michael Steele?

Michael Steele was born Michael Stephen Steel in Andrews Field, Maryland, the USA, on 19 October 1958. He is a conservative political analyst, lawyer, businessman, and renowned Republican Party politician.

Moreover, Steele is also the host of The Michael Steele Podcast on TuneIn. In the podcast, he discusses key political issues and their real solutions.

Steele’s parents, William and Maebelle, adopted him as their child while he was just an infant. At just four years of age, i.e., in 1962, he lost his father. After that, his mother, Maebelle, raised him and his sister in Northwest, Washington D.C.

For formal education, Steele joined the Bachelor's degree program at The Johns Hopkins University in 1977. From there, he graduated with a B.A. in International Relations in 1981. Later in 1987, he enrolled at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. and received his Juris Doctor degree in 1991.

Following his graduation, Steele chose to stay in Washington and practice law professionally. He worked at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton for six years. After that, in 1997, he moved to Virginia and began working as a real estate counsel.

Although his mother raised him a Democrat, he developed a belief in Republicans as he became an adult. In 2000, he became the Central Committee head of the Maryland State Republican Party. Furthermore, in 2002, Maryland Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Ehrlich appointed Steele as the candidate for the post of Lieutenant Governor.

After the election, Steele sealed a narrow victory over the Democratic candidate and became the Lt Governor of the State of Maryland. Moreover, he became the first-ever African American Lt. Governor in Maryland’s statewide office. He served in the position from 2003 to 2007.

At present, Steele serves as the CEO and President of The Steele Group, a legal advisory company in Maryland. He is also tenured as the Political Analyst of MSNBC in Washington D.C. and the New York area since April 2011. In addition, he is the Chairman of Washington D.C.’s non-profit organization, U.S. Vote Foundation.

Also Read: Cheri Jacobus - Political Columnist & Controversy

He is the Former RNC Chairman

In January 2009, Steele became the first African-American person to hold the position of the Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). 

After the Democrats Barack Obama was elected the President of the United States in November 2008, the RNC's chairman position became vacant. The Republicans then encouraged Steele to run for the post. Then, on 30 January 2009, Steele won the RNC Chairman election defeating Katon Dawson, Chairman of the Republican Party of South Carolina.

Reportedly, many Republican Party members believed Steele could set aside the accusations of their party being overly white. He was also regarded as the best candidate to counteract Democrat Obama’s popularity and charisma. However, Steele apparently could prove his leadership skill. After only two years' tenure, the party ignominiously pushed him to step aside as the RNC Chairman. 

Michael Steele Puppet Daily Show

The Daily Show is a historical American late-night television program on Comedy Central. It first started airing in 1996 and, to date, has aired more than 3600 episodes.

The Daily Show is primarily a talk show involving news and political satires that regularly airs on the channel from Monday to Thursday. The long-running series invited Steele as a guest on 1 February 2011. During the episode, he met the puppet that the show had been using to represent him for satirical comedy interviews.

As of now, former RNC Chairman Steele uses the picture of the same puppet as his cover photo on Twitter.