This page is about the Maryland politician. For others of the same name, see Michael Steele (disambiguation).

Michael S. Steele (born October 19, 1958) is the current lieutenant governor of Maryland, having been elected on the same ticket as Governor Robert L. Ehrlich in 2002. He is the first African American to serve in a Maryland state-wide office, and the first Republican Lt. Governor in the state.

Prior to his election as Lt. Governor, he served as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party[1] (he was the first Republican state party chairman to be African American) and chairman of the Prince George's County Republican party before that. He has degrees from Johns Hopkins University (in international relations) and Georgetown University (in law). Steele, a Roman Catholic also studied at Villanova University in preparation for the priesthood. After college graduation, he joined the Augustinian Order and was a monk for two and a half years, but he left the order prior to taking the vows.

After getting his law degree, Steele became a Corporate-Securities attorney and founded the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm. Between 1991 and 1997, Steele was an associate with the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, who specialized in financial transactions. Steele worked in their Tokyo and London offices.

Michael Steele has been appointed to a number of important panels (such as the Maryland State House Trust) and received several important honors. He spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. He has a wife, Andrea, and two sons, Michael and Drew.

See also

• Government of Maryland

External links

• Bio from official site
• Michael Steele, one of the rising stars of the GOP
• Text of Steele's speech to the 2004 GOP convention
• Text of a Feb. 2005 GOP interview with Steele