It’s common to talk about politics as a dirty game, but some politicians have found a way to keep their hands clean in the game of politics, among them Elaine Chao. She has shattered glass ceilings with her political accomplishments and is one of those politicians who have never faced scandal. Although she is not a favorite of the American public due to her political affiliations and some of her policies, she has not let their displeasure with her deter the political aspirations she has set for herself. Elaine Chao has led an interesting life, key areas we try to discuss below.
Elaine Chao – Biography,
On March 26, 1953, in the capital of Taipei in Taiwan; Elaine Lan Chao was born. She is the eldest of six children who are all girls, their names are Jeannette, Christine, May, Angela and Grace. In 1961, at the age of eight, she emigrated to the United States with her mother to meet her father who had moved there three years before them. They did this after the Communist Party took control of mainland China and to escape the harsh realities of a Communist state. Chao became a naturalized American in 1972 at the age of 19, after spending eleven years in the country.
Elaine Chao hasn’t always worked in politics; previously, she was a fellow in the Office of Policy Development at the White House in 1983, which marked the start of her political career. Chao had worked for an oil company, the Gulf Oil Corporation during his studies. Subsequently, she worked at Citicorp in their banking division for a period of four years; it likely prepared her for the three years she spent as vice president of Bank of America’s capital markets division.
1986 saw her become a leader of the Ministry of Transport, particularly in the maritime field, obtaining the post of assistant administrator before being promoted to president of the Maritime Commission. Her career continued on this upward trajectory until she became Secretary of Labor in 2001 while George Bush was President, a position she held for eight years. His last government appointment was as transport secretary. For most of the positions she has held in government, she is the first person with her heritage to hold those positions.
Education
Elaine Chao’s education began in Taipei at Tsai Hsing Elementary School; it was at this school that she went to kindergarten and took her first-grade classes. After immigrating to the United States of America, she was enrolled at Syosset High School on Long Island; New York.
Her next point of education was at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she earned a degree in economics in 1975, then to Harvard Business School for her Masters in Business Administration, she graduated from Harvard in 1979.
Elaine Chao has received 37 honorary degrees; these diplomas were obtained after she gave commencement addresses in the universities which conferred them on her. Her most recent is from National Taiwan Ocean University and it’s a doctorate in law, while her first was from Villanova University, in the same degree she got from Taiwan Ocean University.
Her husband and children
Elaine Chao is married to Mitch McConnell who is a Republican Senator. The two married in 1993 after an introduction by a mutual friend of the couple. By the time the two met, McConnell was already working with the government and Chao had been hard at work campaigning for the 2014 Senate election. The two have no children together, which Chao regrets.
About his father James SC Chao
Elaine Chao’s mother is a woman named Ruth, a historian, while her father is entrepreneur James Si-Cheng Chao. In 1958, he left China for the United States after obtaining a scholarship. Six years later, he created the maritime and commercial company; Group first. He is highly recognized for his philanthropy and addition to the international maritime sector.