Rahm Emanuel, 2009 White House Chief of Staff (source: rrstar.com)

Here is quick fact-sheet on Congressman Rahm Emanuel, President-Elect Barack Obama’s soon-to-be Chief of Staff.

Background:

• Born November 29, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois
• Religion: Modern Orthodox Judaism (Attends Anshe Shalom Synagogue)
• Family: Wife: Amy Rule; Children: Zacharias, Ilana, and Leah
• Colleges: Sarah Lawrence College; Northwestern University
• Profession: Congressman, Chicago’s 5th Congressional District
• Books Authored: The Plan: Big Ideas for America
• Interesting Facts:
  • Lost a finger following a meat-cutting accident at a Chicago Arby’s where he worked when he was 17.
  • Volunteered in the Israel Defense Forces during the Gulf War
  • His brother, Ari Emanuel, is the inspiration behind the character Ari Gold in Entourage. Ari Emanuel represents celebrities like Larry David, Michael Moore, Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Wahlberg.
  • Rahm Emanuel’s father, Benjamin Emanuel, was a member of the Irgun, a militant Zionist organization and a key component of the Jewish Resistance Movement in the 1940′s.
  • Rahm Emanuel’s oldest brother is an oncologist with a PhD in Philosophy and a authority on biomedical ethics (h/t, Carlos)
  • Former ballet dancer (h/t, Jo)

Political Experience:

• First campaign job was working for Paul Simon’s U.S. Senate Campaign in 1984
• National Campaign Director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1988
• Chief Fundraiser for Chicago political powerhouse, Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1989
• Campaign Finance Director for Bill Clinton in 1992
• Senior Clinton Advisor, 1993 – 1998
• Elected to Congress in 2002 (67% – 29%)
• Named Chairman of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2005

Committee Positions in Congress:

• Committee on Ways and Means
• Subcommittee on Health
• Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

Key Quotes:

What is more comforting to the terrorists around the world: the failure to pass the 9/11 legislation because we lacked ‘a majority of the majority,’ or putting aside partisan politics to enact tough new legislation with America’s security foremost in mind?

When it comes to federal elections law, Tom DeLay and his special-interest friends live by one set of rules, and everyone else lives by a very different set.

Did I miss anything other relevant information? Let me know in the comments section and I’ll try to add it.

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