George Scott Romney (born June 7, 1941) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician and lawyer in the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. He formerly sat on the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

Board of Trustees. A member of the Pratt-Romney family, he is the elder son of former Michigan Governor and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

presidential candidate George W. Romney and brother of the former

Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Republican presidential nominee, and current

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

. He goes by his middle name of "Scott" in order to distinguish himself from his father.

Life and career

Romney received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from

in 1966 and his J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1969. In 1976, he joined the law firm Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn, LLP in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. Prior to that, Scott Romney practiced law with

Sullivan & Cromwell Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Known as a white-shoe firm, Sullivan & Cromwell is recognized as a leader in business law, and is known for its impact on international affairs, such ...

in New York City. He also served as president of the Lakeway Corporation in Austin, Texas. He served as a member of the board of directors of the

Compuware Corporation Compuware Corporation was an American software company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers products aimed at the information technology (IT) departments of large businesses, and its services also include testing, development, automation ...

. He also served on the board of directors for Blue HealthCare Bank. He was active in Hospice of Michigan, Convergence Transportation Electronics Association, The Children's Center of Wayne County, the National Conference for Community and Justice, Detroit Area Council of

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...

, and New Detroit. Romney has been married four times. He married Ronna Stern in 1967. They raised five children before divorcing in 1992. In 1994 Romney married Ellen Rogers. They divorced in 2010. On July 1, 2011, he married Sheri L. (Cope) Jelalian, widow of D. Reid Jelalian, in Kapolei, Hawaii. That marriage also ended in divorce, in March, 2016. On November 26, 2016, he married Carrie Dimas. They bring a combined total of 14 children to the current marriage. With Ronna Romney, he has five children: Kevin, George, Ronna (now

Ronna Romney McDaniel Ronna McDaniel (' Romney; born March 20, 1973) is an American politician and political strategist serving as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since 2017. A member of the Republican Party and the Romney family, she was chair of the ...

, head of the Republican National Committee), Mark, Christina. With Ellen Rogers, he has two children: Madison and Griffin. He also has nine grandchildren: Abigail, Nash, Isabella, Adelyn, Lucy, Camilla, Roxanne, Zoe, and Theodore.

Political involvement

In 1998, Romney announced his candidacy for the office of

Michigan Attorney General The Attorney General of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, m ...

. That office had been held for 37 years by one person, Democrat Frank Kelley. However, for health reasons, Kelley announced his retirement in 1998. The Republican Governor at the time,

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he later worked for Business Roundtable, where ''The Hill'' c ...

, had backed U.S. Attorney John Smietanka against Kelley, despite the strong likelihood that Kelley would easily win re-election. However, upon Kelley's surprising announcement that he was not seeking re-election, Engler switched from supporting Smietanka to supporting Scott Romney for the Republican nomination. What followed was a power struggle at the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronald Weiser was elected chairman in 2021. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been ...

convention with influential Michigan Republican and Smietanka supporter

Chuck Yob Chuck Yob (born February 14, 1937) is a former Republican National Committee member from the state of Michigan, having been elected to the post in 1989. He is frequently quoted in the media as an expert on internal Republican politics and is well ...

. Romney lost his bid for the nomination to become Michigan Attorney General; Smietanka won the nomination. Smietanka went on to lose the attorney general's race in the general election to the Democratic Party candidate, attorney

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she pre ...

. Governor Engler subsequently appointed Scott Romney to the

Board of Trustees in August 2000. Romney ran for and won a full eight-year term in November 2000. He was defeated for reelection by Dianne Byrum in November 2008.

Religious service

Romney has served as a full-time

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in the British Isles and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romney, Scott American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries Romney, Scott, G. Harvard Law School alumni Living people Michigan lawyers Michigan Republicans Michigan State University alumni Mitt Romney Romney family 1941 births Sullivan & Cromwell people Latter Day Saints from Michigan