Craig L. Berkman (born August 12, 1941) is an American

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

ist and a Republican politician in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. He was known as a major donor in national Republican circles. He chaired the

Oregon Republican Party The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Salem. The party was established in the Oregon Territory in February 1857 as the "Free State Republican Party of Oregon" and held ...

in the early 1990s, opposing the far right

Oregon Citizens Alliance The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) was a conservative Christian political activist organization, founded by Lon Mabon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in 1986 as a vehicle to challenge then–U.S. Senator Bob Packwood in the Republican p ...

. He ran for chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in f ...

in 1993 and for

Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. te ...

in 1996, losing the former race to

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican N ...

and the latter to Denny Smith in the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. Berkman served as Oregon's state Republican Party chairman from 1989 to 1993 and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Governor of Oregon in 1994. He was arrested in March 2013 in the

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

suburb of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, where he has a $3.94 million home, on charges of selling pre-

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shares of

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. In June 2013, Berkman pleaded guilty to securities and wire fraud at the

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. On December 16, 2013, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison, and will be required to repay $8.4 million to investors.

Early life and education

Craig Berkman was born Craig Lamont Willoughby in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

. His biological father was Roford "Pinky" Berkman. Craig Berkman was raised poor in the Roseway neighborhood of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. As Craig Berkman, he graduated from

Madison High School Madison High School may refer to: * Madison County High School (Alabama), Gurley, Alabama * Madison High School (Idaho), Rexburg, Idaho * Madison Consolidated High School, Madison, Indiana * Madison High School (Kansas), Madison, Kansas * Kentuck ...

, went to

Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to: * Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

on a scholarship and later earned graduate degrees from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and

Lewis & Clark Law School The Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College (also known as Lewis & Clark Law School), is an American Bar Association-approved private law school in Portland, Oregon. The law school received ABA approval in 1970 and joined the Ass ...

. Berkman was a trustee of

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocate ...

Work history

In 1971, Berkman worked for a brief period on the staff of Portland city commissioner (council member)

Connie McCready Constance McCready (born Constance Averill, August 20, 1921 – December 22, 2000), was an American journalist and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She held several elected offices in Oregon during her career, includ ...

. He was elected in 1978 to the Metropolitan Service District's council, in Portland, where fellow councillors named him chairman, and served from 1979 to 1981. He quit in 1981 after his business interests began taking so much time that he had been missing more than half of the council meetings. Berkman was chairman of the Oregon Republican Party from 1989–1993. He was chairman of high-technology and medical equipment companies. He worked as an administrative aide at his alma mater

Criminal history

Berkman was sentenced to six years in prison for a scheme that cost investors $16 million in investments.

Personal life

Berkman was married to Susan Woodward. They had two daughters. Berkman was married to Karen Hinsdale-Berkman, who is the owner of wine shop The Cellar Door, on the board of directors of Self Enhancement Inc., and secretary of the Oregon Republican Foundation. Their divorce was settled in 2002. Berkman was married to Mary Ann Farrell Karlsson (also known as Mary Ann Karlsson-Berkman), a former New York Miss America contestant. Their divorce was pronounced in 2017.

Honors and awards

Berkman and his wife Karen Hinsdale-Berkman were awarded the University Advancement Award for the 2000–2001 year by the

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Alumni Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkman, Craig 1941 births Living people Lewis & Clark Law School alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Oregon Republican Party chairs American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon Businesspeople from Florida Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa People from Odessa, Florida Leodis V. McDaniel High School alumni