Frank Edelblut is an American businessman and politician who is the Commissioner of the
New Hampshire Department of Education.
Edelblut formerly served as a
Republican member of the
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...
. During his term in the House, Edelblut represented Hillsborough County District 38, including the towns of Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenville, Greenfield, Hancock, Hillsborough, Lyndeborough, Wilton, and Windsor. He served on the Finance Committee,
Special Committee on Pensions,
and the Child and Family Law Committee.
He was a
Republican candidate for
Governor of New Hampshire in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, narrowly finishing second in the primary.
Education
Edelblut attended the
University of Rhode Island where he earned a
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration – Accounting in 1983. Edelblut also holds a Masters of Theological Studies from the
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, 2015.
Career
Professional
Edelblut started his career as an auditor for
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in
South Florida
South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
(
Miami,
Fort Lauderdale, and
West Palm Beach) where he worked as a
Certified Public Accountant
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
auditing a variety of businesses. He then briefly worked as the
CFO for one of his PwC clients, Niagara Corp., In 2013, he left Common Angels and now does early-stage investing on his own.
Political
Edelblut served on the New Hampshire House of Representatives Finance Committee,
Special Committee on Pensions
and on the Child and Family Law committee.
Edelblut was the prime sponsor of a number of bills in 2016, including bills on
net metering
Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...
, freedom of speech on college campuses, arming otherwise-unarmed
New Hampshire National Guard facilities, supporting the ability of members of the military to wear dress uniforms in graduation ceremonies, and several measures in the family court to try to reduce conflict in already difficult divorce proceedings.
In 2016, Edelblut announced he would not seek reelection as state representative and would instead be a
Republican candidate for
Governor of New Hampshire during the 2016 primary election. Edelblut ultimately lost the election to now-Governor
Chris Sununu by fewer than 900 votes. The pair appeared at a joint press conference on the steps of the Capital Building the day following the election, where Edelblut endorsed Sununu.
In January 2017, Governor
Chris Sununu nominated Edelblut to be the Commissioner of the
New Hampshire Department of Education. Edelblut was confirmed by the Republican led
New Hampshire Executive Council
The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly known as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the gover ...
in February.
Personal life
Edelblut has been married for 30 years and has seven children. Five are college graduates, one is currently in college, and one is still at home. All of his children have been
home educated
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
.
Edelblut also has three grandchildren.
Edelblut has competed in triathlons and Nordic ski racing, including a biathlon.
References
External links
Official campaign websiteBallotPedia pageList of New Hampshire House of Representatives members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelblut, Frank
Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology alumni
Living people
Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
People from Wilton, New Hampshire
State cabinet secretaries of New Hampshire
University of Rhode Island alumni
1961 births