Khalil Joseph Shekarchi (born May 17, 1962) is an American politician currently serving as

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he has represented District 23 in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

since January 1, 2013. He was chairman of the House Labor Committee until his Democratic colleagues elected him as the House majority leader in November 2016. After four years as majority leader, his colleagues elected him speaker in November 2020 following the defeat of longtime speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Shekarchi considers himself a moderate Democrat.

Early life and education

Shekarchi was born to a father of Iranian-American descent and a mother of Italian-American heritage. He grew up in the Conimicut neighborhood of Warwick. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...

and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. He attended Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, prior to attending Suffolk.

Career

Shekarchi was the manager of

Paul Tsongas Paul Efthemios Tsongas ( ; February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was an American politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1979 until 1985 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 until 1 ...

's Rhode Island campaign for the

1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries From February 10 to June 9, 1992, voters of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States, president in the 1992 United States presidential election. Despite scandals and questions ab ...

and then served as a legislative aide in the administration of

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Bruce Sundlun Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who served as List of governors of Rhode Island, 71st governor of Rhode Island ...

. In 2010, he led future governor

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who served as the 40th United States secretary of commerce from 2021 to 2025. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served as ...

's successful campaign for general treasurer. When Robert Flaherty, the incumbent Democratic representative for District 23 in

, failed to qualify for the ballot, Shekarchi was unopposed for the September 11, 2012, Democratic Primary, winning with 536 votes. He won the November 6, 2012, General election with 4,302 votes (67.9%) against Republican nominee John Falkowski, and has served in the position since January 1, 2013. Shekarchi was chairman of the House Labor Committee until his Democratic colleagues elected him as the House majority leader in November 2016. After four years as majority leader, his colleagues elected him speaker in November 2020 following the defeat of longtime speaker Nicholas Mattiello. Shekarchi considers himself a moderate Democrat.

Personal life

Shekarchi is openly gay. He is the second openly gay speaker of the Rhode Island House, after

Gordon Fox Gordon Dennis Fox (born December 21, 1961) is an American attorney and politician from Providence, Rhode Island. He served formerly as the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, before resigning in disgrace. A member of the Demo ...

References

External links

Official page
at the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

Campaign site
*
K. Joseph Shekarchi
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shekarchi, Joseph 1962 births Living people 21st-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly American gay politicians Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives LGBTQ state legislators in Rhode Island Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island Rhode Island lawyers Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Suffolk University Law School alumni