Alberto R. Cardenas

ALBERTO R. CARDENAS is an attorney, businessman, and a major contributor to the Conservative Movement in America.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), the oldest and best known conservative organization in America.

In his distinguished career, Al Cardenas served two terms as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, the largest state political party in the country. Prior to his service as Chairman, Mr. Cardenas served three consecutive terms as Vice-Chairman.

Over the past 15 years, he has chaired the Florida campaign of a number of Presidential and Statewide candidates and has represented the State of Florida at every Republican National Convention since 1976.

Mr. Cardenas is a regular opinion editorial columnist and has frequently appeared on network television, NBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Univision, CNN Español, and Telemundo.

After Ronald Reagan's successful presidential campaign in 1980, the President-elect chose Mr. Cardenas for his transition team, making him responsible for the transition of the United States Department of Commerce. President Reagan also appointed him to chair the President's Commission on Small and Minority Business Affairs in 1982 and later as Special Ambassador to St. Kitts-Nevis upon that nation's independence in 1983.

President Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush appointed Mr. Cardenas to the Board of Directors of the Federal National Mortgage Association from 1985 to 1990. He also served on the President's Trade Policy Commission.

Mr. Cardenas has served on the boards of charitable organizations, colleges and universities.

Mr. Cardenas is a partner in the law firm of Tew Cardenas LLP. He holds a law degree from Seton Hall University (J.D., 1974). He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Cardenas has been counsel of record in a number of precedent-setting and published court decisions. He was selected by his peers as one of "The Best Lawyers in America" from 2007 through 2012 and has been named as one of Washington, D.C.'s top lobbyists by The Hill newspaper for the past four years.

Mr. Cardenas is a senior partner at Cardenas Partners, LLC, a Washington D.C. based federal consulting and lobbying firms and at The Advocacy Group (TAG) at Cardenas Partners, LLC, a Tallahassee, Tampa and Miami based state lobbying practice.

He is a member of the Board of Coral Gables Trust, a wealth management trust company and is an active member in a Natural Gas Venture.

Al Cardenas was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948 and came to the United States with his parents at the age of 12. Today, he and his wife of 33 years, Diana, reside in Key Biscayne, Florida. They have five children and five grandchildren.