Mark Andrew Green

For those of a similar name, see Mark Green (disambiguation).

Mark Green
United States Ambassador to Tanzania
In office August 7, 2007 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Michael Retzer
Succeeded by	Alfonso E. Lenhardt
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 8th district
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Jay Johnson
Succeeded by	Steve Kagen
Personal details
Born	(1960-06-01) June 1, 1960 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sue Green (1995-present); 3 children
Residence	Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Mark Andrew Green (born June 1, 1960) is an American politician and a former United States Ambassador to Tanzania, a position he held from August 2007 until January 2009. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007, representing Wisconsin's 8th congressional district. His term ended in January 2007 when he did not seek re-election, opting to run for Governor. He currently serves as President & CEO of the Initiative for Global Development (IGD), and sits on the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Early life, education, and career

Green was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Jeremy and Elizabeth Green. His family moved often, and as a child he lived in Jersey City, New Jersey, Cincinnati, Ohio, England, South Africa and Australia. He attended Abbot Pennings High School (now Notre Dame Academy) in De Pere, Wisconsin.

He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in 1983. In 1987, he received a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In law school, he served as a managing editor of the Wisconsin Law Review and won the Justice Robert Jackson Award from the Washington, D.C. Foreign Law Society for "Best Published Student Writing on a Foreign Law Subject". Following graduation from law school, he joined the law firm Godfrey & Kahn S.C. at their Green Bay offices. In 1992, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, where he served for six years and rose to the position of chairman of the Republican Caucus.

Family

Mark and Susan (née Keske) Green wed on August 5, 1985, and have three children.

U.S. House

Green first ran for a House seat in 1998. He defeated first-term Representative Jay Johnson, with 54% of the vote. Green won his next three elections with 70% or more of the vote each time, against little-known opponents. While in Congress, he represented Wisconsin's 8th congressional district from the 106th Congress till the 109th Congress.

Green was an active member of the House International Relations Committee in the 107 - 109th sessions of Congress. He helped craft foreign policy initiatives such as the Millennium Challenge Act, the Global Access to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Awareness and Treatment Act of 2001, and the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act. He also supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and co-founded the Victory in Iraq Caucus.

Green used his position on the House Judiciary Committee to craft and pass laws aimed at protecting children and families. He helped expand the Violence Against Women Act, and wrote the "Two Strikes and You're Out Child Proctection Act," which cracks down on repeat child molesters. He also wrote the "Debbie Smith Act," which was meant to assist law enforcement in modernizing its DNA database. He also helped shape the "Adam Walsh Act". Green supported the death penalty and supported the No Child Left Behind act. In January 1999, Green was appointed an Assistant Majority Whip by then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, and then re-appointed by House Majority Whip Roy Blunt.

2006 campaign for governor

Main article: Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2006

Green unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Wisconsin against incumbent Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat. Green had no opponent in the Republican Party (GOP) primary. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker dropped out of the GOP primary on March 24, 2006, citing a lack of campaign funds. After the primary, Green was joined on the ticket by State Rep. Jean Hundertmark of Clintonville, who had defeated Nick Voegeli in Lieutenant Governor primary.

Campaign funding controversy

On January 25, 2005, Green’s federal campaign account converted nearly all of its funds into a state campaign fund "Green for Wisconsin." One day later, on January 26, 2005, the Wisconsin State Elections Board (SEB) voted to prohibit state campaign committees from spending certain types of funds converted from a federal campaign account, and then voted to apply this decision retroactively to Green for Wisconsin. On September 8, 2006, Green for Wisconsin filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court (Case No. 06-CV-3055) to challenge the application of the SEB action to Green for Wisconsin. It later withdrew the action so that it could file its suit directly with the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On March 16, 2007, Green for Wisconsin and the SEB reached a full settlement of this matter through a signed and filed stipulation.

The stipulation provided: “The Parties agree that when Green for Wisconsin converted the disputed funds from Petitioner Mark Green’s federal campaign committee to his state committee on January 25, 2005, it complied with (1) previous Board determinations with respect to similar matters; (2) ElBd 1.39, as written and interpreted at the time; and (3) instructions provided by the Board’s staff.” And “This Stipulation resolves all claims either party has or may have with respect to the Board’s September 6, 2006 Order and with respect to any other claims raised, or which could have been raised, by any party prior to the date of this stipulation with respect to any matters that were the subject of this litigation.” In a separate action, the Federal Election Commission also concluded that Green for Wisconsin did not violate federal campaign laws. The SEB was subsequently eliminated by the Wisconsin State Legislature and replaced with the non-partisan Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

US Ambassador to Tanzania

U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Green visits Tumaini Orphan Vocational Training Center in Arusha on November 16, 2007 where a Peace Corps volunteer is teaching Life Skills to students.

On June 8, 2007 President George W. Bush announced Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania. In 1987 and 1988, Green and his wife had served as volunteer teachers in Kenya with WorldTeach and while in Africa, they visited rural areas of neighboring countries, including Tanzania. Senator Russ Feingold, chairman of the African Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, held hearings on Green's nomination as Ambassador on June 19.

Initially, Senator Chris Dodd, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put a hold on Mark Green's nomination to replace Michael Retzer as Ambassador citing Retzer's action of revoking the country clearance of Peace Corps Country Director Christine Djondo as interference in the independence of the Peace Corps. Dodd asked that Retzer rescind his cable of no confidence in Djondo or that the State Department provide a written apology to her. On June 28, the State Department provided a written letter of apology to Djondo and Senator Dodd released his hold on Green's nomination saying he was confident that Green "would be a welcome alternative to his predecessor."^{[citation needed]}

On June 28, 2007 Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts also initially put a block on Green's nomination as ambassador to Tanzania. Kerry placed a hold or a block on Green's nomination because Green is not a career diplomat. According to the State Department, about 65 percent of U.S. ambassadors are career foreign service officers, with the remaining 35 percent political appointees. However, Green had public support of the entire Wisconsin Congressional delegation, Democrat and Republican, as well as a number of other key Democratic leaders. On August 3, 2007 the Senate confirmed Mark Green as Ambassador to Tanzania by unanimous consent. He resigned as Ambassador to Tanzania upon Barack Obama's inauguration as president.

Developments during Green's tenure

A number of significant developments occurred during Green’s tenure. They include President George W. Bush's visit in February 2008 (the first ever official visit by a sitting U.S. president and the longest visit by a U.S. president in a single African nation), Tanzania’s hosting of Sullivan Summit VIII (the first Sullivan Summit in East Africa), President Kikwete’s White House visit in August 2008, and the signing of the largest Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in history. Green's tenure saw significant developments inside the American presence in Tanzania. Most noticeably, the size of assistance programs has increased dramatically — from launching a $700 Million MCC Compact to the increase in anti-AIDS/HIV and malaria funding.^{[citation needed]}

Role in African affairs

During his tenure, Green led the effort to increase American diplomatic influence by strengthening the American brand. As stated in the new Mission Strategic Plan, “We aim to influence Tanzanian public opinion to consider favorably US policies and programs in the light of the significant contributions by the American people toward Tanzania's development. . . . Public diplomacy is purposefully integrated into the work of every agency and section, linking American contributions to Tanzania's development with our policy objectives.” Ambassador Green was active in international matters for many years. He served on the House International Relations Committee (now, “Foreign Affairs Committee”) in the 107 - 109th Congresses, and served on the subcommittees for Africa and human rights.^{[citation needed]}

He helped craft the Millennium Challenge Act which expanded America’s commitment to invest in developing nations that are pursuing political and economic reforms. He worked to enact the Global Access to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Awareness and Treatment Act of 2001, and the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act. He worked on legislation covering policy areas like international terrorism and human trafficking. In 2005, Green worked with the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute and State Department as an election observer in Kenya. Before that, he traveled to West Africa with the Academy for Educational Development, Oxfam and Save the Children to work on programs related to women’s health and education in Africa. Years earlier, Green and his wife, Susan, served as teachers in Kenya with WorldTeach Project, a development organization at Harvard University.^{[citation needed]}

Malaria No More

Green was the Director of Malaria No More's Washington D.C. policy center. Malaria No More is a global effort to eliminate malaria.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

Green served as Senior Director of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) from 2011 to 2013. This is a foreign policy foundations that describes itself as " A broad-based influential network of 400 businesses and NGOs; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic and community leaders in all 50 states who support a smart power approach of elevating diplomacy and development alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world."^{[citation needed]}

Public service record

In Green’s four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as an Assistant Majority Whip and was an active member of the House Judiciary Committee. He served as Vice Chair of the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee, and co-founded the bipartisan Faith-Based Caucus. He co-led the floor debate on the "Faith-Based Initiative", a plan to re-enlist faith-based communities in the national fight against poverty and social crises. As part of that effort, he co-founded the bipartisan Faith-Based Caucus. He helped design legislation to protect children and families, i.e. expanding the Violence Against Women Act. He authored the Two Strikes and You’re Out Child Protection Act, which cracks down on repeat child molesters, and the Debbie Smith Act, which assists law enforcement in modernizing DNA databases. He helped shape the Adam Walsh Act Child Protection and Safety Act.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to his election to the House, Green served for six years in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where he chaired both the Judiciary Committee and Assembly Republican Caucus. He served on the Board of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), and helped reform state housing policy. He and three other legislators on the “SAVE Commission”, which was patterned after President Reagan's Grace Commission, launched a number of major governmental reforms. Green's legislative work has won him awards from a variety of groups such as the Wisconsin and American Farm Bureaus, US Chamber of Commerce, NFIB, NRA, Wisconsin Builders Association, State Medical Society, Citizens Against Government Waste, Watchdogs of the Treasury, and the Seniors Coalition.^{[citation needed]}

Electoral history

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidate 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Doyle (Incumbent)	1,139,115	52.8	+7.7
	Republican	Mark Green	979,427	45.3

External links

• Green's Campaign Website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Financial information (federal office) at OpenSecrets.org
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Voting record at The Washington Post
• Dodd puts hold on Mark Green's nomination for US ambassador to Tanzania
• Mark Green, Wisconsin Historical Society

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jay W. Johnson	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 8th congressional district 1999–2007	Succeeded by Steve Kagen
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Michael Retzer	Ambassador to Tanzania 2007-2009	Succeeded by Alfonso E. Lenhardt