Francis Rooney

Francis Rooney
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 19th district
Taking office January 3, 2017
Succeeding	Curt Clawson
United States Ambassador to the Holy See
In office October 13, 2005 – January 15, 2008
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	James Nicholson
Succeeded by	Mary Ann Glendon
Personal details
Born	(1953-12-04) December 4, 1953 Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Residence	Naples, Florida
Alma mater	Georgetown University
Occupation	Construction company executive
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Laurence Francis Rooney III (born December 4, 1953) is a former United States Ambassador to the Holy See, 2005-2008. He had served as the CEO of Rooney Holdings (formerly known as Rooney Brothers Company), an investment and holding company based in Naples, Florida. On August 30, 2016, Rooney became the Republican Party Nominee to succeed Rep. Curt Clawson in congress for Florida's 19th congressional district.

Biography

He is a graduate of the Georgetown Preparatory School, Georgetown University (A.B. 1975) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D. 1978). Rooney is the oldest of Laurence Francis and Lucy Turner Rooney's six children. His younger siblings are Patrick T. Rooney, Timothy P. Rooney, Lucy Rooney Kapples, James H. Rooney, and Rebecca Rooney.

Rooney is the majority owner of Manhattan Construction Company; he is the fourth generation of his family to own that company. Manhattan Construction built the new Cowboys Stadium in Texas, the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center at the United States Capitol, the Oklahoma State Capitol, the George Bush Presidential Library, the Cato Institute headquarters, New Orleans Sports Arena, and Reliant Stadium. The company is working on the George W. Bush Presidential Library earning it the distinction to be the only construction company to work on two presidential libraries. They have also done extensive projects for Morehouse College, George Washington University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Georgia. The subsidiary won an estimated $100 million in Pentagon contracts in 2003, nearly four times the amount the company won in 2002, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

Activities in Central America

Rooney is a member of the Advisory Board of the Panama Canal Authority. He was among the U.S. delegation led by Colin Powell to the inauguration of Panamanian president Martín Torrijos.

Political activities

Rooney is a major Republican donor, having contributed to the campaign of George W. Bush. Rooney served on the fundraising team of Connie Mack IV.^[1] Rooney donated $1 million to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC,^[2] and Rooney hosted a fundraiser for Romney in Rooney's Naples, Florida home.^[3] In 2015, Rooney gave over $2 million to Jeb Bush's Super PAC.^[4]

Elected Office

On August 30, 2016, Rooney became the Republican Party Nominee to succeed Rep. Curt Clawson in the United States House of Representatives for Florida's 19th congressional district, defeating Sanibel Councilman Chauncey Goss and radio personality Dan Bongino.

On November 9, 2016, Rooney was elected as Congressman for Florida's 19th District.

See also

• Manhattan Building

References

External links

• Official website: Francis Rooney
• United States Department of State: Biography of Francis Rooney
• Profile and History of Manhattan Construction Company
• Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate, a July 2005 White House press release
• Who is Francis Rooney?, a January 2005 article from MSNBC
• Panama Canal Authority Appoints Six New Members to the Advisory Board
• Appearances on C-SPAN

United States Ambassadors to the Holy See
William A. Wilson 1984–1986 Frank Shakespeare 1986–1989 Thomas Patrick Melady 1989–1993 Raymond Flynn 1993–1997 Lindy Boggs 1997–2001 Jim Nicholson 2001–2005 Francis Rooney 2005–2008 Mary Ann Glendon 2008–2009 Miguel H. Díaz 2009–2012 Ken Hackett 2013–