Elaine Lan Chao is an American businesswoman and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, Chao served as the 18th Secretary of Transportation in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2021, and as the 24th Secretary of Labor in the Bush administration from 2001 to 2009.
Chao married U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 1993.
Mitch McConnell Wife Elaine Chao: Who is Elaine Chao’s father?
Elaine Chao is the eldest of six daughters of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, a historian, and James S. C. Chao. She has five siblings, Jeanette, May, Christine, Grace and Angela.
Elaine’s father, James Si-Cheng Chao is a Chinese-American businessman.
In 1964, he founded Foremost Group, a New York-based shipping, trading, and finance enterprise. He is named after the James S.C. Chao Scholarship scheme.
James Chao was born on December 29, 1927 in Malu, Jiading County, China. His parents were Yi-Ren Chao, an elementary school principal, and Yu-Chin Hsu Chao.
Chao attended Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Wusong Merchant Marine College, where he majored in navigation. He finished his coursework in 1949 and went to sea as a cadet on a merchant vessel.
In 1950, Chao advanced through the ranks and rose as one of the youngest sea captains at the age of 29. He moved to the United States in 1958 and settled in New York City.
He earned a master’s degree in management from St. John’s University in 1964.
In 2004, Chao was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame at the United Nations in recognition of his long-standing service and dedication to the international maritime trading industry.
He was an advisor, adjunct professor, and member of the St. John’s University Board of Trustees for decades and the recipient of St. John’s University’s Medal of Honor. Chao continues as its Trustee Emeritus.
James Chao was Chairman of both Taiwan’s Chiao-Tung University Alumni Association in America and Chiao-Tung University Alumni Foundation of America from 1988 to 1999.
Where was Elaine Chao born?
Elaine Chao was born in Taipei, Taiwan on March 26, 1953, and immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old.