Karl Rove

Karl Rove has married thrice. His first marriage was to socialite, Valerie Mather Wainwright in 1976. Ten years later, he married Darby Tara Hickson, his consulting company employee, and fathered a son Andrew Madison Rove.

Presently, he is married to Karen Johnson, a lobbyist. The couple lives in Washington D.C. Their wedding in 2012 was attended by former President George W. Bush.

Karl Rove was born on December 25, 1950 to Reba Louise, a gift shop employee. After his biological father abandoned the family, Reba married Louis Claude Rove, a geologist, who adopted Karl.

In 1965, his family transferred to Salt Lake City. Recognized as a skillful debater at Olympus High School, he was elected president of the student council and chaired the Utah Federation of Teenage Republicans.

In 1969, his adoptive father divorced his mother. Karl, nevertheless, admired him for showering his selfless love on him and his brother.

In 1969, he got enrolled at the University of Utah. He took up political science as his major and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

In 1981, Rove's mother committed suicide in Reno, Nevada.

In 1968, his initiation into politics happened at high school, with his involvement in the reelection of Senator Wallace F. Bennet. The losing candidate J.D. Williams became his mentor.

In 1969, he had become an intern with Utah Republican Party. The following year, he worked in Ralph Smith’s failed attempt for the Senate against Democrat Adlai Stevenson.

As an overenthusiastic 19-year-old in 1970, he broke into Alan J. Dixon, the Democrat candidate for Treasurer of Illinois, and stole letterheads and used them to print fake advertisements and distributed them.

He left college in 1971, and accepted the salaried post of Executive Director of the College Republican National Committee; he resigned two years later to make a bid for the post of National Chairman.

The College Republican Convention held in Missouri in 1973 was controversial. Both Rove, and his challenger for National Chairman, Robert Edgeworth, claimed victory in the elections.

Appointed Senior Advisor in 2001 in Bush’s first presidency, a nationwide network kept him abreast of the prevailing political opinions. Weekly meetings with the chiefs of staff ensured they followed the President's policies.

In his inaugural speech in 2004, Bush acknowledged him as "the architect" of his victory over John Kerry in the presidential election. He was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the President.