Michael Steele

Steele married Andrea Derritt in 1985 and has two sons with her, Michael and Drew. He is deeply religious and regularly attends the Sunday services at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Landover Hills.

In 2009, Steele was embroiled in a squabble with another Republican, Rush Limbaugh. After Limbaugh reacted angrily to Steele’s comments on TV, Steele apologized to him.

Michael Steele was born on October 19, 1958, at an ‘Air Force Base’ in ‘Prince George's County’, Maryland, and was adopted by William and Maebell Steele when he was just an infant. In 1962, William’s death prompted Maebell to work as a laundress, instead of applying for public assistance from the government.

He spent his childhood in the Petworth neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. with his sister Monica. His mother married a truck driver named John Turner, a few years later.

He studied at ‘Archbishop Carroll Roman Catholic High School’, where he was a member of the ‘Glee Club’ and ‘National Honor Society’ and staged plays. He was chosen as president of the student council and won a scholarship to ‘John Hopkins University’, Baltimore.

He graduated with a degree in ‘International Relations’ and then joined a seminary and started his preparation to become a Catholic priest. During this time, he taught economics and world history at ‘Malvern Preparatory School’ in Pennsylvania. After three years at the seminary, he left before his ordination.

Steele earned a degree in law at ‘Georgetown University’ in 1991 and cleared the Pennsylvania bar exam. He then worked for six years with the law firm ‘Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton’ as a ‘Corporate Securities Associate’ in Washington D.C.

In 1993, he ventured into politics and joined the Republican Party, establishing the ‘Republican Leadership Council' soon after joining. He also became chairman of the ‘Prince George's County Republican Central Committee’ and was actively involved in numerous political campaigns.

In 1997, he quit his job and formed ‘Steele Group’, his own legal consulting firm.

2000 was an important year for him, as he was elected chairman of the ‘Maryland Republican Party’, thus becoming the first African-American to chair any state Republican Party. He was also a delegate in the ‘Republican National Convention’ in Philadelphia.

In 2002, Robert Ehrlich, who was contesting for Maryland Governor, selected Steele as his running mate for Lieutenant Governor. They were up against Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was running for Governor and Charles R. Larson who was running for Lieutenant Governor. Steele campaigned vigorously for the elections.

During his term as a Lieutenant Governor, Steele’s image improved due to his good oratory skills, especially among African-Americans. He also took steps to reform the state’s business program for minorities and headed the commission on ‘Quality Education’ in the state.

His ‘Fire Pelosi Bus Tour’ campaign of 2010 involved a bus tour across the US for six weeks, covering forty eight states to urge Americans to vote for Republican candidates. Apart from garnering votes, the tour also served to fire-up GOP activists through Steele’s speeches.