Eleni Kounalakis

Early life

Eleni Kounalakis is the daughter of Angelo Tsakopoulos, a Sacramento developer. Kounalakis is of Greek descent and grew up a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Kounalakis received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

Career

Private career

Before 2009, Kounalakis was President of AKT Development Corporation, a family-owned real estate, farming, ranching, water, minerals, building, land development and property investment company, based in Sacramento, California, founded by Angelo K Tsakopoulos, her father, in 1964.

In 2007, NEO Magazine featured Kounalakis and her husband, print and broadcast journalist Markos Kounalakis, as "Persons of the Year".

Kounalakis and her husband founded two university chairs in Hellenic studies, the Markos and Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair at Georgetown University, held by the scholar of late Classical and early Hellenistic Greek literature, Alexander Sens, and the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis chair in honor of Constantine Mitsotakis at Stanford University, held by Josiah Ober. Both chairs focus on the understanding of the origins of Athenian democracy. They also established the Tsakopoulos Kounalakis lecture series at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to focus on democracy and international relations.

Kounalakis served for nearly ten years as a Trustee of the World Council of Religions for Peace. In recognition for her work with the WCRP, she was awarded the medal of St. Paul, the Greek Orthodox Church of America's highest honor. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed her to serve as a Trustee of the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee appointed her to serve on the Port Commission Board. She is a friend and former mentee of Kamala Harris.

Political career

, Kounalakis has served seven times as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and as an at-large member of the California State Democratic Central Committee. She also served as a member of the First 5 California Commission, and the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism. She served as a Trustee of Robert Redford's Sundance Preserve and on the Conservation Fund's National Forum on Children and Nature. She is also a senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group.

In 2009, Kounalakis accepted President Barack Obama's nomination to an ambassadorship.

On April 24, 2017, Kounalakis announced her bid for the office of Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2018 election. After her candidacy announcement, she visited all 58 counties in California during her campaign. Her grassroots campaign earned the recognition of Time magazine for engaging hundreds of volunteers to text over 1 million voters before Election Day. She came in first place on June 5, 2018, in the top-two statewide primary; Democratic State Senator Ed Hernandez placed second. On November 6, Kounalakis was elected by a 56.6% to 43.3% margin against her opponent, becoming the first female elected Lieutenant Governor of California in history; Mona Pasquil was appointed in an acting capacity in 2009 following the resignation of John Garamendi but was not elected to the post. Kounalakis and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom took office on January 7, 2019.

Kounalakis was re-elected lieutenant governor in 2022. She announced her candidacy for governor in the 2026 election on April 24, 2023.

Kounalakis serves on the Regents of the University of California (the lieutenant governor of California holds one seat). In September 2023, she voted to delay approval of an eight-story, 545-bed dorm for UCLA students in Los Angeles's affluent Westwood neighborhood due to concerns of undersized dorms. The board approved the project in November 2023.

Following her efforts to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential election, she was doxxed and swatted, part of a series of similar events nationwide.

Personal life

Eleni Tsakopoulos married Markos Kounalakis in 2000. They have two sons.

In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctor of Law from the American College of Greece. She is Greek Orthodox and received the St. Paul Medal, "the Greek Orthodox Church of America's highest honor."

Electoral history

2018

2022

Notes

References

References

1. (24 April 2023). "Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis announces early bid in 2026 California governor's race". [[Los Angeles Times]].
2. (24 April 2023). "Eleni Kounalakis first to launch campaign for California governor in 2026". [[POLITICO]].
3. (2025-08-08). "Eleni Kounalakis drops out of California governor's race, pivots to downballot campaign".
4. Luna, Taryn. (June 3, 2018). "Candidate, her father have spent millions to elect her California's lieutenant governor". [[The Sacramento Bee]].
5. (2018-11-27). "Say hello to Eleni Kounalakis".
6. "Berkeley-Haas".
7. "Kyriakos Tsakopoulos".
8. (October 1, 2018). "AKT Development sells Lennar 1,200 home sites in west Roseville". bizjournals.com Sacramento Business Journal.
9. (2023-04-12). "UC Irvine hosts California's lieutenant governor as it prepares to add student housing".
10. "Land Developer to U.S. Ambassador".
11. Michalakis, Dimitri C.. (February 2007). "Eleni and Markos Kounalakis: Forming a Perfect Union". Neocorp Media.
12. "Georgetown University Receives $1.2 Million Gift for Hellenic Studies Chair".
13. (January 8, 2009). "Southeast Europe Project Announces Scholars". Wilson Center.
14. "Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis Receives Greek Orthodox Church of America's Highest Honor". PSEKA.
15. [http://www.sfexaminer.com/mayor-ed-lees-port-commission-picks-sails-through-board-committee/ Mayor Ed Lee's Port Commission picks sails through board committee] {{Webarchive. link. (December 22, 2017 , sfexaminer.com.)
16. "California Lt. Gov. Kounalakis says Harris was a mentor in her career".
17. (August 21, 2024). "Eleni Kounalakis and Her Friend Kamala Harris - The National Herald".
18. (2018-01-22). "California Medical Association Endorses Eleni Kounalakis for California Lt. Governor".
19. California Democratic Party. (2020-07-09). "2020 California Delegation to the Democratic National Convention".
20. (2024-07-16). "depending on Biden".
21. "Appointed Members of the Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism".
22. "Eleni Tsakopoulos, Albright Stonebridge Group".
23. (October 9, 2009). "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts". [[whitehouse.gov]].
24. Steinmetz, Katy. (October 24, 2018). "Why Politicians Are Texting You So Much — And It's Only the Beginning".
25. (June 6, 2018). "Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez advance to general election for lieutenant governor". The Daily Californian.
26. "2018 California General Election Results".
27. Palosi, Ken. (November 7, 2018). "Eleni Kounalakis Wins California's Lieutenant Governor's Race". CBS.
28. Skelton, George. (November 12, 2018). "Eleni Kounalakis can carve out a meaningful role as lieutenant governor. It's in her genes". [[Los Angeles Times]].
29. (December 13, 2022). "California Lieutenant Governor Election Results 2022: Kounalakis Defeats Underwood Jacobs". [[The New York Times]].
30. Cadelago, Christopher. (April 24, 2023). "Eleni Kounalakis first to launch campaign for California governor in 2026". [[Politico]].
31. (2023-09-22). "How small is too small? UC Regents delay approval of new UCLA dorm, questioning room size".
32. "As UCLA continues its push for affordable student housing, Chancellor Block is honored for efforts".
33. Cadelago, Christopher. (2024-01-04). "California lieutenant governor 'swatted' after push to boot Trump from ballot".
34. "Ambassador to Hungary: Who is Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis?".
35. "Meet Eleni".
36. "American College of Greece Commencement". DEREE.
37. "Eleni T. Kounalakis".
38. Budapest, U. S. Embassy. (2023-01-22). "Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, 2010-2013".
39. (February 19, 2009). "ELENI TSAKOPOULOS-KOUNALAKIS RECEIVES GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF AMERICA 'S HIGHEST HONOR {{!}} Greek American News Agency".
40. "Statement of Vote". California Secretary of State.
41. [https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2018-general/sov/24-lieutenant-governor.pdf SOV LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR] - PDF
42. "California June 7, 2022 Primary Statement of Vote".
43. "General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022".