Alfred Hoffman, Jr. was sworn in as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Portugal on November 4, 2005. He presented his credentials to President Jorge Sampaio on November 30, 2005.
Prior to his nomination, Ambassador Hoffman was founder and Chairman of the Board of WCI Communities, Inc., a Florida-based company serving primary, retirement, and second-home buyers in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Under his guidance, WCI became a leading community developer, homebuilder, and real estate services company with revenue exceeding $2.2 billion. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ambassador Hoffman served as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force during his military career and later earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Ambassador Hoffman was National Co-Chair and the Florida State Finance Chairman for the George W. Bush for President Campaign. He also served as Co-Chairman of Finance for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and National Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee for 2001 and 2003-2004. At the state level, Ambassador Hoffman successfully chaired Florida Victory 2002 and served as Finance Chairman of Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s campaign in 1998 and 2002. He also served as Chairman of the 2003 Florida Inaugural Committee.
I could tell he in some respects wasn't very dug into the day to day politics of europe and portugal yet *(he's been a US ambassador for slightly less then 6 months)* But he definately has a gift to work crowds.
The students didn't pester him with a lot of politics and asked some serious questions. He also told the class what may be the best defense of Ambassadors appointed just based on political credentials
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