Antonio Garza

Antonio Oscar "Tony" Garza, Jr. (born 7 July 1959, in Brownsville, Texas), an American lawyer and former county judge in Texas, was the United States Ambassador to Mexico from 2002 to 2009.

Early life and education

Garza, the son of gas station owner,^[1] graduated from Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, the seat of Cameron County on the Gulf of Mexico coast in far south Texas. Garza received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1983 from Southern Methodist University School of Law. He is the grandson of Mexican immigrants to the United States.^[2]

Public service and career

Garza was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell & Patterson, L.L.P. (now Bracewell & Giuliani), a Houston-based law firm.

In 1988, Garza was the first Republican elected to countywide office in traditionally Democratic south Texas. Garza served six years as Cameron County Judge, the county’s top executive. He aggressively worked to provide water and sanitation services to lower income areas called “colonias” and pursued healthcare partnerships aimed at new immigrants and indigent and marginalized populations. Regarded as a fiscal conservative, Garza also led Cameron County’s efforts to raise its bond rating with industry leaders. Cameron County was, at that time, one of only two U.S.-Mexico border counties to enjoy an “A” rating. As Cameron County Judge, Garza also worked closely with his Mexican counterparts at the state and federal levels and was instrumental in the permitting and construction of two international bridges linking his community to Mexico.

George W. Bush, shortly after being elected Governor of Texas in 1994, named Garza his Secretary of State and Senior Policy Advisor. During his tenure, Texas was the first state to provide Web-based election results on-line and in real time. As Governor Bush’s lead liaison on border and Mexico affairs, Garza worked on trade, the environment, and public health.

In 1998 Garza was elected chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, a statewide regulatory body charged with overseeing Texas’s then-$60 billion energy sector. With his election to the Commission, he became the first Hispanic Republican elected to statewide office in Texas history. During this time, Garza also served as vice-chairman on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which brings together 39 oil- and gas-producing states.

Garza was named U.S. Ambassador to Mexico by President Bush in the summer of 2002. Garza presented his credentials to then-Mexican President Vicente Fox on November 22, 2002, and took charge of one of the largest diplomatic missions in the world. At the time, he was the United States’ youngest Chief of Mission serving abroad. Announcing the appointment, President Bush said, “The United States and Mexico share not only a border, but a rich history of common economic and cultural interests. Tony Garza has an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the United States and Mexico and its impact on the people of both nations.”

During his tenure as U.S. Ambassador, Garza focused his work on international business development. He is credited as being amongst the primary proponents of the landmark Merida Initiative aimed at addressing critical regional security concerns.

Garza is a partner of ViaNovo, a management and communications consulting company. He also serves as chairman of ViaNovo Ventures, the firm's cross-border business development unit. In addition to his roles at ViaNovo, Garza serves as Counsel in the Mexico City office of White & Case, a law firm with 34 offices in 23 countries.

Board, commissions and honors

Garza serves on the board of directors of Compass Bank and as a director of the U.S. Holding companies of BBVA, on the board of directors of Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) and also Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS). Ambassador Garza is an advisory board member to FameCast and the Maguire Energy Institute.

Garza also serves on the Southern Methodist University Board of Trustees and on the Advisory Board of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Ambassador Garza is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a board member of the Americas Society. In 2009, he received the Azteca Aguila, the Mexican government's highest honor bestowed upon a non-citizen.

Earlier in Garza’s career, Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Mr. Garza to his Special Commission on 21st Century Higher Education. Garza was a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Exes, the alumni association for the University of Texas at Austin.

In 2004, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which provides support for young Hispanics to pursue higher education, honored Garza as a member of its Alumni Hall of Fame for demonstrating the power of higher education and mentorship. Garza has delivered commencement addresses at the Universities of Texas at Austin, Edinburg, El Paso, and San Antonio, as well as SMU, SMU Law, Texas A&M and Austin College.

Garza is a past President of Rio Grande Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and served as a director of the Boys and Girls Club, the United Way of Southern Cameron County, and the Brownsville Adult Literacy Council, as well as participating in H.O.S.T., a Brownsville Independent School District Program aimed at mentoring disadvantaged youth. The Rio Grande Council Boy Scouts of America recognized him as Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1996. Mr. Garza has made security one of the key focal points of his tenure as Ambassador to Mexico and has also served on a number of law enforcement commissions, including the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. In 2005, the Greater Austin Crime Commission honored Mr. Garza with the Joe Kilgore Award.

In 1999, Texas Tech University presented him with its Distinguished Public Servant Award in recognition of his years of service to the people of Texas.

Personal life

In 2005 Garza married María Asunción Aramburuzabala. A native of Mexico City, she serves as President of Tresalia Capital and also serves on a number of Mexican corporate boards. Aramburuzabala controls the Mexican brewery Grupo Modelo, which produces Corona beer. In 2005 Forbes estimated Aramburuzabala's personal fortune be around $1.8 billion, making her Mexico's richest woman.^[3] The couple divorced in May 2010.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Toasting the power of love", Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2005.
2. ^ About Antonio O. Garza, Jr. TonyGarza.com
3. ^ Laura Bush to attend Mexican beer baroness' wedding to US diplomat: report AFP
4. ^ Aramburuzabala y Garza se divorcian (Spanish)

1. Biographical information drawn from http://www.tonygarza.com (Accessed March 17, 2010)
2. Garza joins ViaNovo, http://www.vianovo.com/english/news/newsreleases/2009_0623.htm (Accessed March 17, 2010)
3. Garza joins White & Case, http://www.whitecase.com/press_06232009/ (Accessed March 17, 2010)
4. U.S. Embassy • Mexico City, http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/eborders_Merida_Initiative.html (Accessed March 17, 2010)
5. Texas Railroad Commission, http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/about/history/chronological/chronhistory04.php (Accessed March 17, 2010)

Categories: 1959 births | Living people | United States ambassadors to Mexico | Secretaries of State of Texas | American people of Mexican descent | People from Texas | Texas Republicans | American politicians of Mexican descent | Southern Methodist University alumni | People from Brownsville, Texas | Members of the Texas Railroad Commission | Texas lawyers | American lawyers | Cameron County, Texas