Book Rahm Emanuel

Rahm Emanuel is an American politician and diplomat whose career runs through the White House, Congress, City Hall and the diplomatic corps. Born in Chicago and educated at Sarah Lawrence College and Northwestern University, he ran fundraising as finance director for Bill Clinton's 1992 White House run and then joined the Clinton administration as an assistant for political affairs and senior advisor for policy and strategy. He also worked in investment banking at Wasserstein Perella & Co. In 2002 he won Illinois's 5th congressional district seat, holding it through 2009. As chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee he guided the 2006 midterm effort that returned the House to Democratic control for the first time since 1994, and he later chaired the House Democratic Caucus. President Barack Obama named him White House chief of staff in 2009. Emanuel then won election as mayor of Chicago in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015, serving until 2019. From 2022 to 2025 he was the United States ambassador to Japan. He speaks on leadership, politics, cities and global affairs.