Robert Gleason (politician)

Rob Gleason
Chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
In office
June 3, 2006 – February 15, 2017
Preceded byEileen Melvin
Succeeded byVal DiGiorgio
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In office
July 1, 1985 – January 20, 1987
GovernorDick Thornburgh
Preceded byWilliam Davis
Succeeded byJames Haggerty
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJeanne
Children4
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)

Robert A. "Rob" Gleason Jr. is an American businessman who formerly served as Chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.

Early life, professional career and memberships

A 1956 graduate of Westmont Hilltop High School and a 1957 graduate of The Kiski School, Gleason graduated in 1961 from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

An insurance broker, Gleason served as chair and CEO of The Gleason Agency, an insurance brokerage firm started by his grandfather and continued by his father, Robert A. Gleason. Gleason sold the business to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in 2010.

Gleason served as a trustee of Saint Francis University from 1978 to 1988 and the University of Pennsylvania from 1998 to 2013. Gleason is also a Kiski School trustee. Gleason was elected as a Westmont Hilltop Education Board member in 2019 and board president in 2020.

Gleason also affiliates with various civic, philanthropic, and professional organizations serving as Chair of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers in 2000. Gleason was the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center Trustee Board Chair and served as an Altoona-Johnstown Roman Catholic Diocese Foundation trustee and Secretary.

Political career

Appointed positions

Gleason served in Governor Dick Thornburgh's cabinet as Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1985 to 1987. In 1993, Governor Bob Casey nominated Gleason to be a member of the five-person Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, where he served until 1997. In 1997, Governor Tom Ridge appointed Gleason to the State Transportation Commission.[1] President George Bush appointed Gleason to the Commission of Presidential Scholars from 2006 to 2010. President Donald Trump appointed Gleason to the United States Air Force Academy Board of Visitors from 2018 to 2021.[2][3]

Republican Party politics

Cambria County

In 1996, Gleason succeeded his father, the late Robert A. Gleason Sr., as the Cambria County Republican Committee Chair.

Pennsylvania

In 2002, PoliticsPA named Gleason to its list of Pennsylvania's Best County Party Chairs, saying that Gleason "brings in money and gets things done" in a "tough county for any Republican."[4]

In 2004, Gleason was Pennsylvania's Catholics for Bush co-chair.[1] Gleason became the Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chair in June 2006, following the retirement of Eileen Melvin, serving until 2017.[5][6]

In 2009, Politics Magazine ranked Gleason and his brother Chris first on their "The Pennsylvania Report 100" list of influential Republican figures in Pennsylvania politics. It noted that Gleason was "a hard worker and efficient manager of the state GOP."[7] Gleason currently serves as a member of the Catholic Advisory Committee of the Republican National Committee.[8]

In 2021, Gleason was named to the Pennsylvania Fifty Over 50 Power List by City and State PA Magazine.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Rob Gleason, Chairman". Chairman. The Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  2. ^ Sutor, Dave (July 25, 2018). "Former Pa. GOP chief Gleason named to post at Air Force Academy". TribDem.com. The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  3. ^ McCormick, Grayce (September 9, 2021). "Biden boots all Trump-appointed military academy advisory board members". Dayton 24/7 NOW. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  4. ^ "PA's Best and Worst County Chairs". PoliticsPA. The Publius Group. 2001. Archived from the original on 2003-02-12.
  5. ^ "Mr. Robert A. Gleason, Jr". PA State Party Leadership. The Republican Party of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  6. ^ O'Toole, James (May 20, 2006). "State GOP chair retiring". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  7. ^ "PA Report 100" (PDF). Pennsylvania Report. Capital Growth, Inc. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-01-27.
  8. ^ "Mr. Robert A. Gleason, Jr" (PDF). State Leadership. The Republican National Committee. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  9. ^ "The 2021 Pennsylvania Fifty over 50". 12 October 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1985–1987 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
2006–2017 		Succeeded by