Paul Manafort is a political consultant and lobbyist whose career spanning five decades has been devoted to furthering the interests of the United States on the world stage.

Paul grew up in New Britain, Ct in a first-generation Italian-American family. Inspired by his WWII veteran father’s commitment to family and country, Paul went to Washington, obtaining a degree in Public Administration from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Between 1975 – 1980, Paul worked on both the Ford and Reagan campaigns, playing a key role in the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.

In 1981, Paul, along with Charles Black and Roger Stone, founded Black, Manafort, and Stone. This firm established the model used in Government Affairs and Public Affairs today. Using their political campaign skills and tools, BMS integrated both political strategy and Washington policy into a new level of practice. Over the course of time, BMS developed a similar model for representing foreign governments and companies in Washington.

While widely used today, Black, Manafort, and Stone’s business model was an innovation at the time, giving “grassroots” organizations a voice in the political consulting and lobbying forums. The firm expanded to become both bipartisan and international, seeking to assist U.S. foreign policy from the outside.

In 2009 Paul founded DMP International and focused more specifically on a few markets and sectors. At DMP International, Paul again focused on cutting-edge technology with strategic consulting in both the business and political spheres.

During this time, Paul became active in Ukraine, a country that he believed was one of the most important in the post-Soviet world. Recognizing its strategic importance in the region, Paul built a political practice helping the Party of Regions become a modern, western political party. Contrary to the current media narrative, Paul’s work with the Party of Regions was laying the foundation for Ukraine to become a Member Country of the European Union.

In addition to helping Victor Yanukovich win the election in 2010, Paul was actively involved in a number of other important initiatives during his time working in Ukraine, including the removal of nuclear material from Ukraine, the increase of NATO exercises in the region, the improvement of Ukraine-US bilateral military activity and assisting in the modernization of many laws that were important to the development of Ukraine as a modern political state including its political laws and practices.

In addition to Ukraine, Paul has managed successful Presidential and Parliamentary campaigns in over 35 countries. He has helped modernize electoral politics and expand democracies in most of these countries.

In 2016 Paul became the Campaign Chairman for Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign. Despite only five months in the role, Paul put into place the structure that delivered the nomination and eventually the general election to Trump.

Paul presently serves on the Boards of Directors of a number of private companies in the technology and telecommunications arenas. A native of Connecticut, Paul is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and the State of Connecticut. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center.