The Honorable Alberto "Al" R. Cardenas
Miami, Florida

Al (Alberto R.) Cardenas was born in Cuba in 1948 from a Lebanese mother and a Cuban father. He is nationally recognized for his leadership in the law, business and politics. He has served as an adviser to US Presidents, as counsel of record in several precedent-setting and published court decisions, and as a commentator and writer on issues of national importance. He is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and has been named one of Washington DC's top lobbyists by The Hill. Al is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell and was named one of "The Most Influential Leaders in the Latino Community Today" by several leading national publications.

As a senior partner in the firm he chairs the Latin America and Florida Public Policy Practice Groups and is Deputy Practice Leader of the Public Policy Group. Al is widely known in national and state political circles, including serving as Vice-Chairman of No-Labels, as a member of the International Republican Institute (IRI) International Advisory Board and formerly as Chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU). He previously served two terms as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and three consecutive terms as its Vice-Chairman.

President Ronald Reagan chose Al for his transition team, making him responsible for the transition of the United States Department of Commerce. President Reagan also appointed him to chair the President's Commission on Small and Minority Business Affairs in 1982 and later as Special Ambassador to St. Kitts-Nevis upon that nation's independence in 1983. Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush appointed Al to the Board of Directors of the Federal National Mortgage Association from 1985 to 1990. He also served on the President's Trade Policy Commission.

Governor Jeb Bush appointed Al as a member of the Board of Trustees of Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU). He is a former Trustee of Miami Dade College and was named to its "Hall of Fame". Al has frequently appeared on network television, including NBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Telemundo and Univision, and is an opinion writer for several national publications.

Al's Lebanese heritage

With all his successes, Al is proud of his Lebanese heritage which he learned from his mother Edith whose family migrated from Ghazir, district of Keserwan. Her parents are Mansur Daou and Nallive Raee who arrived in Cuba from the town of Ghazir in Lebanon in the 1910s with five sisters and settled in a small agricultural town called Puerto Padre in the Easternmost province of Cuba

Al's Lebanese grandparents had six children, his mother Edith was the second born of the children. His Lebanese grandparents spoke both Arabic and Spanish at home. Most meals, specially breakfast and dinner, were typical Lebanese dishes. Yogurt and white cheeses were made at home from natural ingredients as were homemade desserts and bread.

His Lebanese grandparents moved to central Preston where his mother was born and was introduced to his father Alberto by another Lebanese family the Guarch's, who had also moved to Cuba's easternmost province and lived in a nearby town named Holguin.

For most of his young life, they all lived in the same home.The family moved to America together in the summer of 1960. His Lebanese grandparents died in the United States and his mother died last year at the age of 94.