Jack N. Gerard

Jack Noel Gerard (born December 15, 1957) has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2018. He previously served for ten years as head of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the petroleum and natural gas industry lobby group in the United States.

Jack N. Gerard
General Authority Seventy
March 31, 2018 (2018-03-31)
Called byRussell M. Nelson
Personal details
Born (1957-12-15) December 15, 1957
Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
EducationBachelor's degree, Juris Doctor
Alma materGeorge Washington University
WebsiteJack N. Gerard

Gerard was raised in Mud Lake, Idaho. His father was a salesman of John Deere tractors. He served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Sydney, Australia. He later graduated from George Washington University. Following college, he worked on the staffs of George V. Hansen and James A. McClure, who served in the U.S. Congress and Senate respectively, representing Idaho.[1]

For a time, Gerard later ran a lobbying firm with McClure. He then was head of the National Mining Association and then the American Chemistry Council.

In his role as head of API, Gerard fought successfully to allow crude oil exports. He also fought against increased taxes and other measures that would hurt industry profits.[2] Gerard expanded the organization's public outreach efforts to include the AFL-CIO and Congressional Hispanic Caucus, while trimming the number of API's employees and narrowing the scope of API's lobbying priorities.[3] He also led efforts to fund and support citizen rallies in support of API's legislative priorities, drawing accusations of astroturfing from critics after a leaked memo from Gerard to local API organizers was published by Greenpeace.[4][5]

In the 2012 U.S. presidential election, Gerard was a major backer of Mitt Romney's bid for president.[6]

In the LDS Church, Gerard has served as a bishop, stake president, and area seventy (2010 to 2016).[7] After becoming a general authority, he was appointed as the executive director of the LDS Church's Public Affairs Department. In July 2018, he spoke at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Annual Convention, announcing an educational and employment skills joint initiative between the LDS Church and the NAACP.[8][9]

Personal life

Gerard is married to the former Claudette Neff and they are the parents of eight children.[10]

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References
  1. Mufson, Steven (April 7, 2012). "Jack Gerard, the force majeure behind Big Oil". Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  2. Mufson, Steven (January 17, 2018). "Jack Gerard to step down as head of powerful American Petroleum Institute". Washington Post. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  3. Newmeyer, Tom (June 21, 2011). "Fortune 500 2011: Big Oil's big man in Washington". Fortune. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  4. Clayton, Mark (August 19, 2009). "Energy and climate rallies – real or astroturf?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  5. Dunlap, Riley E.; McCright, Aaron M. (2011). "Organized Climate Change Denial". In Dryzek, John S.; Norgaard, Richard B.; Schlosberg, David (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. p. 154. ISBN 9780199566600.
  6. Huffington Post article on Gerard and a meeting of Romney backers he organized
  7. Mormon Newsroom article on Gerard
  8. Walch, Tad (July 15, 2018). "LDS Church, NAACP to launch joint education, employment initiative". Deseret News. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  9. this article highlights Gerard speaking, and what he said, but does not identify his position as executive director of LDS public relations
  10. Mormon Newsroom bio of Gerard
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