George Pataki

Pataki in 2003, photo by Prphotos.com

Birth Name: George Elmer Pataki

Place of Birth: Peekskill, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 24, 1945

Ethnicity:
*father – Hungarian
*mother – Italian, Irish

George Pataki is an American politician. A Republican, he served as Mayor of Peekskill, from January 1, 1981 to January 1, 1985, and as Governor of New York, from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 2007.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2016.

George is the son of Margaret (Lagana) and Louis P. Pataki. He is married to Libby (Rowland) Pataki, with whom he has four children, including author and journalist Allison Pataki.

George’s paternal grandfather was János “John”/”Josef” Pataki (the son of Gyorgy Pataki and Mária Nagy). János was born in Mátészalka, Kopocsapati, Hungary. Gyorgy was the son of Gyorgy Pataki and Mária Szanics. George’s great-grandmother Mária was the daughter of Josephus Nagy and Mária Hajró.

George’s paternal grandmother was Erzsébet “Elizabeth” Szanics (the daughter of Peter Szanics and Julianna Orosz). Erzsebet was born in Bacsaranyos, Hungary. Peter was the son of Janos Szanics and Maria Demeter. Julianna was the daughter of Janos Orosz and Maria Kemeny.

George’s maternal grandfather was named Matteo Laganà. Matteo was born in Pellaro, a quarter of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, Italy.

George’s maternal grandmother was Agnes Lynch (the daughter of Owen Lynch and Anne Casey). Agnes was born in County Louth, Ireland.

George is the first person of Hungarian heritage to have mounted a notable campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States.

Three people of significant Italian heritage have won a caucus, primary, and/or nominating ballot for a major American party’s Presidential nomination. The three are:
*Al Smith (who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States in 1928, and was also a candidate for the 1920, 1924, and 1932 Democratic nominations for President: in 1928, he won 12 contests; in 1932, he won 4 contests; Smith’s paternal grandfather was Italian)
*Michael DiSalle (1960; Democratic; won 1 state, Ohio)
*Rick Santorum (Republican; ran in 2012 and 2016: in 2012, he won 11 contests; Santorum is of three quarters Italian descent)

Ted Cruz, whose maternal great-grandfather was Italian, won 11 contests in the 2016 Republican Party primaries.

Other people of significant Italian heritage who have mounted plausible or semi-plausible campaigns for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States are:
*John A. Volpe (who sought the 1968 Republican nomination)
*James Traficant (who sought the 1988 Democratic nomination; Traficant’s father was of Italian descent)
*Rudy Giuliani (who sought the 2008 Republican nomination)
*Tom Tancredo (who sought the 2008 Republican nomination)
*Chris Christie (who sought the 2016 and 2020 Republican nominations; Christie’s mother was of Italian descent)
*Richard Ojeda (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ojeda’s mother is of at least three quarters Italian descent)
*Tim Ryan (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Ryan’s mother is of Italian descent)
*Bill de Blasio (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; de Blasio’s mother was of Italian descent)
*Ron DeSantis (who sought the 2024 Republican nomination)

Geraldine Ferraro, who was of Italian descent, was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1984.

Sources: Genealogies of George Pataki – http://www.wargs.com
http://www.geni.com

Information about George’s Italian ancestry – http://www.strill.it