Rahm Israel Emanuel, born on November 29, 1959, in Chicago, Illinois, is an American politician, diplomat, and former investment banker. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette, attending Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier High School, and spent summers at camp in Israel, including after the 1967 Six-Day War. His father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, was born in Jerusalem, served in the Irgun paramilitary organization in Mandatory Palestine, and immigrated to the U.S. to work as a pediatrician at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. The family surname honors Rahm's uncle, Emanuel Auerbach, killed in a 1933 conflict in Mandatory Palestine. His mother, Marsha (née Smulevitz), daughter of a Moldovan Jewish immigrant and Chicago labor union organizer, worked in the civil rights movement. Emanuel studied ballet from a young age, graduating from the Evanston School of Ballet and the Joel Hall Dance Center, and won a Joffrey Ballet scholarship before attending Sarah Lawrence College. During high school, while working at an Arby's, he severely injured his right middle finger on a meat slicer, leading to partial amputation after infection from Lake Michigan swimming—a detail that entered his political lore.

Emanuel's career began in the early 1980s with consumer rights advocacy at Illinois Public Action. He directed finance for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, raising substantial funds and gaining a reputation for aggressive tactics, exemplified by plunging a steak knife into a table while naming political adversaries at a post-election dinner. In the Clinton White House (1993-1998), he advanced NAFTA and the 1994 assault weapons ban. From 1998-2000, he worked at Wasserstein Perella, earning an estimated $16-18 million in 2.5 years, then served on the Freddie Mac board (2000-2001), a role later scrutinized amid the 2008 financial crisis. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (2003-2009), he chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (2005-2007), helping Democrats gain 30 seats and retake the House in 2006, and served as House Democratic Caucus Chair (2007-2009). As White House Chief of Staff (2009-2010), he was instrumental in passing the Affordable Care Act, though he controversially called liberal activists 'fucking retarded' in a 2010 meeting, later apologizing. He served as Mayor of Chicago (2011-2019), overseeing infrastructure improvements but facing criticism for school closures (2013, the largest in city history, impacting Black and Latino neighborhoods), the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike (first in 25 years), education policies, police reform, and the handling of the 2014 Laquan McDonald shooting—where officer Jason Van Dyke killed the 17-year-old with 16 shots, and the city withheld dashcam video for over a year until a 2015 court order, contributing to Emanuel's decision not to seek a third term. Post-mayoralty, he was a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy (2019-2021), Senior Counselor at Centerview Partners (2019-2021), Contributing Editor at The Atlantic (2019-2021), and Contributor to ABC News (2019-2021). He served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2022-2025).

Renowned for his aggressive style—earning the nickname 'Rahmbo'—strategic ruthlessness, and fundraising acumen, Emanuel is a key Democratic figure with unwavering pro-Israel advocacy, rooted in his heritage and service as a civilian volunteer in Israel's defense forces during the 1991 Gulf War. He met Amy Merritt Rule on a 1993 blind date; they married on June 5, 1994, at the South Shore Cultural Center, with David Axelrod signing their ketubah after Rule converted to Judaism. A close friend of Axelrod, Emanuel's style inspired the character Josh Lyman on The West Wing. The family, members of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel synagogue, are described as 'a very involved Jewish family'; their children attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.