Jeff Flake

Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Turkey.

In the early 1980s, he became a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa, where he learned to speak Afrikaans.

He took a two-year leave of absence to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the early 1980s.

He speaks Afrikaans.

He worked in the public affairs sector after college and was the executive director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia and executive director of the Goldwater Institute before entering the House of Representatives.

He opposed economic sanctions on South Africa in the 1980s, arguing that sanctions would harm the black population who were already suffering under apartheid policies.

He served as the representative for the 1st district until renumbering following the 2000 census redefined the district to be Arizona's 6th congressional district, which he then represented until he entered the Senate in 2013.

Flake was first elected to Congress in 2000 from what was then the 1st District, after Republican incumbent Matt Salmon stepped down to honor a self-imposed term limit.

The district, which included most of the East Valley, was then renumbered as the 6th district as Arizona gained two Congressional seats because of the results of the 2000 census.

Flake easily defeated his primary challenger.

In his campaign in 2000, Flake had pledged to serve no more than three terms in Congress which would see him serve no later than January 2007.

A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and in the United States Senate from 2013 to 2019, representing Arizona.

He was nominated by Democratic president Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate for his ambassador post on October 26, 2021.

He presented his credentials to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex of Turkey in Ankara on January 26, 2022.

Born in Snowflake, Arizona, Flake attended Brigham Young University, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations, and later his Master of Arts degree in political science.

After returning to the United States, Flake served as executive director of the Goldwater Institute, before being elected as a Republican to the House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st congressional district in 2001.

Shortly after being elected for a third time, Flake announced in early 2005 that he had changed his mind on pledging term limits and was planning to run for reelection in 2006.

"It was a mistake to limit my own terms," Flake said.

In that same election, three out of five mayors in his home district opposed his reelection because, according to Flake, he did not "bring pork barrel spending" to the mayors' cities.

In 2006, several Democrats had announced their intention to run for the seat but only one met the June filing deadline, and that particular filing was rejected due to an insufficient number of nominating signatures.

"I did expect to have a primary opponent. I deserve one," Flake said, referring to the term-limit pledge which he had broken.

"By all rights, I ought to have an opponent. I just got lucky, I guess."

In the 2006 midterm elections, Flake had no Democratic Party opponent and easily defeated the Libertarian Party candidate, Jason Blair, with 74% of the vote.

Flake was a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a group of libertarian-leaning Republican congressmen.

He was also a member of the Republican Study Committee.

In February 2011, Flake announced that he was running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl in 2012.

Flake easily won the Republican nomination against real estate businessman Wil Cardon.

He faced former United States' surgeon general Richard Carmona, who sought office for the first time in the general election.

Flake sought the Republican nomination for the 2012 Senate election after incumbent Jon Kyl announced his retirement.

He defeated Democratic candidate and former United States Surgeon General Richard Carmona in the general election.

Flake was one of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" U.S. senators who pushed an immigration reform bill through the Senate in 2013.

He is known as a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, but generally voted in line with Trump's positions.

In April 2013, less than three months after taking office, he had 32% approval and 51% disapproval ratings.

On October 24, 2017, Flake announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018.

Throughout his Senate career, Flake suffered from consistently low approval ratings.

By mid-2017, he dropped to 18% approval and 62% disapproval ratings, but recovered slightly near the end of his term, with 30% approval and 51% disapproval ratings as of July 2018.

On January 29, 2019, Flake was hired by CBS as a contributor for CBS News.

Jeffry Lane Flake was born in Snowflake, Arizona, the son of Nerita (née Hock) and Dean Maeser Flake.

His birth town was named in part for his great-great-grandfather, Mormon pioneer William J. Flake.

Flake obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Master of Arts in political science from Brigham Young University.