Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat, is Lieutenant Governor of California, the first Greek American and first woman elected to the office, sworn in by Governor Newsom in January 2019 and re-elected in 2022. The daughter of a Sacramento development-industry figure, she holds degrees from Dartmouth and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and rose from project manager to president of her family’s housing development company over 18 years. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 2010 to 2013 under President Obama, later writing a memoir documenting Hungary’s democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Kounalakis initially launched a campaign for Governor in the 2026 election but dropped out in August 2025 to instead run for State Treasurer against fellow Democratic state Senator Anna Caballero. Her wealthy background and ties to a major Sacramento development family have drawn scrutiny from critics questioning potential conflicts given her advocacy for development-friendly financing policy.
