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Name: Garza, Antonio
Current Position: Former Ambassador
Antonio O. Garza, Jr. began serving as US Ambassador to Mexico in November 2002. Garza received his bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1983 from Southern Methodist University School of Law.
Garza began his career in public service as a judge in Cameron County, Texas. He was elected in 1988 and re-elected in 1990.
After his election as governor of Texas in 1994, George W. Bush appointed Garza as senior policy adviser and secretary of state. Garza served as Bush’s lead liaison on border and Mexico affairs.
Garza then served as a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell & Patterson, LLP (now Bracewell & Giuliani), a Houston-based law firm.
From 1999 until 2002, Garza served as the chairman of the Railroad Commission of Texas, a statewide regulatory body responsible for supervising Texas’ $60 billion oil and gas industry.
Garza’s wife, María Asunción Aramburuzabala, is the richest woman in Mexico. She is the vice-chairman of the brewery Grupo Modelo, founded by her grandfather in 1922, which produces Corona beer. According to Forbes, she is worth $2 billion. She inherited Grupo Modelo in 1995 and helped the company survive by selling a large stake to Anheuser-Busch.
In addition to serving under Bush while he was governor of Texas, Garza donated $1,000 to the President’s campaign in 1999.