AMBASSADOR RICHARD "DUKE" BUCHAN III TO SERVE AS REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE FINANCE CHAIRMAN
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced today Ambassador Richard “Duke” Buchan III will serve as the next RNC Finance Chairman. Buchan is succeeding Todd Ricketts, who served as Finance Chair since 2018. The RNC Executive Committee voted unanimously to confirm Ambassador Buchan, who will transition fully into the role in January 2022.
Ambassador Buchan was confirmed by both the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the full Senate without any opposition as Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. Ambassador Buchan was highly focused on policy and the advancement of the United States’ global interests during his service. He is a successful businessman, farmer, philanthropist, husband and father of three teenage children.
"It is an honor to be unanimously elected by the Republican National Committee to serve as Finance Chair to work to grow our party," said Ambassador Duke Buchan. "I look forward to building on our momentum, strengthening our party’s infrastructure, and raising the resources needed to support Republicans' message of freedom and prosperity across the country."
“For the past three and a half years, I have been privileged to serve as the Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee,” said outgoing Finance Chairman Todd Ricketts. “Thank you to Chairwoman McDaniel, Co-Chair Tommy Hicks, the Members of the National Committee, generous donors and of course the incredible RNC staff for entrusting me to advance our party’s values and promote our pro-growth, conservative agenda. I am also proud to have served as the Finance Chair for President Trump and Vice President Pence’s re-election effort. I’m excited by all the Republican candidates we helped elect during my tenure as well as the investments we made and the infrastructure we developed as a party. I’m confident the RNC will continue to be an outstanding organization to serve Republicans across the country and I look forward to continuing to help the cause.”
"On behalf of Republicans across the country, thank you to Todd Ricketts for his exemplary service and unwavering support of our Republican Party," said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. "We are thrilled to have Ambassador Buchan serve as RNC Finance Chair following Todd's departure. We are confident Duke will continue to grow our party and help deliver Republican victories in 2022 and beyond.”
Mr. Buchan is the former Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, having served in Madrid, Spain from 2017 to 2021. Ambassador Buchan was confirmed by both the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the full Senate without any opposition. During his service, he was highly focused on policy and the advancement of the United States’ global interests.
Currently, Mr. Buchan is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hunter Global Investors L.P. , a private asset management firm that invests in a range of assets globally, including real estate. He founded Hunter in 2001 in New York City, and the firm is now based in Palm Beach, FL. Prior to starting Hunter, Mr. Buchan worked at several large financial and Wall Street firms. He has traveled, lived and/or done business in more than 50 countries for more than four decades.
Mr. Buchan is actively involved in education and other philanthropic causes. He served as Vice Chair on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Arts and Sciences Foundation Board of Directors, and the Chancellor’s Philanthropic Council. He serves on the University’s Campaign Planning Cabinet.
Mr. Buchan received a B.A. in Economics and Romance Languages: Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1991. He also attended La Universidad de Sevilla in Seville, Spain from 1983 to 1984 and La Universidad de Valencia in Valencia, Spain in 1980. He studied French at CERAN language school in Spa, Belgium. Mr. Buchan received a high school diploma from Vance Senior High School in Henderson, NC in 1981. Mr. Buchan is fluent in Spanish, conversant in French, and has a working knowledge of Italian and Catalan.
Mr. Buchan is a native of North Carolina whose passions include fly fishing, his dogs and his farms, where he grows over 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and vegetables and raises horses. He grew up and worked on tobacco, grain and cattle farms that his family has owned and managed for generations. Mr. Buchan and his wife, Hannah, have a teenage girl and two teenage boys. All three are Eagle Scouts.