Otto G. Miessner

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Current revision as of 03:44, 8 April 2010

Otto Gustav Miessner
Democratic Party
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 8th District
In Office: 2019-Present
Preceded By	Dave Reichert
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 48th District
In Office: 2017-2019
Preceded By	Jonathan McIntyre
Succeeded By	Jonathan McIntyre
Military Service
Allegiance	United States
Service Branch	Navy
Years Active	1984-1992
Rank	Commander
Stationed	USS Oliver Hazard Perry 1984-1986 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower 1986-1992
Wars	Persian Gulf War
Military Awards	Navy Cross, Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Discharge	Honorable (Resignation)
Personal Life
Born	1.May.1966 Rostock, DDR (East Germany)
Spouse	none
Children	Cormac "Mac" Miessner (Adopted 1998)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Residence	Medina, Washington
Occupation	Politician, Business Executive, Student, Military Serviceman
Education
University	Harvard
College	Harvard Business School
Degree	Master of Business Administration
Graduated	1998
Graduating Honors	Summa cum Laude

Commander Otto Gustav Miessner USN, Retired (born May 1. 1966) is the United States Representative for Washington State's 8th Congressional District. He is a former Navy serviceman and State Representative.

Biographical

Early Life

Miessner was born on May 1, 1966 in Rostock, DDR. He is the only son of Heinrich and Carmen Miessner. His father was a Flottillenadmiral (Rear Admiral) in the German People's Navy and his mother was a nurse at a nearby hospital. He enjoyed being on board navy ships in his youth, a reason he cited for later joining the Navy.

Defection

In July 1972, Miessner's father defected with his family to the United States. His father stole many navy papers and went with his family to Berlin, where they were smuggled through the Berlin Wall and brought to the United States. His family remained in government custody for several months, and his parents became naturalized American citizens on September 11, 1972. The file on Heinrich Miessner's defection is still classified, however Otto Miessner stated in a press release: "My father did what he thought was best for me and my mother. It doesn't take a psychologist to figure out that I would have a more comfortable lifestyle in the United States than in East Germany. The defection involved a large amount of risk on my father's part, and I am eternally grateful to him for his actions."

Post-Defection Youth

Miessner's family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he attended various private Catholic schools including: St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Elementary School, St. Joseph Regional Jr. High School, and Trinity High School. He graduated from Trinity with honors. He learned to speak both English and German in his youth, and is fluent in both languages. When he turned 18 in 1984, Miessner enlisted in the US Navy.

Navy Service

Miessner enlisted in the Navy in 1984, and has been very quiet about his service, only saying: "The years I sepnt in the Navy were some of the best in my life." He was enlisted as a Warrant Officer Five, an unprecedented rank, due to the fact that it is junior only to a Commissioned Officer. Miessner advanced extremely quickly, becoming a Commander in only eight years. His rapid advancement led to speculation that his father had been exerting his Navy influence. He served aboard the USS Oliver Hazard Perry from 1984 until he became a Lieutenant in 1986 and was transferred to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the station at which he remained until he resigned his commission in 1992.

Higher Education

Miessner was accepted to Harvard University in 1992, and he attended their business school. He graduated from Harvard in 1998 with a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA).

Business Career

Miessner became Vice President of European Operations at Sun Microsystems in 1999. After negotiating a 253 million dollar business deal with the German Government in 2001, he became one of the most powerful people in the company. He landed several other business deals in developing European nations (Turkey and Greece), and was appointed the Company's Chief Financial Officer in 2002. In 2004, the Chief Executive Officer resigned after a sex scandal, and Miessner temporarily took over those duties, causing the stock of Sun to rise almost three dollars per share in four days. He was unanimously appointed the CEO of Sun on August 11, 2004. In 2010, Sun was acquired by the Oracle Corporation, and Miessner continued to serve as CEO until 2012, when a sexual harassment suit was filed against him by a secretary in his inner office. He resigned, but admitted no wrongdoing, saying "It is clear to me now that this incident is due to factors beyond my control, and I am resigning to devote my whole attention to finding out who dreamed up this plot, and why it was perpetrated." In 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned an earlier conviction of Miessner, and ruled that he had committed no crime. It also sentenced the plaintiff to seven years in prison and a $275,000 fine for "...slander in the highest degree...". Miessner became a member of the board of directors for Microsoft in 2014, and resigned in 2016 to pursue a career in politics.

Election History

Miessner resigned from Microsoft in 2016 to pursue the seat from Washington's 48th district. He was running in a mixed area of political demographics. He ran a very expensive campaign, which paid off: Miessner won the seat with 15 points over his opponent. During the next election cycle, 2018, Miessner vied for the seat from Washington's 8th Congressional District, which had not seated a Democrat during its existence. He ran a campaign much like the one for the state seat. He signed on many wealthy individuals, including Bill Gates, as donors for his campaign. It was the most expensive campaign in Washington history. Miessner unseated the Republican incumbent, Dave Reichert, by a mere three points. He delivered his campaign promise of sponsoring energy reducing plans, and was re-elected by a much wider margin in 2020: nine points.

Election Results