Samuel L. Kaplan
Ambassador
Samuel L. Kaplan was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to The Kingdom of Morocco on September 18, 2009. Mr. Samuel L. Kaplan is a founding member of Kaplan, Strangis and Kaplan, P.A. established in 1978. He serves as president of the firm which engages in the general practice of law, strictly limited, however, to non-litigation matters.
Mr. Kaplan received his B.B.A. degree (with a major in accounting) with distinction from the University of Minnesota (1957) and his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota (1960) where he was president of the University of Minnesota Law Review, and received the Order of the Coif. He served as an adjunct professor of law during the early years following law school graduation. He is often a visiting lecturer at law school classes and speaker at continuing legal education programs.
Mr. Kaplan currently serves as a member of Board of Directors of The Minneapolis Club. Mr. Kaplan has served on the boards of directors of several publicly held companies. He presently serves on the board of directors of Piper Jaffray Companies.
Mr. Kaplan and his partner, Ralph Strangis, own numerous nursing homes and senior housing facilities in the Upper Midwest. They are also owners of apartment facilities in the St. Cloud, Minnesota area.
In 1988, Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Strangis organized Windsor Bancshares, Inc. which owned Bank Windsor, operating at several locations in the State of Minnesota. That company was later acquired by Associated Banc-Corp.
Mr. Kaplan was also an organizer and former president and director of Banking Corporation of Florida, which owned First Florida Bank in Naples, Florida. That company was later acquired by Synovus Financial Corp.
Mr. Kaplan has been engaged in numerous community and charitable activities and was formerly a long-time member of the board of The Harry Kay Charitable Foundation. He is a past president of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation.
Mr. Kaplan has long been involved in Democratic Party affairs and served as chairman of Senator Paul Wellstone’s successful 1990 and 1996 election and reelection campaigns. He now serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Wellstone Action. He was substantially involved in Tom Harkin’s 1992 and Bill Bradley’s 1996 presidential campaigns in Minnesota, as well as R.T. Rybak’s campaigns for Mayor of Minneapolis and campaigns for numerous congressional candidates. He also served as one of the chairs of John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in Minnesota. He was a member of the National Finance Committee of Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign.
Mr. Kaplan is married to Sylvia Chessen Kaplan. They have six children and thirteen grandchildren. عربي
