Former ambassador Peter Terpeluk Jr. dies
He served as the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg from 2002 until 2005.
Peter Terpeluk Jr., a former ambassador to Luxembourg and Republican National Committee finance chairman, has died of a heart attack, several sources close to him have confirmed to National Journal. He was 63.
Terpeluk, a native of Pennsylvania, was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in 2002, and served until 2005. He was named finance chairman of the RNC in July 2009 and resigned at the end of 2010. According to his Council of American Ambassadors biography, prior to assuming the post as ambassador, he had been a managing director of American Continental Group since 1994. He founded the consulting firm Terpeluk and Associates in 1986, which he continued to operate while a principal in the Washington office of the firm S.R. Wojdak & Associates from 1989 to 1993.
In 1983, Terpeluk served as acting deputy administrator in the U.S. Small Business Administration. From 1987 to 1988, Terpeluk, who was born in 1948, co-chaired George H.W. Bush's first presidential campaign and also co-chaired his reelection effort in 1992. Terpeluk also assisted George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign with Catholic outreach. He was also a fundraiser for Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Terpeluk received a Bachelor of Arts degree from LaSalle College, and a master's degree in public administration from Rider College, as well as honorary doctorates from Sacred Heart University and LaSalle College.