Birth Name: John Henry Sununu
Place of Birth: Havana, Cuba
Date of Birth: July 2, 1939
Ethnicity: Arab [Palestinian, Lebanese], one quarter Greek
John H. Sununu is an American politician. A Republican, he was Governor of New Hampshire, from January 6, 1983 to January 4, 1989, Chair of the National Governors Association, from July 28, 1987 to August 9, 1988, White House Chief of Staff, from January 20, 1989 to December 15, 1991, and Chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, from January 17, 2009 to January 22, 2011. He was New Hampshire’s first Arab-American governor.
He has described himself as “a third-generation American, a Lebanese American and an Arab American.”
John was born in Havana, Cuba, while his father was there on a business trip. He is the son of Victoria Dada Basiliadis and John Saleh Sununu, an international film distributor. His father was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S., to Palestinian parents. His mother was born in San Vicente, El Salvador, of Lebanese and Greek descent. His parents were of the Orthodox religion, with roots in Jerusalem, Beirut, and Athens. John visited Beirut as a child in the late 1940s. He grew up in New York, and graduated from the La Salle Military Academy on Long Island.
John is married to Nancy Hayes. The couple has eight children, including politician John E. Sununu (John Edward Sununu), who was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire, from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 2003, and a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2009; and politician, businessperson, and engineer Chris Sununu (Christopher Thomas Sununu), who has been Governor of New Hampshire, since January 5, 2017.
John speaks Spanish fluently.
John’s paternal grandfather was named Thomas/Tanas Sununu/Sununuhajjar.
John’s paternal grandmother was named Julia Johariah/Goohariah.
John’s maternal grandfather was Miguel Jorge Dada Tadros (the son of Jorge Dada and Justini Tadros).
John’s maternal grandmother was named Isabel/Elisabeta Vasiliadis/Basiliadis. Isabel was born in Athens, Greece.
Sources:
Obituary of John’s mother –
