Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Paul Manafort

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Paul Manafort made an impact.

Paul Manafort is an American former lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. He has worked on several Republican presidential campaigns, including serving as chairman of Donald Trump's campaign from June to August 2016. Manafort co-founded the lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone in 1980, representing various foreign leaders, including controversial figures like Viktor Yanukovych, Ferdinand Marcos, and Mobutu Sese Seko. His lobbying activities eventually led him to retroactively register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

1965: Paul John Manafort Sr. became mayor of New Britain

In 1965, Paul John Manafort Sr., became mayor of New Britain.

1971: Paul John Manafort Sr. ended his mayorship of New Britain

In 1971, Paul John Manafort Sr., ended his mayorship of New Britain.

1976: Delegate-hunt coordinator for President Ford Committee

In 1976, Paul Manafort was the delegate-hunt coordinator for eight states for the President Ford Committee.

1977: Manafort practiced law

In 1977, Paul Manafort started practicing law with the firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Washington, D.C.

1978: Manafort was the southern coordinator for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign

Between 1978 and 1980, Paul Manafort was the southern coordinator for Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, and the deputy political director at the Republican National Committee.

November 1980: Appointed associate director of the Presidential Personnel Office

After Ronald Reagan's election in November 1980, Paul Manafort was appointed associate director of the Presidential Personnel Office at the White House.

1980: Co-founded Black, Manafort & Stone

In 1980, Paul Manafort co-founded the Washington, D.C.–based lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone, along with principals Charles R. Black Jr. and Roger Stone.

1980: Manafort practiced law

In 1980, Paul Manafort ended his law practice with the firm of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Washington, D.C.

1981: Nominated to the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation

In 1981, Paul Manafort was nominated to the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

June 1984: Manafort was a FARA-registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia

Between June 1984 and June 1986, Paul Manafort was a FARA-registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia.

1984: Peter G. Kelly joined Black, Manafort & Stone

In 1984, Peter G. Kelly joined the lobbying firm Black, Manafort & Stone.

1984: Firm name changed to Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly

In 1984, the name of the firm Black, Manafort & Stone was changed to Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) after Peter G. Kelly was recruited.

May 1986: Manafort resigned his directorship at OPIC

In May 1986, Paul Manafort resigned his directorship at OPIC.

June 1986: Manafort was a FARA-registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia

Between June 1984 and June 1986, Paul Manafort was a FARA-registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia.

1988: Adviser to George H. W. Bush's presidential campaign

In 1988, Paul Manafort was an advisor to the presidential campaign of George H. W. Bush.

1995: Campaign Strategy for Édouard Balladur

In 1995, Manafort wrote the campaign strategy for Édouard Balladur in the French elections. He received indirect payments of at least $200,000 through Lebanese arms-dealer Abdul Rahman al-Assir, originating from middle-men fees for the sale of French Agosta-class submarines to Pakistan, in what became known as the Karachi affair scandal.

1995: Manafort left BMSK to form Davis, Manafort, and Freedman

In 1995, Paul Manafort left BMSK to join Richard H. Davis and Matthew C. Freedman in forming Davis, Manafort, and Freedman.

1996: Adviser to Bob Dole's presidential campaign

In 1996, Paul Manafort was an advisor to the presidential campaign of Bob Dole.

2003: Lobbying for Oleg Deripaska

In 2003, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska hired Bob Dole, Manafort's prior campaign candidate, to lobby the State Department for a waiver of his visa ban, which was primarily so that he could solicit otherwise unavailable institutional purchasers for shares in his company, RusAL.

December 2004: Advising Yanukovych's Presidential Campaign

In December 2004, Manafort began working as an advisor on the Ukrainian presidential campaign of Yanukovych and his Party of Regions. This continued until the February 2010 Ukrainian presidential election, despite U.S. government opposition to Yanukovych due to his ties to Russia.

December 2004: Meeting with Akhmetov in Ukraine

In December 2004, Oleg Deripaska shelved his plans in Georgia and sent Manafort to Ukraine to meet with Akhmetov to help System Capital Management weather the political crisis brought on by the Orange Revolution. During the crisis, Manafort accompanied Akhmetov in Washington, D.C., for meetings with U.S. officials, including Dick Cheney, and Akhmetov introduced Manafort to Yanukovych.

2004: Involvement in Yanukovych's Comeback

In 2004, Manafort was involved in Yanukovych's drastic makeover of his political persona.

2004: Hired after organizational problems in 2004 elections.

In 2004, after identifying organizational and other problems in the elections, Yanukovych's campaign manager Borys Kolesnikov hired Manafort.

2004: Discussions with Rick Davis and Oleg Deripaska

In early 2004, Oleg Deripaska met with Rick Davis, Manafort's partner and a prior campaign advisor to Bob Dole, to discuss hiring Manafort and Davis to return Igor Giorgadze, the former Georgian Minister of State Security, to prominence in Georgian politics.

2005: Contract with Deripaska to Promote Russian Interests

In 2005, Manafort began a $10 million annual contract with Deripaska to promote Russian interests in politics, business, and media coverage in Europe and the United States.

March 22, 2006: Manafort helps bring Yanukovych back to power

On March 22, 2006, Paul Manafort helped bring Viktor Yanukovych back to power in Ukraine. Shortly after, in April 2006, an LLC named after Manafort and his partner Rick Hannah Davis was created.

April 2006: Creation of John Hannah, LLC

In April 2006, shortly after helping bring Viktor Yanukovych back to power, an LLC named "John Hannah, LLC" after Paul Manafort and his partner Rick Hannah Davis was created. This LLC was later used to purchase an apartment in Trump Tower.

2007: Investment Projects with Deripaska and Firtash

In 2007, Manafort engaged in investment projects with Oleg Deripaska, involving the acquisition of a Ukrainian telecommunications company, and with Dmytro Firtash, related to the redevelopment of the former Drake Hotel site in New York City.

March 31, 2008: Received payment from Yanukovych's Party of Regions

According to a 2008 U.S. Justice Department report, on March 31, 2008, Manafort's company received $63,750 from Yanukovych's Party of Regions for consulting services over a six-month period.

2008: Involvement in Investment Projects

In 2008, Manafort was involved in investment projects with Deripaska, focusing on acquiring a Ukrainian telecommunications company, and with Firtash, concerning the redevelopment of the former Drake Hotel site in New York City.

February 2010: End of Advising Yanukovych's Presidential Campaign

From December 2004 until February 2010, Manafort worked as an adviser on the Ukrainian presidential campaign of Yanukovych and his Party of Regions, despite U.S. government opposition to Yanukovych due to his ties to Russia's leader Vladimir Putin.

2010: Yanukovych's Presidential Win

In 2010, Yanukovych narrowly won the election against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, owing his comeback to a makeover engineered partly by Manafort.

September 2014: Adviser to Serhiy Lyovochkin

In September 2014, Manafort returned to Ukraine to become an adviser to Serhiy Lyovochkin, Yanukovych's former head of the Presidential Administration. He was tasked with rebranding Yanukovych's Party of Regions, but instead focused on stabilizing Ukraine and was instrumental in creating the Opposition Bloc.

October 2014: Worked in Ukraine until October 2014 Ukrainian Parliamentary Election

Manafort claims he has not worked in Ukraine since the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election. However, Ukrainian border control entry data shows he traveled to Ukraine multiple times after that election, all the way through late 2015.

2015: Travels to Ukraine until late 2015

Although Manafort claimed to have stopped working in Ukraine after the October 2014 elections, data shows he traveled there several times through late 2015.

2015: Advised Shanghai Construction Billionaire

In 2015, Manafort advised a Shanghai construction billionaire Yan Jiehe [zh] (严介和), who owns the Pacific Construction Group (太平洋建设), on obtaining international contracts.

February 2016: Manafort approached Trump

In February 2016, Paul Manafort approached Donald Trump through a mutual friend and offered to work without salary.

March 2016: Manafort joined Trump's presidential campaign

In March 2016, Paul Manafort joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

April 2016: Manafort on Aim of Activities in Ukraine

In an April 2016 interview with ABC News, Manafort stated that his activities in Ukraine aimed to lead the country closer to Europe.

May 2016: Local Office in Ukraine Closed

According to The New York Times, Manafort's local office in Ukraine closed in May 2016, and by then, Opposition Bloc had stopped payments for Manafort and this local office, according to Politico.

June 20, 2016: Manafort promoted to campaign manager

On June 20, 2016, Donald Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and promoted Paul Manafort to the position.

August 2016: Manafort leaves Trump campaign

After leaving the Trump campaign in August 2016, the Mueller investigation reviewed loans Paul Manafort received, including $7 million from Oguster Management Limited.

August 2016: Chaired Trump presidential campaign

In August 2016, Paul Manafort chaired the Trump presidential campaign.

August 17, 2016: Trump received his first security briefing

On August 17, 2016, Donald Trump received his first security briefing and shook up his campaign organization in a way that appeared to minimize Paul Manafort's role due to concerns about his Russian connections.

June 27, 2017: Manafort retroactively registered as a foreign agent.

On June 27, 2017, Paul Manafort retroactively registered as a foreign agent, as lobbying to serve the interests of foreign governments requires registration with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

September 25, 2017: Kurdistan Region independence referendum

On September 25, 2017, Paul Manafort assisted in organizing the Kurdistan Region independence referendum. He was hired by Masrour Barzani, the son of the President of the Kurdistan Region. The referendum was not supported by United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

August 2020: Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Manafort's Access and Influence

The fifth and final volume of the August 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report noted that Paul Manafort had direct access to Trump and the Trump campaign's senior officials. The report found that beginning around 2004, Manafort worked for Deripaska and pro-Russian oligarchs in Ukraine, influencing the 2010 Ukrainian elections.