Morton Blackwell
“You owe it to your philosophy to study how to win. You have a moral obligation to learn how to win.”
Leadership with Vision
Morton Blackwell is the president of the Leadership Institute, an organization he founded in 1979 to turn principled conservatives into powerhouse leaders.
The Leadership Institute is the culmination of the political lessons Morton learned throughout his life – that America would only stay free if it had a steady flow of leaders rising to positions where they could make a difference.
A JOURNEY OF CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP
Starting in the 1960s, Morton has trained thousands of people who served on staff for conservative and Republican candidates in every state.
Morton became a College Republican and Young Republican state chairman in Louisiana. He served on the Young Republican National Committee for more than a dozen years, rising to the position of Young Republican National Federation national vice chairman at large.
At the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, Morton served as Barry Goldwater’s youngest elected delegate.
Periodically throughout 1965-1970, he worked as executive director of the College Republican National Committee under four consecutive College Republican national chairmen.
He served on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee for eight years. First elected to the Arlington County (Virginia) Republican Committee in 1972, he is a member of the Virginia Republican State Central Committee and was first elected in 1988 as Virginia’s Republican National Committeeman, a post he still holds.
He was a national convention alternate delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1968 and 1976, and a Ronald Reagan delegate at the 1980 Republican National Convention.
In 2004, he was elected to a term on the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Morton is a specialist in matters relating to the rules of the Republican Party. He serves now on the RNC’s Standing Committee on Rules and has attended every meeting of the Republican National Conventions’ Rules Committees since 1972.
to those who are best prepared."
– Morton Blackwell
THE REAGAN YEARS AND BEYOND
In 1980, Morton organized and oversaw the successful Youth for Reagan national effort.
He served as Special Assistant to the President on Ronald Reagan’s White House Staff from 1981-1984, leaving this position to run his Leadership Institute full time.
Having worked actively in politics for more than sixty years, Morton has likely trained more political leaders than any other conservative.
A MAN OF CHARACTER AND SERVICE
In addition to his leadership in party politics and at Leadership Institute, Morton has supported many conservative organizations as a member or on their boards.
Morton has been a longtime member of the Philadelphia Society and Mont Pelerin Society. He serves on several boards, including for Reagan Alumni, National Right to Work, and American Constitutional Rights Union.
You’ll often find Morton sporting an Adam Smith tie.
Even as he’s busy building the conservative movement, Morton still makes time for hobbies. He enjoys time with his grandchildren, attends the opera, dances the Viennese waltz, and breeds daylilies. He even used to be an avid beekeeper.
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