{{Short description|American politician}} {{Distinguish|John de Jong}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = John de Jongh |image = Governor johndejongh.jpg |order = 7th [[Governor of the United States Virgin Islands]] |lieutenant = [[Gregory Francis]] |term_start = January 1, 2007 |term_end = January 5, 2015 |predecessor = [[Charles Wesley Turnbull|Charles Turnbull]] |successor = [[Kenneth Mapp]] |birth_name = John Percy de Jongh Jr. |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|11|13}} |birth_place = [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas, Virgin Islands]], U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |spouse = Cecile Galiber |children = 3 |education = [[Antioch College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) }} '''John Percy de Jongh Jr.''' (born November 13, 1957) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the [[Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands|Democratic Party]], he served as the seventh [[governor of the United States Virgin Islands]] from 2007 to 2015. He has been active in the Virgin Islands' politics and business community since after he graduated from college in 1981. De Jongh has been involved in community development, commercial banking, and served on the boards of business and philanthropic organizations.<ref name=nga/>
De Jongh ran for governor in the [[Elections in the United States Virgin Islands#2002|2002 general election]] as an independent candidate,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=39489|title=Race Details}}</ref> placing second with 24.4% of the vote and losing to the incumbent, [[Charles Wesley Turnbull|Charles W. Turnbull]]. In the [[Elections in the United States Virgin Islands#2006|2006 general election]] de Jongh ran as the Democratic candidate and defeated former Lieutenant Governor [[Kenneth Mapp]] in a runoff and became governor. In 2010, he was re-elected to a second term and served until January 5, 2015, when he was term limited.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=673810|title=USVI Governor}}</ref>
==Early life and education== De Jongh was born and raised on the island of [[Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands|St. Thomas]] in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a child, he attended Sts. Peter and Paul School on St. Thomas. After his parents' divorce, he lived with his mother, Dolores, and two brothers, Stanley and Sydney, in [[Detroit]], Michigan, where his mother was a social worker for the [[Detroit Public Schools Community District|Detroit Public Schools]]. During the summer, de Jongh would return to St. Thomas to assist in his father's law firm. De Jongh graduated from [[Detroit Catholic Central High School]] in 1976. After his graduation, he attended [[Antioch College]] in [[Yellow Springs, Ohio]]. During his college career, he held work-study jobs in Detroit, [[Houston]], [[Philadelphia]] and St. Thomas and completed an [[Urban studies|urban study]] program that involved travel to the [[United Kingdom]], [[Yugoslavia]] and [[The Netherlands]]. He earned an economics degree from [[Antioch College]].<ref name=oc>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=22247|title=de Jongh, Jr., John P. |publisher=Our Campaigns}}</ref> De Jongh graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree from Antioch in 1981.<ref name=jag/>
==Business career== After graduating from college, de Jongh returned to the Virgin Islands. He worked for several years with the Tri-Island Economic Development Council, during which he helped receive funding for the preservation of historic Virgin Island buildings, before taking a job with [[Chase Bank|Chase Manhattan Bank]].<ref name=bloomberg/> De Jongh first worked as an executive in the company's [[Puerto Rico]] office before returning to the Virgin Islands after earning the position of Consumer Manager of Operations in the U.S., [[British Virgin Islands]] and [[Saint Maarten]]. Under his leadership, Chase placed more emphasis on personal over corporate banking in the Caribbean and increased [[home mortgage]] lending.
In 1987, de Jongh was appointed as Commissioner of Finance by Governor [[Alexander A. Farrelly]], his first government position and one that had once been held by his grandfather, Percy de Jongh. In addition to his primary responsibilities for financial administration, de Jongh served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and as an Executive Director and board member of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority. He was key in financial reforming and boosting the economy of the territory in the early 1990s. He also worked as an executive assistant to the governor's office, and he helped to coordinate better inter-agency cooperation.<ref name=oc/> In 1992, he left government and returned to the private sector. That same year, de Jongh joined the real estate and insurance holding company, Lockhart Companies Incorporated where he served as President, CEO and a member of the board of directors until 2002.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/filing/3317923|title=Altisource Asset Management Corp From 8-K|publisher=Altisource Asset Management Corp.|date=December 7, 2016}}</ref> In 1993, he joined Public Financial Management, Inc., as a Senior Managing Consultant, where he helped to draft and implement Five-Year Plans for the cities of [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], [[New Haven, Connecticut]], and [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="jag">{{cite web|title=The Honorable John de Jongh, Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands|url=http://www.jag.org/board-of-directors/governor-john-de-jongh|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701092258/http://www.jag.org/board-of-directors/governor-john-de-jongh|archive-date=July 1, 2014|publisher=JAG}}</ref> From 1999 to 2001, de Jongh served as president of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce and headed a task force that created the Five Year Operating and Strategic Financial Plan for the government of the U.S Virgin Islands, co-chaired a private-public sector group to negotiate with cruise lines and was selected as Rotary II's Person of the Year.<ref name=oc/>
In 2002, de Jongh left Lockhart Companies and unsuccessfully ran for governor as an [[Independent (politician)|independent]] candidate on a platform that addressed education, economic opportunity, crime, healthcare and financial management. De Jongh founded Chilmark Partners, a financial advisory firm focused on engagements in the Eastern Caribbean in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Governor John P. deJongh, Jr.|url=http://focusvi.com/?page_id=3352|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410051437/http://focusvi.com/?page_id=3352|archive-date=April 10, 2017|publisher=Focus VI}}</ref>
==Political career== In 2005, it was reported that de Jongh led all potential candidates to become the next governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands when the incumbent vacated his seat the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2005/07/05/de-jongh-leads-potential-candidates-poll|title=De Jongh Leads Potential Candidates in Poll|publisher=St. Thomas Source|author=Don Buchanan|date=July 5, 2005}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2006, he ran as a Democrat and won the Democratic Party primary defeating Lieutenant Governor [[Vargrave Richards]] and Senator [[Adlah Donastorg Jr.|Adlah Donastorg]] with 52.2% of the votes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mann|first=Susan|date=September 11, 2006|title=De Jongh-Francis Win USVI Democratic Primary|url=http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/caribnet/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000032/003208.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410050921/http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/caribnet/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000032/003208.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2017|publisher=Caribbean News Now}}</ref> He won the governorship in [[2006 United States Virgin Islands general election|2006]] after defeating former Lieutenant Governor Mapp in a November 21 run-off election with over 57% of the vote.<ref name=cbnn/> [[File:Secretary Kempthorne and U.S. Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh.jpg|thumb|John de Jongh with [[Dirk Kempthorne]], then-[[United States Secretary of the Interior]], in 2008]] De Jongh was sworn in as the 7th elected Governor of the Virgin Islands on January 1, 2007.<ref name="cbnn">{{cite web|author=Susan Mann|date=January 2, 2007|title=New US Virgin Islands Governor Takes Office|url=http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/caribnet/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000049/004964.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410213812/http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/caribnet/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000049/004964.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2017|publisher=Caribbean News Now}}</ref> His administration focused on addressing early childhood education issues, established the Children and Families Council, sought partnerships with cruise lines, airlines and rum companies, championed economic diversification and implemented revitalization projects for the islands that comprise the Virgin Islands.<ref name="bloomberg">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=412297863&privcapId=217487620|title=Executive Profile|publisher=Bloomberg Businessweek}}</ref> De Jongh also created programs to reduce the territory's dependence on fossil fuels. After announcing they would seek a second term in office, de Jongh and Lt. Governor [[Gregory Francis]] won the Democratic [[Partisan primary|primary election]] on September 11, 2010,<ref name="vidn">{{cite news|first=Aldeth |last=Lewin |title=DeJongh-Francis victory leaves rivals with uncertain futures |url=http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/dejongh-francis-victory-leaves-rivals-with-uncertain-futures-1.1009267 |work=[[Virgin Islands Daily News]] |date=2010-09-13 |access-date=September 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720105234/http://virginislandsdailynews.com/news/dejongh-francis-victory-leaves-rivals-with-uncertain-futures-1.1009267 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> after receiving 53% of the vote in the primary, more than all three of their Democratic challengers combined.<ref name="vidn" /><ref name="stjohnsource">{{cite news|first=Ananta |last=Pancham |title=DeJongh-Francis Clinch Top Spots in Democratic Primary |url=http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/09/12/dejongh-francis-clinch-top-spots-democratic-primary |work=[[St. John Source]] |date=2010-09-12 |access-date=September 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716144307/http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/09/12/dejongh-francis-clinch-top-spots-democratic-primary |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
De Jongh faced independent candidate Mapp, a former Lt. Governor, in the general election on November 2, 2010.<ref name=vidn/> The contest between de Jongh and Mapp was essentially a rematch of the top two contenders from the 2006 gubernatorial election.<ref name=vidn/> On November 2, 2010, De Jongh and Lt. Governor Gregory Francis were re-elected to second term, taking 17,535 votes, or 56.27%.<ref name=stthomassource>{{cite news|first=Ananta |last=Pancham |title=DeJongh-Francis to Return for Second Term |url=http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/11/02/dejongh-francis-return-second-term |work=[[St. Thomas Source]] |date=2010-10-02 |access-date=2010-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106054450/http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/11/02/dejongh-francis-return-second-term |archive-date=November 6, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> De Jongh defeated the independent gubernatorial ticket of Mapp and [[Malik Sekou]], who came in second with 13,580 votes.<ref name=stthomassource/> After reaching his term limit, de Jongh left office on January 5, 2015.
During his second term, his administration focused on the completion of the "middle mile" fiber optic network,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politic365.com/2011/05/03/governor-john-de-jongh-signs-broadband-finance-bill-into-law/|title=Governor John de Jongh Signs Broadband Finance Bill into Law|publisher=Politic 365|first=Alton|last=Drew|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref> implemented [[Medicaid expansion]] as part of the [[Affordable Care Act]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://states.aarp.org/aca-virgin-islands-style/|title=ACA, Virgin Islands Style|publisher=AARP|first=Ginny|last=Dargan|date=July 30, 2013}}</ref> and oversaw the impact of the closure of Hovensa, LLC and its oil refinery on the island of St. Croix.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/01/major_oil_refinery_to_close_in.html|title=Major Oil Refinery to Close in U.S. Virgin Islands|publisher=Cleveland.com|date=January 18, 2012}}</ref>
==Post-gubernatorial career== In August 2015, de Jongh and Julito Francis, former director of finance of the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority, were charged and arrested with embezzlement and neglecting to pay public monies relating to the alleged conversion of U.S. Virgin Islands public to fund security improvements to the former governor's private residence.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Ernice Gilbert|title=DOJ Drops Charges Against Former Governor De Jongh After $380,000 Settlement|url=http://viconsortium.com/news-2/doj-drops-charges-against-former-governor-de-jongh-with-prejudice-after-380000-settlement/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124222020/http://viconsortium.com/news-2/doj-drops-charges-against-former-governor-de-jongh-with-prejudice-after-380000-settlement/|archive-date=January 24, 2016|access-date=April 9, 2016|publisher=Virgin Islands Consortium}}</ref> In January 2016, V.I. Superior Court Senior Sitting Judge Darryl Donohue dismissed the charges against de Jongh.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Joy Blackburn|date=January 29, 2016|title=Judge Tosses Case|url=http://portal.tds.net/news/read/category/State/article/the_virgin_islands_d-judge_tosses_case-tca|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826065610/http://portal.tds.net/news/read/category/State/article/the_virgin_islands_d-judge_tosses_case-tca|archive-date=August 26, 2016|access-date=April 9, 2016|publisher=Virgin Islands Daily News}}</ref>
In December 2016, de Jongh was appointed to the board of directors at Altisource Asset Management Corporation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://biz.yahoo.com/e/161207/aamc8-k.html|title=Form 8-K for Altisource Asset Management Corp|publisher=Altisource |date=December 7, 2016}}</ref> De Jongh also serves as Principal of Chilmark Investment Partners, LLC.<ref name=bloomberg/> In October 2021, de Jongh was appointed to the UVI Board of Trustees.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://viconsortium.com/caribbean-business/virgin-islands-uvi-board-elects-former-governor-john-p-de-jongh-as-new-member-board-also-approves-uvi-school-of-medicine-strategic-plan |title=UVI Board Elects Former Governor John P. de Jongh as New Member; Board Also Approves UVI School of Medicine Strategic Plan|publisher=The Virgin Islands Consortium |date=October 24, 2021}}</ref>
==Personal life== De Jongh has been married to Cecile René Galiber since 1986. The couple have three children.<ref name="nga">{{cite web|title=Governor John de Jongh, Jr.|url=https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_virgin_islands/col2-content/main-content-list/john-dejongh-jr.default.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220021258/https://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_virgin_islands/col2-content/main-content-list/john-dejongh-jr.default.html|archive-date=December 20, 2015|publisher=National Governors Association}}</ref>
==Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein== His wife drew controversy after it was revealed that she sat on the board of the [[Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation]], a private foundation run by convicted sex-offender [[Jeffrey Epstein]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/13/jeffrey-epstein-donations-us-virgin-islands-review|title=Jeffrey Epstein's donations to young pupils prompts US Virgin Islands review|newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 13, 2015 |last1=Swaine |first1=Jon }}</ref> A court filing by [[JPMorgan Chase]] in 2023 alleged that de Jongh's wife made efforts to secure student visas and a work license for young women trafficked by Epstein and that Epstein paid for de Jongh's children's school tuition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mangan |first=Dan |date=2023-05-25 |title=JPMorgan Chase says Jeffrey Epstein paid tuition for kids of U.S. Virgin Islands governor |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/25/jpmorgan-jeffrey-epstein-paid-tuition-for-kids-of-virgin-islands-governor.html |access-date=2025-11-15 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>
In January 2026, newly released [[Epstein files]] showed extensive contact between De Jongh and Epstein. The files reveal that from 2008 to 2009 Epstein did pay for the tuition of de Jongh's children, sending checks to [[American University]], [[Elon University]], [[Skidmore College]] and [[Wake Forest University]], totaling $70,066. In Epstein’s correspondence with de Jongh, Epstein called it "a treat" and said "Its as if i had my own kids in college."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pfabe |first1=Charlotte |title=DOJ files reveal Jeffrey Epstein paid tuition for former Elon University student |url=https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2026/02/doj-files-reveal-jeffrey-epstein-paid-tuition-for-former-elon-university-student |access-date=3 February 2026 |work=Elon News Network}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150216044116/http://www.governordejongh.com/ Official Website]
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[Charles Wesley Turnbull|Charles Turnbull]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of Governors of the United States Virgin Islands|Governor of the United States Virgin Islands]]|years=2006, [[2010 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election|2010]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Donna Christian-Christensen]]}} |- {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Charles Wesley Turnbull|Charles Turnbull]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Governor of the United States Virgin Islands]]|years=2007–2015}} {{s-aft|after=[[Kenneth Mapp]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Jongh Jr., John}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Antioch College alumni]] [[Category:Democratic Party governors of the United States Virgin Islands]] [[Category:Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians]] [[Category:Governors of the United States Virgin Islands]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Politicians from Detroit]] [[Category:United States Virgin Islands businesspeople]]