Daniel Mica, a former U.S. congressman, is president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the leading trade association representing the nation’s 8,500 credit unions and credit union leagues in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperatives. With 90 million members – nearly one in three Americans – credit unions constitute perhaps the nation’s largest membership group.

Mica assumed his duties at CUNA in July 1996, a time of major internal and external challenge for the association. Since then, he has restored sound financial management to the association’s business operations, unified credit unions in support of legislation protecting consumers’ membership rights, and strengthened CUNA’s senior management.

Under his leadership, CUNA has become one of the most highly-respected and influential trade associations in Washington. This is evidenced by a recent congressional poll conducted by the National Journal, showing lawmakers consider CUNA one of the most effective groups on Capitol Hill. Personally, Mica is a regular on the list of top lobbyists annually named by The Hill newspaper, a publication covering Congress and Capitol Hill.

As a five-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mica served his home state of Florida from 1979 to 1989 and made his mark as a bipartisan consensus-builder. He was on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Select Committee on Aging, and Veteran’s Affairs Committee. He also served in the House leadership as deputy whip; and he was a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Commission on Terrorism (the "Inman Commission").

His accomplishments while in Congress include investigating management corruption at the largest government-funded health maintenance organization (HMO) in the country, authoring anti-terrorism legislation that was enacted into law and reorganizing the federal court system by adding a new court district that helped relieve the system’s backlog of cases.

While serving in Congress, Mica was appointed by President Reagan to be congressional representative to the United Nations. President Bush appointed him to the board for International Broadcasting in 1991, and President Clinton selected him to serve as chairman of the board of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in 1993.

In 1989, Mica joined the American Council of Life Insurance, the life insurance industry’s leading trade group, as executive vice president. He also served as chief of staff for Congressman Paul G. Rogers (D- Fla.) from 1968 to 1978.

Mica holds a bachelor’s and an honorary law degree from Florida Atlantic University. He also holds an honorary law degree from Barry University in Miami. Mica is married, has four grown children, and has been a credit union member for more than 35 years.

Show full bio

Hide full bio