Louis E. Sola

Louis Ernest Sola (born January 8, 1968) is a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission.[1] Sola currently works under Chairman Michael A. Khouri and alongside Commissioners Daniel B. Maffei and Rebecca F. Dye.[2]

Louis E. Sola
Commissioner of the
Federal Maritime Commission
Assumed office
January 23, 2019
Nominated byDonald Trump
Personal details
Born (1968-01-08) January 8, 1968
Chicago, IL, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materParkland College
Nova Southeastern University
University of Illinois
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1986–1997
AwardsHumanitarian Service Medal - 1994 Cuban rafter crisis

On November 15, 2018, Sola was nominated to the Federal Maritime Commission by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019.[3] He was sworn into office on January 23, 2019 during the government shutdown for a 5-year term expiring June 30, 2023.[4]

Sola previously served on the Florida Board of Pilots Commissioners and chaired the probable cause panel for maritime incidents.[5][6]

Early life and education

Louis E. Sola was born in Chicago, IL on January 8, 1968, and grew up in Goodland, Indiana and the Panama Canal Zone. He received an A.A. in History from Parkland College in 1989; a B.S. in Management from the Nova Southeastern University in 1996; and a M.S. in International Finance from the University of Illinois in 1998. He is a two-time graduate (in Spanish and German) of the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, located at the Presidio of Monterey, CA.[5]

Military career

Sola served as a Strategic Debriefer for the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command in Munich, Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall by strategically debriefing refugees from Eastern Europe. Subsequently, he served in Counterintelligence and Counter Narcotics missions in Panama with the United States Southern Command, commanded by future Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey, during the War on Drugs and the fall of Pablo Escobar. Sola earned the US Army Parachutist Badge (Airborne) and was awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal for his efforts during the 1994 Cuban rafter crisis.[7] His accounts of the resilience of the Cuban people where latter recounted in the Financial Times.[8]

Politics

Sola previously ran for the United States House of Representatives seat for Florida's 24th congressional district as a Republican political candidate against Democratic Representative Frederica Wilson.[9] Both candidates were removed from the ballot which was cited as a factor that led to the 2018 U.S. Florida Senate election recount.[10] Sola has publicly stated he will not run for Florida's 26th congressional district in 2020.[11]

On April 30, 2020, the Federal Maritime Commission appointed Commissioner Sola to lead "Fact Finding 30," a federal fact-finding investigation on the impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry.[12] This investigation focused on cruise line performance, ticket refund policy, and the economic impacts of the CDC No Sail Order.[13] Sola recommended an "urgent need for ships to start sailing again" due to the economic impacts on the nation's ports, local governments, and small businesses.[14]

See also

References
  1. Federal Maritime Commission. "Commissioners". Federal Maritime Commission. Federal Maritime Commission. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  2. The White House. "President Donald J. Trump Announce Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". The White House. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. "PN2642 - Nomination of L. E. Sola for Federal Maritime Commission, 115th Congress (2017-2018)". www.congress.gov. 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  4. "Maffei and Sola take seats at FMC". FreightWaves. 2019-03-02. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  5. Federal Maritime Commission. "Louis E. Sola". Federal Maritime Commission. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. The Florida Senate - Executive Appointments. "Louis Sola". The Florida Senate. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  7. "sola-commerce-questionnaire-redacted" (PDF).
  8. sources, Independent Cuban journalist and other media. "Cuba News / Noticias - CubaNet News". www.cubanet.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  9. Federal Election Commission. "Louis Sola Ernest". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  10. "'Nightmare in Florida II': The odd ballot that could cost Sen. Nelson the race". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  11. "FMC's shipper commissioner". FreightWaves. 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2019-09-02.
  12. "Fact Finding 30". fmc.gov. 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  13. "Cruise passengers struggle refunds amid the pandemic; federal agency report recommends changes". usatoday.com. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  14. "'Urgent need for ships to start sailing again': FMC report on Florida". seatrade-cruise.com. 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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