Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saulius "Saul" Anuzis

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An active Republican since college, Saulius "Saul" Anuzis was unanimously elected Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party (MRP) in 2005 and again in 2007. That same year, he was appointed to the Executive Committee of the Republican National Committee, and currently, he serves on the Committee on Arrangements for the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Born in Detroit, on March 6, 1959, Anuzis attended Bishop Borgess High School. He later studied Economics at the University of Michigan, Dearborn Campus. During his senior year, he served as President of the Student Government. He was also one of the founders and the first Chairman of the UM-D College Republican Club. To help pay his way through college, he loaded trucks and became a member of the Teamster’s Union.

In 1980, Anuzis was elected as the youngest delegate to the Republican National Convention. He attended President Reagan's first inaugural ceremony in January of the following year. Soon thereafter, he was elected Third Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Other highlights of his MRP career include, serving six years as a member of the State Committee and two terms as a Congressional District Chairman.

Anuzis landed one of his biggest political opportunities when in 1982 he became the manager of Dick Posthumus' first Senate race. He then worked closely with Posthumus throughout his rise in Michigan politics. During that time, Anuzis worked for the House Republican Campaign Committee, the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, and later as Chief of Staff to then Majority Leader Posthumus.

In 1990, Anuzis took a break from politics to focus on his family and business interests. That year, he and partner Bruce Yuille founded Coast to Coast Telecommunications. They sold the business in 2000, and in 2001, Anuzis and Yuille co-founded Quick Connect USA, a telecommunications firm providing local, long distance, VOIP, internet, and data services to residential and small businesses throughout Michigan. Anuzis serves as Chairman of the company but is currently on a leave of absence and maintains no day-to-day responsibilities. He also owns Anuzis Capital LLC, which distributes a mortgage reduction program that helps homeowners pay off their mortgage in as little as one-third to half the time without refinancing their home.

Anuzis is particularly proud of his Lithuanian family's history. His parents and paternal grandparents received the Righteous Among the Nations award from Israel's National Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, for helping, among others, three young girls escape from a Jewish ghetto and make their way from Lithuania to Estonia during World War II. One of those girls, now an adult and living in Israel, nominated them for the award.

After WWII, Anuzis’ family first resettled in a displaced persons camp in Germany and then in the basement of a church in Brooks, MN. At that church, the priest gave his father a set of 19 books on how to become an electrician. Not knowing how to read nor speak English, his father mastered both the language and the skill from those books. His father then spent 32 years as a skilled tradesman at the Detroit Fleetwood Fisher Body Plant on Fort Street.

Anuzis is actively involved in several Lithuanian-American organizations and serves on several non-profit boards. He currently serves as the Republic of Lithuania’s Honorary Consul to Michigan. He was also a Gubernatorial Appointee to the Michigan Jobs Commission and the Michigan Export Development Authority.

A Scout Master for a local Boy Scouts troop, Anuzis enjoys skiing, fishing, sailing, and riding his 100^th Anniversary Harley Road King. He has been married for 22 years to Lina (Alksninis) Anuzis. They have four sons. Matas attends Michigan State University, Tadas and Vytis are in high school at Lansing Catholic Central, and Marius attends Resurrection Middle School. The family resides in Eaton County.

Additional Articles of Interest and Profiles about Saul Anuzis

Detroit Free Press Profile 2-19-08

MIRS Power of Party Chairs 10-17-07

Wall Street Journal GOP Future...Tax Fight 9-17-07

Detroit News GOP Boss Stirs 9-10-07

HOUR Detroit Magazine Profile May 2007

UM-D "Legacy" Alumni Magazine Profile 2007

Blade - Jack Lessenbery Profile 6-3-05

Associated Press Profile 2-3-05