R. T. Rybak

Raymond Thomas Rybak Jr. (born November 12, 1955) is an American politician, journalist, businessman, and activist who served as the 46th mayor of Minneapolis from 2002 to 2014. In the 2001 election Rybak, endorsed by the Minneapolis Police Federation, defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton by a margin of 65% to 35%, the widest margin of victory over an incumbent mayor in city history. He took office in January 2002, and won a second term in 2005 and a third in 2009. In late December 2012, he announced he would not run for another term and was going to be concentrating on his family. Rybak called being mayor his "dream job."

Before being elected mayor, Rybak worked in journalism, business and activism. The first mayor of a major U.S. city to endorse Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for president, Rybak was one of five Vice Chairs of the Democratic National Committee.