Gregory W. Meeks
DemocratU.S. Representative, NY-5| Age | 72 (b. 1953-09-25) |
| Gender | Male |
| In office since | 1997-01-07 (~29 yrs) |
| Race / ethnicity | Black / African American |
| Religion | Christian; member of Allen AME Church (African Methodist Episcopal) in St. Albans, Queens, New York |
| Education | B.A. in history (minor in political science), Adelphi University, 1975; J.D., Howard University School of Law, 1978 |
| Prior occupation | Attorney; Assistant District Attorney and prosecutor for the Special Narcotics Prosecutor of the City of New York; supervising judge for the New York State Workers' Compensation System |
| Military service | No |
| Birthplace | East Harlem, New York, New York |
| Marital status | married — Simone-Marie Meeks |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | St. Albans, Queens, New York |
Pending research: languages · notable relatives · openly lgbtq.
Career & politics
| First elected | 1998 |
| Previous offices | New York State Assembly, 31st District (1993-1998) |
| Committees | House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Ranking Member) · House Committee on Financial Services (incl. Subcommittee on Capital Markets; Subcommittee on Financial Institutions) |
| Caucuses | Congressional Black Caucus · New Democrat Coalition · Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (associate) · Congressional Equality Caucus · House Baltic Caucus · Congressional Taiwan Caucus |
| Leadership | Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs (2023-present) · Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs (2021-2023) · Chair, Queens County Democratic Party |
| Ideology | Mainstream/establishment Democrat; member of the centrist New Democrat Coalition |
| Signature legislation | Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act of 2019 (H.R. 5084) - corporate board diversity disclosure |
Financial
Net worth: disclosed + (2018) · estimate
No holdings recorded yet (from official Financial Disclosure filings).
Top donors: American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) ($52,550 (2021-2022 cycle)) · KKR & Co ($27,850 (2019-2020 cycle))
Top industries: Securities & Investment · Lawyers/Law Firms · Insurance
Scandals & crimes ledger
resolved — FEC Conciliation Agreement — Personal Use of Campaign Funds and Other Violations (MUR 5895)
An FEC audit covering 2003–2004 campaign activity found that Meeks for Congress used campaign funds for the congressman's personal expenses (vehicle, personal trainer, undocumented credit card charges), misstated financial activity totaling $278,636, accepted contributions exceeding individual primary-election limits ($22,900), and accepted corporate/LLC treasury-fund contributions ($7,070). The committee and the congressman entered a conciliation agreement approved by the FEC on November 28, 2007, paying a $63,000 civil penalty and repaying the personal-use amounts.
resolved — House Ethics Committee finding: failure to disclose $40,000 loan from Edul Ahmad
In 2007 Queens real-estate broker Edul Ahmad gave Representative Gregory Meeks $40,000, which Meeks characterized as a personal loan. Meeks did not disclose the loan as a liability on his federal financial disclosure statements for 2007, 2008, and 2009; he later amended those filings in June 2010 after the transaction was reported and Ahmad came under federal investigation. The Office of Congressional Ethics referred the matter to the House Committee on Ethics, which adopted a report on December 18, 2012, formally finding that Meeks failed to disclose the loan but concluding the errors were not knowing or willful and that the loan was not an impermissible gift. The Committee determined no further action was warranted; no sanction was imposed. (Ahmad himself separately pleaded guilty in October 2012 to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud in an unrelated mortgage-fraud case; Meeks was not charged with any crime.)