On February 6, 2002, Mr. Mauricio J. Tamargo was sworn in as Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC), having been nominated to the position by President Bush in July 2001. Chairman Tamargo was twice re-nominated and confirmed to the FCSC: first in 2003 to a term expiring in September 2006, and subsequently in 2006 to a term expiring September 2009. He is the fourteenth person to hold the office since the Commission's creation by Congress in 1954.

During his tenure at the FCSC, Chairman Tamargo has administered the Albanian Claims Program and the Second Cuban Claims Program. In September 2003, at the request of the Secretary of the Interior, Chairman Tamargo chaired the Guam War Claims Review Commission which compiled a report evaluating the treatment accorded by the U.S. Navy to claims of residents of Guam after World War II.

Before assuming the Chairmanship of the FCSC, Chairman Tamargo was the Staff Director for the International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee, and Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for whom he had earlier served as Legislative Director. Prior to his work in those positions, Chairman Tamargo served as Staff Director and Counsel for two other Subcommittees of the House International Relations Committee, the Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade. Earlier in his career, Chairman Tamargo served as Administrative Assistant to then-Florida State Representative Ros-Lehtinen, and as Staff Assistant to Senator Paula Hawkins. During law school, he served as a law clerk to the Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

Chairman Tamargo serves on a pro-bono basis as president of the Freedom and Historic Preservation Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Whittaker Chambers' farm as a National Historic Landmark. He is also active in other charitable efforts through his local church.

Born in Cuba, Chairman Tamargo came to the United States with his family when he was four years old. Chairman Tamargo holds a B.A. in history from the University of Miami and a J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He is a member of the Florida, District of Columbia, U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. Supreme Court Bars. He is also a member of the Federalist Society, the Cuban American Bar Association, and the District of Columbia Hispanic Bar Association. He and his wife Tara have two children.