Andrew Cuomo biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Andrew Mark Cuomo was born in New York City on December 6, 1957, to mother Matilda Raffa Cuomo and father Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York and the son of Italian immigrants. After graduating from Archbishop Molloy High School in 1975, Andrew Cuomo enrolled at Fordham University, graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1979. He went on to attend Albany Law School, where he received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1982.

Political Career

Following his graduation from Albany Law School, Cuomo began working under his father, Mario Cuomo, newly elected as the 52nd governor of New York as that time (1982). (Prior to Mario Cuomo's election win, Andrew worked on his father's election campaign). Cuomo began managing his father's Transition Committee in 1983, and was promoted to serve as an adviser to the governor soon after. Cuomo began serving as assistant district attorney of New York in 1984, and founded the state's Housing Enterprise for the Less Priveleged two years later. According to Cuomo's website, since the organization was founded in 1986, HELP has become "one of the country's largest builders and operators of service-enriched transitional and low income permanent housing."

From 1993 to '97, Cuomo served as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, and went on to become secretary of HUD in 1997, serving until 2001. Cuomo made his first run for the New York governorship in 2002, but withdrew early from the race after making a controversial comment in April 2002 about then Governor George Pataki, a Republican; Cuomo disparaged Pataki's actions following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. His remarks were largely criticized.

In 2007, Cuomo became attorney general of New York State, working alongside then Governor Eliot Spitzer. Cuomo made a second run for the state's governorship in 2010, this time winning the election; he beat his opponent, Republican Carl Paladino, to become the 56th governor of New York. As governor of New York, Cuomo has become known for focusing on LGBT rights, women's rights and economic stimulus in New York State, among several other issues. He has also been credited with working efficiently across the aisle, moving important legislation through Congress, including a state law legalizing gay marriage.