Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American attorney, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as the 39th Governor of California since 2011, having previously served as California's 34th Governor from 1975 to 1983. Both before and after his original two terms as Governor, Brown served in numerous state, local and party positions and he has three times run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. The son of Pat Brown, who served as the 32nd Governor of California from 1959 to 1967, Jerry Brown began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees (1969–1971) before serving as Secretary of State of California (1971–1975). He was elected Governor in 1974 and ran in the 1976 Democratic presidential primaries, finishing a distant third in the convention vote, which was won by Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter. Brown was re-elected Governor in 1978 and ran again for President in 1980, challenging President Carter. His candidacy did not gain traction and he withdrew having failed to carry a single state. Brown declined to run for a third term in 1982, instead running for the United State Senate. However, he was defeated by Republican Pete Wilson and many considered his political career to be over. After travelling abroad, Brown returned to California and served as Chairman of the California Democratic Party (1989–1991), resigning to run for the Senate again in 1992. He changed his mind and ran in the 1992 Democratic presidential primaries, carrying six states and coming second in the convention vote, though significantly behind Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. After six years out of politics, Brown returned to public life, serving as Mayor of Oakland (1999–2007) and Attorney General of California (2007–2011). He was elected back to the governorship in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. On October 7, 2013, he became the longest-serving governor in California history measured by cumulative service. As a consequence of the 28-year gap between his second and third terms, Brown has been both the sixth-youngest California governor (and the youngest since the 1860s) and the oldest California governor in history.