Jerry Brown

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr born April 7 1938 is an American lawyer author and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019 A member of the Democratic Party he was elected secretary of state of California in 1970 Brown later served as mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007 and attorney general of California from 2007 to 2011 He was both the oldest and sixthyoungest governor of California due to the 28year gap between his second and third terms Upon completing his fourth term in office Brown became the fourth longestserving governor in US history serving 16 years and 5 days in office Born in San Francisco he is the son of Bernice Layne Brown and Pat Brown who was the 32nd governor of California 19591967 After graduating from the University of California Berkeley and Yale Law School he practiced law and began his political career as a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees 19691971 He was elected to serve as the 23rd secretary of state of California from 1971 to 1975 At 36 Brown was elected to his first term as governor in 1974 making him the youngest California governor in 111 years In 1978 he won his second term During his governorship Brown ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 and 1980 He declined to pursue a third term as governor in 1982 instead making an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate that same year losing to San Diego mayor and future governor Pete Wilson After traveling abroad Brown returned to California and served as the sixth Chairman of the California Democratic Party 19891991 attempting to run for US president once more in 1992 but losing the Democratic primary to Bill Clinton He then moved to Oakland where he hosted a talk radio show Brown soon returned to public life serving as mayor of Oakland 19992007 and attorney general of California 20072011 He ran for his third and fourth terms as governor in 2010 and 2014 his eligibility to do so having stemmed from Californias constitutional grandfather clause On October 7 2013 he became the longestserving governor in the history of California surpassing Earl Warren