Biography of Eliot Spitzer

Born in the Bronx on June 10, 1959, Eliot Spitzer has spent much of his life as an aggressive public advocate for the state of New York. He graduated from Princeton University in 1981 and continued on to Harvard Law School, where he held the distinguished position of editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from Harvard in 1984, Eliot Spitzer was a clerk to United State District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet and later served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan from 1986-1992. As Assistant District Attorney, Spitzer rose to become Chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit, where he successfully prosecuted organized crime and political corruption cases.

With considerable experience as a public servant, Eliot Spitzer ran for New York State Attorney General and won his first election in a stunning upset. His dedication and success throughout his first term led the people of New York to re-elect him in 2002 with the largest winning margin of any statewide candidate.

Since becoming the state’s 63rd Attorney General on January 1, 1999, Eliot Spitzer has advanced initiatives to make New York a national leader in investor protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights, personal privacy, public safety and criminal law enforcement. Spitzer’s investigations of conflicts of interest on Wall Street have been the catalyst for dramatic reform in the nation’s financial services industry. His prosecutions of sophisticated white collar crimes have resulted in some of the nation’s largest fraud recoveries. The New York Observer editorialized, “By refusing to look the other way as C.E.O.’s and financial institutions ripped off New Yorkers, he helped bail out the state during a difficult budget crisis."

In addition to his investigations of investment fraud, Spitzer lawsuits against Midwest and Mid-Atlantic power plants will help reduce air pollution responsible for acid rain and smog in the Northeast. His efforts to curtail abuses in the green grocery industry have been hailed as landmark labor rights cases. His investigations of internet companies and direct marketers have resulted in new privacy protections for consumers throughout the nation. And his "code of conduct" was the foundation for a settlement that reformed the way the nation’s largest gun manufacturer designs and distributes handguns.

Spitzer’s work as a public servant has garnered nation-wide recognition. New York Magazine awarded Eliot Spitzer their Public Service Award, TIME magazine named him as their 2002 "Crusader of the Year," and the San Francisco Chronicle identified him as their 2003 "Businessperson of the Year." Eliot Spitzer’s dedication, vision, and integrity have helped to build the reputation of the Attorney General as "the People’s Lawyer" and his efforts, like Paul Douglas’, set an example of what others should strive for in public service.