Dianne Feinstein
From Freepedia
| Office: | Senior Senator, California |
| Political party: | Democratic |
| Term of office: | January, 1993–present |
| Preceded by: | John F. Seymour |
| Succeeded by: | Incumbent (2007) |
| Date of birth: | June 22, 1933 |
| Place of birth: | San Francisco, California |
| Spouse: | (1) Jack Berman, deceased (2) Bertram Feinstein, deceased |
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is a Democratic U.S. Senator from California, a position she has held since 1992. She was also San Francisco's first (and to date, only) female mayor.
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Early life and career
Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman[1] in San Francisco. Her father, Leon Goldman, was a nationally renowned surgeon who traveled frequently and spoke at academic conferences.[2] She received her B.A. degree in history in 1955 from Stanford University. In 1957, she married Jack Berman, a colleague in the San Francisco District Attorney's office. They were divorced three years later.
In 1962, shortly after starting her career in politics, she married neurosurgeon Bertram Feinstein. In 1969, Feinstein won a position on the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, which is also the City Council of San Francisco. She held this position for nine years, becoming the first female president of the Board. During her tenure, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of San Francisco twice (in 1971 against mayor Joseph Alioto and in a 1975 contest for a runoff slot against George Moscone, losing by a single percentage point to county supervisor John Barbagelata).
In November 1978, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician, Dan White, who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors only two weeks prior. As president of the Board of Supervisors, Feinstein automatically succeeded to the mayoral position on December 4. She served out the remainder of the term and was re-elected in 1979 and again in 1983. She survived a 1984 recall attempt, and left office on January 8, 1988.
U.S. Senator
In 1978, Feinstein's husband, Bertram, died of colon cancer. In 1980, she married Richard C. Blum, an investment banker who later helped fund her unsuccessful bid for the California governor's seat in 1990. She lost to Republican Senator Pete Wilson, who vacated his seat in the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992, Feinstein won a special election to fill the remaining two years in Wilson's vacated Senate seat. She was re-elected in 1994 and again in 2000 and announced plans to run in 2006. In 1998 and 2003 some advised her to run for governor, but she declined.
Feinstein is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
See also
References
- ^ "Fa - Fe". Real Names of Famous Folk. URL accessed on October 14, 2005.
- ^ Seymour "Sy" Brody. Dianne Feinstein: United States Senator From California. Jewish Heroes and Heroines in America. Accessed on October 14, 2005.
External links
- Official U.S. Senate site
- Official Campaign site
- Dianne Feinstein's Project Syndicate op/eds
- About.com Profile of US Senator Dianne Feinstein of California
| Preceded by: George Moscone | Mayor of San Francisco 1978–1988 | Succeeded by: Art Agnos |
| Preceded by: John F. Seymour | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from California 1992– | Succeeded by: Incumbent |
Categories: 1933 births | Female U.S. Senators | Gun politics | Jewish Americans | Mayors of San Francisco | Russian-Americans | San Franciscans | Stanford alumni | United States Senators from California
