Background

• House of Representatives, New Mexico's 3rd District (1983-1997)
• U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. (1997-1998)
• Secretary of Energy (1998-2001)
• Governor of New Mexico (2003-present)

Bill Richardson is the current Governor of New Mexico in his second term. He has previously served as a U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Secretary of Energy. In 2004, he sat as chairman of the Democratic National Convention as well as the Democratic Governors Association in 2005 and 2006, in which the Democrats regained a majority of the nation's governorships. On May 21, 2007, Richardson formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.

Early Life

William Blaine Richardson III was born on November 15, 1947 in Pasadena California to his Mexican mother Maria Luisa Lopez-Collada Marquez and his father William Blaine Richardson Jr., a naturalized U.S. banker from Nicaragua. In 1961, at the age of thirteen, after spending his childhood in Mexico City, Bill was sent to the preparatory Middlesex School in Concord, Massachussets, near Boston, where he was the only Hispanic student. After prep school, in 1966, Bill went to Tufts University, located in the Boston suburb of Medford/Somerville. Though a star pitcher at both schools, Richardson's professional baseball hopes were denied by arm injuries. While at Tufts, Richardson majored in French and Political Science and was a President of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He earned a master's degree from Tuft's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In 1972, Bill married Barbara Flavin, a girl who lived across the street from Middlesex. After finishing his schooling at Tufts, Bill and Barbara were off to Washington D.C.

House of Representatives

There, Richardson worked on congressional relations for the State Department. The Richardson's time in D.C. was short, however, and after a few years they moved to New Mexico. Bill began working as a staffer for the Democratic party in the area and taught Government at a Santa Fe Community College. In 1980, Richardson challenged Republican Manuel Lujan in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District. After a rigorous campaign against the incumbent, Richardson lost by less than 1 percent. Two years later 35 year old Richardson became the youngest freshman Congressmen of the class of 1982, representing the newly created 3rd Congressional District. Richardson spent a little more than 14 years as a Representative, keeping his interest in foreign relations by visiting Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Sudan. While serving as a Representative in Congress, Richardson paid particular attention to American Indian relations in the 103rd Congress (1993-1994) while sitting for one term as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs. In 1995, he traveled to Baghdad, Iraq to negotiate with Saddam Hussein the release of two American aerospace workers. Later, he was sent to Sudan and North Korea for similar prisoner releasals. His leadership in the House of Representatives brought him renown and he became a close contact to President Clinton.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

In 1997, the President appointed Richardson as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations where he represented the U.S. during Palestine-Israel discussions, negotiations strengthening the United Nations Environment Programme concerning ecologically sustainable development and other duties. He served for only a year, however, as he was tapped by Clinton and confirmed as the President's Secretary of Energy on July 31, 1998.

A Secretary in Scandal

In late 1999 a University of California employee was charged with giving nuclear secrets to China. The employee, Wen Ho Lee, was effectively ordered to be fired by Secretary Richardson and his name, some say, was secretly leaked to the media by the Secretary himself. While this scandal did damage, it did not end Richardson's stay at the Department of Energy. In 1998 Richardson created the Director for Native American Affairs and in January 2000 oversaw the largest return of federal lands (84,000 acres) to an Indian tribe. With the end of the Clinton administration in 2001 came the end of Richardson as the Secretary of Energy.

After leaving the White House Richardson took on several different jobs. He became an adjunct professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a lecturer at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West. Additionally, he joined Kissinger McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory firm headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Clinton Chief of Staff Mack McLarty, as Senior Managing Director. He served on the boards of several energy companies as well, including Valero Energy Corporation and Diamond Offshore Drilling; these board seats and stock holdings were given up later, as a former Secretary of Energy with ties to oil was raising a lot of eyebrows.

Governor of New Mexico

In 2002, Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico, defeating Republican candidate John Sanchez 56-39. He took office in 2003 and in his first year proposed tax cut for business growth and a transfer of funds from the state treasury for various projects. In 2003, Richardson met with North Korea to discuss their use of nuclear energy and as a result was named the "Special Envoy for Hemispheric Affairs" for the Secretary General of the Organization of American States with the goal of promoting immigration and free trade. He was named Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, which seeks to increase Governors' roles in deciding party platform. In December 2005, Richardson partnered with Virgin founder Richard Branson to bring space tourism to New Mexico with the proposed Spaceport America. Since winning re-election in November 2006, Richardson has addressed the ongoing genocide in Darfur. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize four times.

Major Legislation

• 2003: Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership (GRIP): provides funding for large-scale public projects such as highways and a new commuter rail.

• 2006: Legalized use of medical marijuana; making New Mexico the 12th state to do so.

Political Ideology

Richardson is pro-choice, supports the death penalty and gun rights, and advocates affirmative action policies in government contracts. Though he voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, he has since added sexual orientation and gender identity to New Mexico's list of civil rights categories. He opposes the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as well as the war in Iraq. He has called for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2007.

2008 Presidential Campaign

On May 21, 2007, Governor Richardson formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, saying, "The United States faces huge challenges, but also huge opportunities. I am running for President because these times call for a leader with a proven track record, and a demonstrated ability to bring people together to tackle our problems at home and abroad, I am that person, not because I say so, but because of what I have done, and what I can do for the American people." (Source: richardsonforpresident.com). After finishing 4th in both Iowa and New Hampshire, Richardson withdrew his candidacy for president (Source: CNN). Since, he has thrown his support behind Democratic hopeful Barack Obama for the nomination.

Professional Positions

Accomplishments

Criticism

Additional Information

• In April 2008, Richardson met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian president Alvaro Uribe to engage Colombian rebels in an effort to win the release of three American hostages. The Americans are defense contractors who who have been hostages in Colombia since 2003 after their plane crashed. He said he is serving as envoy of hostage's families and not as a representative of the U.S. government or any other organization. (Source: Reuters).

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