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Vice President
Bill Richardson
Bill Richardson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is the
current Governor of New Mexico and was a candidate for the 2008
Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. He
has previously served as a U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the
United Nations, and as the U.S. Secretary of Energy.[1] He was
chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention as well as
Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2005 and 2006,
overseeing the Democrats' re-capturing of a majority of the
country's governorships. Richardson has been recognized for
negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen, and
political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba.
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30th Governor of New
Mexico
9th United States Secretary of Energy
21st United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New
Mexico's 3 district
Born November 15, 1947
(1947-11-15) (age 60)
Pasadena, California, USA
Political party Democratic
Spouse Barbara Richardson
Alma mater Tufts University
Religion Roman Catholic |
Early political career
After college, Richardson worked for Republican Congressman Bradford
Morse from Massachusetts. He was later a staff member of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee. Richardson worked on congressional
relations for the Henry Kissinger State Department during the Nixon
Administration. In 1978, he moved to Santa Fe and ran for Congress
in 1980 as a Democrat, losing narrowly to longtime 1st District
congressman and future United States Secretary of the Interior
Manuel Lujan (R). Two years later, Richardson was elected to New
Mexico's newly created third district, taking in most of the
northern part of the state.
U.S. Congressman
Richardson spent a little
more than 14 years in Congress. As a congressman, he kept his
interest in foreign relations. He visited Nicaragua, Guatemala,
Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Sudan to
represent U.S. interests.
Richardson served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
in the 98th Congress (1983–1985) and as Chairman of the House
Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs in the
103rd Congress (1993–1994). While in the House, Richardson sponsored
bills such as the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the American Indian
Religious Freedom Act Amendments, the American Indian Trust Fund
Management Reform Act, the American Indian Agricultural Resource
Management Act, the Indian Dams Safety Act, the Tribal
Self-Governance Act, the Indian Tribal Jurisdiction Bill (commonly
known as the “Duro Fix”) and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe Water Rights
Settlement Act.
In 1996, he traveled to Baghdad with Peter Bourne and engaged in
lengthy one-on-one negotiations with Saddam Hussein to secure the
release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by
the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. He became a
member of the Democratic leadership, where he worked closely with
Bill Clinton on several issues.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
In 1997, Clinton appointed Richardson as U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations. As ambassador, he represented the United States in
UN proceedings regarding the Palestinian National Authority and the
State of Israel, the completion of negotiations that strengthened
the role and mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme
regarding ecologically sustainable development, as well as other
duties of an ambassador to the UN. Richardson served there until
1998, when he was appointed U.S. Secretary of Energy, a post that he
held for the remainder of the Clinton administration. According to
his autobiography, Richardson was asked by the White House in 1997
to interview Monica Lewinsky for a job on his staff at the UN.
Richardson did so, and offered her a position, which she declined.
U.S. Secretary of Energy
The Senate confirmed
Richardson to be Clinton's Secretary of Energy on July 31, 1998. His
tenure at the Department of Energy was marred by the Wen Ho Lee
nuclear espionage scandal. Richardson was also criticized by the
Senate for his handling of the espionage inquiry by not testifying
in front of Congress sooner. Richardson justified his response by
saying that he was waiting to uncover more information before
speaking to Congress.
Richardson created the Director for Native American Affairs position
in the Department in 1998, and in January 2000 oversaw the largest
return of federal lands, 84,000 acres (340 km²) to an Indian Tribe
(the Northern Ute Tribe of Utah) in more than 100 years. Richardson
also directed the overhaul of the Department's consultation policy
with Native American tribes and established the Tribal Energy
Program.
Governor of New Mexico
Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in November 2002,
having defeated the Republican candidate, John Sanchez, 56–39
percent. He succeeded a two-term Republican governor, Gary E.
Johnson. He took office in January 2003 as the only Hispanic
Governor in the United States, other than then-Governor Sila María
Calderón of Puerto Rico. In his first year, Richardson proposed "tax
cuts to promote growth and investment" and passed a broad personal
income tax cut and won a statewide special election to transfer
money from the state's Permanent Fund to meet current expenses and
projects. In early 2005, Richardson made New Mexico the first state
in the nation to provide $400,000 in life insurance coverage for New
Mexico National Guardsmen who serve on active duty. Thirty-five
states have since followed suit.
Working with the legislature, he formed Governor Richardson's
Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2003. The partnership has been used
to fund large-scale public infrastructure projects throughout New
Mexico, including, through the use of highway funds, a brand new
commuter rail line (the Railrunner) that runs between Belen,
Albuquerque, and Bernalillo. He supported LGBT rights in his career
as governor; he added sexual orientation and gender identity to New
Mexico's list of civil rights categories. During the summer of 2003,
he met with a delegation from North Korea at their request to
discuss concerns over that country's use of nuclear energy. At the
request of the White House, he also flew to North Korea in 2005, and
met with another North Korean delegation in 2006. On December 7,
2006, Richardson was named as the "Special Envoy for Hemispheric
Affairs" for the Secretary General of the Organization of American
States with the mandate to "promote dialogue on issues of importance
to the region, such as immigration and free trade".
During New Mexico's most recent legislative session, Richardson
signed a bill into law that made New Mexico the 12th state to
legalize marijuana for medical reasons. When asked if this would
hurt him in a Presidential election, he stated that it did not
matter, as it was "the right thing to do."
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