Bill Richardson (politician)
| Bill Richardson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 30th Governor of New Mexico | |
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In office January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2011 |
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| Lieutenant | Diane Denish |
| Preceded by | Gary Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Susana Martinez |
| 9th United States Secretary of Energy | |
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In office August 18, 1998 – January 20, 2001 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Federico Peña |
| Succeeded by | Spencer Abraham |
| 21st United States Ambassador to the United Nations | |
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In office February 18, 1997 – August 18, 1998 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Madeleine Albright |
| Succeeded by | Peter Burleigh (Acting) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd district |
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In office January 3, 1983 – February 13, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Bill Redmond |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Blaine Richardson III November 15, 1947 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Flavin |
| Education | Tufts University (BA, MA) |
William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician who was 30th Governor of New Mexico, from 2003 to 2011. He was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration and has also served as a U.S. Congressman, chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. In December 2008, he was nominated for the cabinet-level position of Secretary of Commerce in the first Obama administration but withdrew a month later as he was investigated for possible improper business dealings in New Mexico. Although the investigation was later dropped, it was seen to have damaged Richardson's career, as his second and final term as New Mexico governor concluded. Richardson occasionally troubleshoots diplomatic issues with North Korea.
Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena, California. His father, William Blaine Richardson, Jr. (1891-1972), who was of half Anglo-American and half Mexican descent, was an American Citibank executive who grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and lived and worked in Mexico City. His mother, María Luisa López-Collada Márquez (1914-2011), was the Mexican-born daughter of a Spanish father from Villaviciosa, Asturias and a Mexican mother, and had been his father's secretary. Richardson's father was born on a ship heading towards Nicaragua. Just before Bill Richardson was born, his father sent his mother to California to give birth because, as Richardson explained, "My father had a complex about not having been born in the United States." Richardson, a U.S. citizen by birthright, spent his childhood in Mexico City and was raised Roman Catholic. When Richardson was 13, his parents sent him to Massachusetts to attend a preparatory school, Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he played baseball as a pitcher. He entered Tufts University in 1966 where he continued to play baseball.
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