Jerry Brown

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr., born on April 7, 1938, in San Francisco, is a distinguished American lawyer, author, and politician. He is notably recognized for his two non-consecutive terms as the governor of California, serving from nineteen seventy-five to nineteen eighty-three and again from twenty eleven to twenty nineteen. A member of the Democratic Party, Brown's political journey began with his election as the secretary of state of California in nineteen seventy, followed by his tenure as mayor of Oakland from nineteen ninety-nine to two thousand seven and as attorney general of California from two thousand seven to two thousand eleven.

Brown's political legacy is marked by his unique distinction of being both the oldest and the sixth-youngest governor of California, a result of the twenty-eight-year gap between his second and third terms. Upon completing his fourth term, he became the fourth-longest-serving governor in U.S. history, with a remarkable total of sixteen years and five days in office. His early political career included serving on the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees from nineteen sixty-nine to nineteen seventy-one, and he was elected as the twenty-third secretary of state of California from nineteen seventy-one to nineteen seventy-five.

At the age of thirty-six, Brown made history by becoming the youngest governor of California in one hundred eleven years when he was first elected in nineteen seventy-four. He successfully won a second term in nineteen seventy-eight, although he faced challenges in his bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in nineteen seventy-six and nineteen eighty. In nineteen eighty-two, he opted not to seek a third gubernatorial term, instead running unsuccessfully for the United States Senate against future governor Pete Wilson.

After a period abroad, Brown returned to California and took on the role of the sixth Chairman of the California Democratic Party from nineteen eighty-nine to nineteen ninety-one. He made another attempt at the presidency in nineteen ninety-two but lost the Democratic primary to Bill Clinton. Brown later returned to public service as mayor of Oakland and attorney general before successfully running for governor again in twenty ten and twenty fourteen, leveraging California's constitutional grandfather clause. On October seventh, twenty thirteen, he achieved the milestone of becoming the longest-serving governor in California's history, surpassing Earl Warren.