Andrew Mark Cuomo (born 6 December 1957) was Governor of New York (D) from 1 January 2011 to 24 August 2021, succeeding David Paterson and preceding Kathy Hochul; he previously served as the US Secretary of Housing and Development from 29 January 1997 to 20 January 2001, succeeding Henry Cisneros and preceding Mel Martinez.
Biography[]
Andrew Cuomo was born in Queens, New York City, New York on 6 December 1957, the son of Mario Cuomo and the brother of Chris Cuomo. He graduated from Fordham University in 1979 and Albany Law School in 1982, and he served as his father's campaign manager during his 1982 gubernatorial campaign. From 1984 to 1985, Cuomo also served as an assistant district attorney in New York City. From 1990 to 1993, he chaired the New York Homeless Commission, and he was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on 29 January 1997 by President Bill Clinton, replacing the outgoing Henry Cisneros. In 2006, he was elected Attorney General of New York, and he was elected Governor in 2011. During his first term, New York legalized same-sex marriage and toughened gun control. He also cut spending without raising taxes, made a new deal with a large state-employee union, signed ethics reform legislation, passed a property tax cap, restructured New York's tax code, banned hydraulic fracking in New York state, and restored the voting rights of parolees. He garnered nationwide attention in 2020 for his exceptionally successful handling of the COVID-19 crisis in his state, as well as for his exemplary leadership (daily press briefings, implementing a lockdown to stem the spread of COVID, and paying attention to the science) during a time of crisis, which many voices in the media contrasted with Donald Trump's poor handling of the situation. However, starting in late 2020, several women (including state employees) began to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment and workplace toxicity, and, on 3 August 2021, Attorney General Letitia James presented an official report which concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women during his time in office. As a result, President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and many of Cuomo's other former allies called for him to resign, and, on 10 August 2021, he announced that he would be resigning in two weeks, leaving his Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul as Governor.