Mario Cuomo (15 June 1932-1 January 2015) was Governor of New York (D) from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1994, succeeding Hugh Carey and preceding George Pataki; he previously served as Lieutenant Governor from 1 January 1979 to 31 December 1982, succeeding Mary Anne Krupsak and preceding Alfred DelBello.
Biography[]
Mario Cuomo was born in Briarwood, Queens, New York City on 15 June 1932 to a family of Italian origin, and he graduated from St. John's University School of Law in 1956. Cuomo was a lawyer before serving as Secretary of State of New York from 1975 to 1978, succeeding John Ghezzi and preceding Basil Paterson. In 1979, he was elected Lieutenant Governor under Hugh Carey, and he succeeded Carey as Governor in 1983. Cuomo was known for his liberal views and public speeches, particularly his keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, where he criticized Ronald Reagan's policies. In 1988 and 1992, he was considered a front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President, but he declined to seek the nomination in both instances. In 1994, George Pataki defeated him for re-election during the "Republican Revolution", and he retired from politics; his son Andrew Cuomo would later become Governor. Cuomo died in 2015 at the age of 82.