Former Mayor of New York: Who is Rudolph Giuliani?

Critics of Giuliani said he only used the cases he received to further his political career.

Rudolph William Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York, was born on May 28, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York. Born the only child of a strict Roman Catholic family, Giuliani grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. His grandfather was an Italian immigrant. He attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, though his family later moved to the Long Island suburb.

Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 1983 and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1983 to 1989.

He did his college education in Political Science and Philosophy at Manhattan University in the Bronx. He graduated from college in 1965 but still had no plans for his career and entered New York University Law School; He graduated in 1968.

He did his internship as a US Southern New York assistant attorney with New York Federal District Court Judge Lloyd F McMahon. Young and ambitious, Giuliani became the director of the Narcotics division and was promoted to authorized US attorney. In 1975 he moved to Washington, DC to work as Assistant Attorney General under Attorney General Harold R Tyler.

Giuliani, who was a Democrat at the time, changed his mind after seeing the party's left-wing leanings.

He signed up for Republicans like Tyler. With Jimmy Carter's victory in the 1976 presidential election, Tyler and popular Republicans like him were about to leave Washington. Giuliani returned to New York with his boss and became a partner at the Law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. After working in law for 4 years, he was appointed assistant attorney general in President Ronald Reagan's new administration in 1981.

Giuliani, who held three important positions in the Department of Justice, was the director of attorneys for the law enforcement office, the Bureau of Corrections, and the Drugs Department. Returning to Manhattan in 1983, Giuliani began working as the attorney general for the Southern District of New York. During his 6 years of work, he fought many battles on the prosecution of accused defendants (including drug dealers, members of organized crime, and abuse of power). Critics of Giuliani said he only used the cases he received to further his political career.

Regardless of its purpose or consequences, it reached an effective result with the reversal of 25 court decisions against 4152 convictions. The colorful figure of the New York political scene, Giuliani ran for mayor of New York in 1989. Democratic challenger David N Dinkins narrowly won the race, becoming the city's first African-American Mayor. Four years later, Giuliani ran for re-election and voiced New Yorkers' accusations of Dinkins' ineffectiveness, the rise of crime, and the homeless in the city. Giuliani defeated Dinkins by 2% to become New York's first Republican Mayor in 20 years.

Giuliani, in his opening speech, marked the path of his administration by saying "The period of fear has lasted more than enough". He began fighting crime with Chief Constable William Bratton, as he had done when he was Attorney General. By making police departments directly responsible to the Mayor for crime in their patrol areas, the Giuliani administration has made New York a much safer city.

From 1993 to 1998, the city's crime rate dropped 40%. The homicide rate, on the other hand, fell even more. The FBI has named New York the safest big city in America. In addition to crackdowns on crime, the Giuliani administration implemented the nation's largest unemployment program. In 1997, the number of unemployed in New York City fell to 780,000 (a reduction of 320,000), saving $700 million.

Alongside this undeniable success, Giuliani faced fierce criticism in the city and New York State. It's also true that the fall in the crime rate coincided with the end of the national recession and the revival of Wall Street. Both are factors that greatly affect New York's business and tourism intensity.

Critics of Giuliani; stated that they were successful against graffiti makers, beggars, and fast-driving taxi drivers, but failed in other important issues on their agenda (structuring the education system, strengthening the relationship between individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, and finding long-term and welfare-enhancing jobs for individuals).

Mayor Giuliani gained a reputation for self-righteousness and cruel criticism of those with whom he disagreed.

After the terrorist attack on the World Bank on September 11, Giuliani's authoritarian rule earned him admiration and respect in the international community and among New York City residents. Even though this popularity gave him the chance to be reelected for a third term, election laws prevented him from running again. Republican candidate and businessman Michael Bloomberg was inaugurated as the new Mayor of New York City on January 1, 2002, with his victory in November.

Giuliani was married to his first wife, Regina Perruggi, from 1968 to 1982. He then married Hanover in April 1984 and they had two children, Andrew and Caroline. After his divorce from his wife, he announced in October 2002 that he was engaged to his longtime partner Judith Nathan.