Bill Richardson: 1947—: Politician Biography - Gave Up Baseball For Political Science, Began Career In Politics, Won Congressional Seat, Had Long Career In Congress
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Bill Richardson was installed as the governor of New Mexico on January 12, 2003. His political career began 21 years earlier when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative of New Mexico's third district in 1982. After 14 years in Congress, Richardson served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and as the secretary of the Department of Energy. Known for his diplomatic skills, Richardson has worked for years as an unofficial ambassador for U.S. interests around the world.
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Richardson was born on November 15, 1947, in Pasadena, California. His mother, Maria Luisa Zubiran, a homemaker, was from an upper class family from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. His father, William, was an American citizen and a high-ranking executive with Citibank in Mexico City, where Richardson grew up with his younger sister Vesta. Richardson returned to the United States as a teenage…
After receiving his master's degree in international affairs in 1971, Richardson moved to Washington, D.C., and secured a position as a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. During 1972 Richardson married Barbara Flavin, an antiques restorer he had known since his teenage years. In 1973 he took a job as a staffer in the Congressional Affairs Office of the U.S. State Department…
During the 1980 campaign Richardson worked tirelessly and quickly became known for his campaigning energy. His goal was to not let a day pass without shaking at least 1,000 hands, and he briefly held a spot in the Guinness Book of Record for shaking 8,871 hands in a single day. Richardson spent more than $200,000 on his campaign—much more than Lujan. Nonetheless, Lujan held on to win the el…
As a member of Congress, Richardson served on numerous committees. In 1983 he was appointed to a coveted seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he worked as a strong proponent of increased natural gas use and had a significant role in 1990 of strengthening the environmental regulations outlined in the Clean Air Act. Other committee assignments included the Resource Committee on Nat…
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Richardson traveled around the world on international fact-finding missions, and he soon earned a reputation for his abilities as an unofficial emissary for U.S. interests in unfriendly territories. In 1994 he traveled to Burma to work for the release of the Burmese opposition leader, Nobel-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been under house arr…
In 1992 Richardson was under consideration for the Interior Secretary's position, but the job went to Bruce Babbitt after environmental groups voiced fears that Richardson would be too sympathetic to ranching interests. Four years later Clinton appointed Richardson as the new U.S. ambassador to the UN, replacing Madeleine Albright. Later, Richardson became embroiled in Clinton's Moni…
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