Cruz
Family name
The Christian Cross
Pronunciation	krooth (Spain), krush (Portugal)
Meaning	Cross
Region of origin	Spain, Portugal
Language(s) of origin	Spanish, Portuguese.
Related names	"Vera Cruz", "Santa Cruz"

Cruz is a surname of Iberian origin, first found in Castile (historical region), Spain. It means “cross,” either the figure or a cross of lines or ways in Spanish and Portuguese. In The Philippines the word is rendered to “krus”, but the Spanish form is used for surnames. The word "Cruz", as well as "Vera Cruz" ("True Cross") and "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross") are used as surnames and topological names.

Cruz refers to:

Persons[link]

• Adolfo Cruz (contemporary), Argentine Formula One race car driver
• Alex Cruz (disambiguation), multiple people
• Alexis Cruz (1974–), Puerto Rican-American actor
• Angel Cruz, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 180th District
• Annie Cruz, Filipina-American pornographic actress
• Arturo Cruz, Nicaraguan rebel leader
• Áurea Cruz (born 1982), Puerto Rican volleyball player
• Tony Sunshine (Antonio Cruz), Puerto Rican R&B singer
• Beatriz Cruz (born 1980), Puerto Rican track and field athlete
• Bobby Cruz (born 1937), Puerto Rican salsa singer and religious minister
• Brandon Cruz (born 1962), American actor and musician
• Cruz Evans A Young man chasing his dreams
• Carlos Cruz (disambiguation), multiple people
• Catalina Cruz, Slovenian-American pornographic actress
• Celia Cruz (1924–2003), Cuban salsa singer
• Claudia Cruz (contemporary), Dominican Miss World contestant 2004
• Dominick Cruz (born 1985), American professional mixed martial artist
• Donna Cruz, Filipina actress and singer
• Edvandro Cruz (born 1978), Brazilian mountaine biker
• Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Mexican actor
• Eva Cruz (born 1974), Puerto Rican volleyball player
• Flavio Cruz (born 1982), Portuguese volleyball player
• Gaspar da Cruz (ca. 1520–1570), Portuguese Dominican friar, author of the first European book on China
• Gemma Cruz, Filipino who crowned as Miss International
• Geneva Cruz, Filipino actress and singer
• Gerdalyn Cruz, Filipino-Canadian athlete and olympic gold medal winner
• Iohana Cruz (born 1980), Cuban diver
• Jacqueline Cruz Silva (1962–), Brazilian beach volleyball player
• Joaquim Cruz (born 1963), Brazilian athlete and Olympic gold medal winner
• John Lloyd Cruz, Filipino actor
• José Cruz also known as Cheo Cruz (1947–), Puerto Rican baseball player
• José Cruz, Jr. (born 1974), Puerto Rican baseball player
• Juan Cruz (born 1978), Dominican baseball player
• Juan-Carlos Cruz (contemporary), celebrity chef
• Julio Cruz Argentina football striker
• Leo Cruz (1957–), Dominican boxing champion
• Luis Cruz (born 1984), American baseball shortstop
• Monica Cruz (born 1977), Spanish dancer and actress; sister of Penélope Cruz
• Nelson Cruz (outfielder), baseball outfielder from Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic
• Nelson Cruz (pitcher), baseball pitcher from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• Nelson Cruz (athlete), long-distance runner from Cape Verde
• Nicky Cruz (born 1938), Puerto Rican-American ex-gang leader and religious minister
• Nilo Cruz (born 1962), Cuban-American playwright and Pulitzer prize winner
• Oswaldo Cruz (1872–1917), Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist
• Penélope Cruz (1974–), Spanish actress
• Rayver Cruz (1989–), Filipino Actor/Dancer
• Rolando Cruz (1939–), Puerto Rican pole vaulter
• Roque Santa Cruz (1981–), Paraguayan football player
• Simon Cruz, A Swedish singer of the glam metal band Crashdïet
• Sheryl Cruz (contemporary), Filipino actress
• Sunshine Cruz, Filipino actress
• Taio Cruz (1983–), British singer
• Tomás Cruz (1971–), Puerto Rican, Telecom Analyst for Avaya Government Solutions
• Tirso Cruz III, Filipino actor
• Wilson Cruz (1973–), Puerto Rican-American actor
• Cruz Bustamante (1953–), American politician
• Victor Cruz (American football) (born 1986), wide receiver
• Vincent Cruz, Karate instructor and author
• Wendy Cruz (1976–), Dominican Republic cyclist

Fictional characters[link]

• Soma Cruz in the video game Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
• Cruz, fighter in Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam: Fight for NY
• Maritza Cruz, police sergeant in the television drama Third Watch
• Tomari Kurusu, character in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl anime and manga; her last name is derived from Cruz
• Ramiro "Ram" Cruz, the main protagonist of the games Total Overdose and Chili Con Carnage

See also[link]

• Cruz (disambiguation), other meanings
• De la Cruz surname page
• Santa Cruz (disambiguation)
• Veracruz (disambiguation)
• Cruze (disambiguation)
• Cruse (disambiguation)
• Cruise (disambiguation)

This page or section lists people with the surname Cruz. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Ted Cruz
Texas Solicitor General
In office 2003 – May 2008
Preceded by	Julie Parsley
Succeeded by	James C. Ho
Personal details
Born	(1970-12-22) December 22, 1970 (age 41) Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Heidi Suzanne Cruz
Children	Caroline Camille Catherine Christiane
Residence	Houston, Texas
Alma mater	Princeton University Harvard Law School
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist[2]
Website	tedcruz.org

Rafael Edward Cruz, known as Ted Cruz (born December 22, 1970), is the former Solicitor General of the U.S. state of Texas, a position which he held from 2003 to May 2008. Cruz was appointed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in the United States, and had the longest tenure in the post thus far in Texas history. He is currently a partner at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he leads the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.^[3]

Cruz is a candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.^[4]

Cruz previously served as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as Domestic Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign. In addition, from 2004-2009 Cruz was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Early life and education[link]

Cruz was born to a Cuban-American father and an American mother in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where his parents were working in the petroleum business.^[1] His father was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba until he escaped to freedom in Texas in 1957.^[5]

Cruz attended high school at Faith West Academy in Katy, Texas,^[6] and then graduated from Second Baptist High School in Houston.

Cruz earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's Debate Panel as one of North America's top-ranked parliamentary debaters, winning the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship.^[7] In 1992, he was named Speaker of the Year and Team of the Year (with his debate partner, David Panton) by the American Parliamentary Debate Association.^[7] Cruz was also a semi-finalist at the 1995 World Universities Debating Championship.^[8]

Cruz graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, an executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review.^[9]

Legal career[link]

Cruz also served as a law clerk to William Rehnquist, then-Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.^[10] Cruz was the first Hispanic ever to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States.^[11]

Cruz has authored more than eighty briefs before the United States Supreme Court and presented forty-three oral arguments, including nine before the United States Supreme Court.

In the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, Cruz assembled a coalition of thirty-one states in defense of the principle that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.^[12] Cruz also presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to Heller before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In addition to his victory in Heller, Cruz has successfully defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools and the 2003 Texas redistricting plan.^[13]

Cruz also successfully defended, in Medellin v. Texas, the State of Texas against an attempt by the International Court of Justice to re-open the criminal convictions of 51 murderers on death row throughout the United States.^[14]

2012 U.S. Senate election[link]

Cruz speaking to values voters in October 2011.

On January 19, 2011, following an announcement that U.S. Senator Hutchison would not seek reelection, Cruz announced via blogger conference call his candidacy for the position.^[4]

Cruz has been endorsed by David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders,^[15] the Club for Growth, a conservative political action committee,^[16] Erick Erickson, editor of prominent conservative blog RedState,^[17] the FreedomWorks for America super PAC,^[18] Princeton University professor Robert P. George,^[19] nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin,^[20] Former Attorney General Edwin Meese,^[21] Tea Party Express,^[22] Young Conservatives of Texas,^[23] U.S. Senators Jim DeMint,^[24] Mike Lee,^[25] Rand Paul,^[26] and Pat Toomey.^[27] He has also been endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Texas Congressman Ron Paul,^[28] as well as former United States Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum.^[29] Cruz faces opposition from sitting Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the Republican senatorial primary.

Personal life[link]

Cruz was born and spent the first four years of his life in Calgary before his parents returned to Houston. His father was jailed and tortured by the Batista regime and fought for Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution ^[30] but "didn't know Castro was a Communist" and later became a staunch critic of Castro when "the rebel leader took control and began seizing private property and suppressing dissent".^[31] He moved to Austin, Texas, in 1957 to study at the University of Texas. He spoke no English and had $100 sewn into his underwear.^[32] The elder Cruz worked his way through school as a dishwasher making 50 cents an hour. Cruz’s mother, who was from Houston, was the first person in her family ever to go to college. She earned a math degree at Rice University in the 1950s, working summers at Foley’s and Shell. "I'm Cuban, Irish, and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist."^[2]

Cruz and his wife, Heidi Suzanne Cruz, have two daughters, Caroline Camille and Catherine Christiane.

Honors and awards[link]

• "America's Leading Lawyers for Business," Chambers USA (2009 & 2010)
• "50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America," National Law Journal (2008)
• "25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century," Texas Lawyer (2010)
• "20 Young Hispanic Americans on the Rise," Newsweek Magazine (1999)
• Traphagen Distinguished Alumnus, Harvard Law School
• Primary Editor, Harvard Law Review
• Executive Editor, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
• Founding Editor, Harvard Latino Law Review
• John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, Harvard Law School

See also[link]

	Law portal
	Texas portal

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ted Cruz

• Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate campaign website
• "Cruz Control: A Republican star rises in Texas," National Review, Mark Hemingway, May 4, 2009
• Ted Cruz’s Morgan Lewis law firm bio
• "Ted Cruz, hatching a site, expects Abbott to run for a different office," Austin American-Statesman, W. Gardner Selby, March 4, 2009
• "Justices listen to a key voice," The National Law Journal (cover story), Marcia Coyle, April 7, 2008
• Announcement of Ted Cruz's departure as Solicitor General
• "In state politics, his star is rising," Austin American-Statesman (front page story), Mark Lisheron, January 15, 2006
• Debating the Supreme Court's Heller decision with the DC Attorney General on News Hour with Jim Lehrer (video)
• "A Day in the life of... Ted Cruz," Texas Bar Journal, Kim Davey, Vol. 69, No. 7

Taio Cruz
Background information
Birth name	Jacob Taio Cruz
Born	(1983-04-23) 23 April 1983 (age 29) London, England, UK
Genres	Pop, dance
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper, entrepreneur
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Rokstarr Entertainment Division, Island, Republic, Mercury (U.S.)
Associated acts	Kesha, Kylie Minogue, Ludacris, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole, McFly, Travie McCoy, Flo Rida
Website	TaioCruzMusic.co.uk

Jacob Taio Cruz (born 23 April 1983) known professionally as Taio Cruz^[1] (Portuguese: [ˈtaj.ju ˈkɾujʃ]) is an English singer-songwriter, record producer, occasional rapper, and entrepreneur.^[2] In 2008, he released his debut album Departure, which Cruz wrote, arranged and produced himself. It achieved initial success in the United Kingdom and earned him a MOBO Award nomination. In June 2010, Cruz released his follow-up album Rokstarr, which includes the number one singles "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite". Cruz has collaborated with Kesha and Fabolous on the single "Dirty Picture", as well as Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy on his single "Higher". Additionally, Cruz penned and recorded the song "Telling the World" as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2011 animated film Rio.

Biography[link]

Early life and career beginnings[link]

Cruz was born in London, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother called Beatriz Vitoria Olivera Bennati^[2], from Rio de Janeiro.^[3] He attended Bilton Grange, a private prep school in Rugby, Warwickshire.^[4]

Cruz began writing songs when he was 12. His songwriting career began at age 19 as part of Tricky Stewart's writing collective, RedZone Entertainment.^[5] Cruz achieved notability in 2005 when he was awarded a BRIT Award for co-writing Will Young's 2004 single, "Your Game".^[6] Cruz is the founder and chief executive of Rokstarr Music London, which in 2006 released his debut single "I Just Wanna Know". The single attracted significant attention from radio, and also from music industry insiders, who were already well aware of the artist's potential; manager Jamie Binns, who began representing Cruz at this time, later told HitQuarters: "He was a guy that everyone had earmarked to do damage in the future."^[7] Although the single received a reasonable amount of radio airplay, it did not perform as well as expected in either territory.^[7] However, rather than lose faith in Cruz, the labels were eager to negotiate an album deal, as by this time they had listened to his other songs and were ever more convinced by his capability.^[7]

Cruz's admirers included Island Records's Darcus Beese and \sex Monte Lipman, who, according to Binns, "both believed 'I Just Wanna Know' fitted the format on both sides of the Atlantic."^[7] In 2006, Cruz signed a split single deal with Universal Music Group companies, Republic Records and the UK branch of Island Records.

[edit] 2006–2008: Departure

Taio Cruz released his second single "Moving On" in September 2007 haö

which made the top 30 in the UK. In March 2008 his next single, "Come On Girl," featuring Luciana, peaked at No. 5 on the UK charts. The related album Departure appeared on 17 March and peaked at No. 17.[8][9] This was followed by the single "I Can Be," which reached No. 18 in May. On 18 August, "She's Like a Star" was released, which was a remix of the previous single and featured American rapper Busta Rhymes and girl-group Sugababes. The remix later appeared on the Sugababes studio album Catfights & Spotlights, which peaked at No. 20. It was later revealed that Cruz narrowly missed out on the chance to record the song "Umbrella" which was eventually recorded by Rihanna and ended up topping charts around the world.[5]

[edit] 2009–2011: Rokstarr, international breakthrough and The Rokstarr Collection

Cruz was featured on Tinchy Stryder's breakout single "Take Me Back" which peaked at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart. According to Cruz's official Myspace blog, as of 1 January 2009, Rokstarr Music London officially changed its name to Rokstarr Entertainment Division and abbreviated to R.E.D Inc.^{[citation needed]} During 2009, he worked on his follow-up album entitled Rokstarr.^[10] It was released on 12 October through R.E.D Inc/Island Records and is entirely written and produced by Cruz, with co-writes and co-productions predominantly with UK producer Fraser T. Smith. The album's lead single "Break Your Heart" was released on 14 September and reached number one in the UK, where it stayed for three weeks.^[8] The success of the song attracted the attention of David Massey and Daniel Werner from Mercury/Island Def Jam who were excited and aggressive about releasing "Break Your Heart" in the US on their label.^[7] According to Cruz's manager Jamie Binns, the relationship with Monte Lipman at Universal Republic had "gone a bit quiet" by this point and as Taio wanted to be with the label that was most enthusiastic about his music, a move from Universal Republic to Mercury/Island Def Jam was engineered.^[7]

The single reached the top spot in the U.S. for one week on the Billboard charts.^[11] In an interview with The Guardian, it was stated that "Cruz was clever to have hooked up with a US rapper Ludacris on his breakthrough hit".^[12] In order to introduce Cruz into the US market, David Massey had suggested that the single feature an American rapper with chart credibility.^[7] The album spawned two other UK singles, "No Other One", and the top-ten hit "Dirty Picture" featuring American electropop singer Kesha. The album's fourth single (second in the US) titled "Dynamite" debuted at 26 ^[11] and despite peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Dynamite" peaked at number 1 on U.S. top 40 earning Cruz his second US number 1 record.

Rokstarr was followed by the compilation album The Rokstarr Collection which includes songs both from Departure and the international version of Rokstarr.^[13] Cruz later released four versions of his single "Higher" - one featuring Kylie Minogue, one featuring Travie McCoy, one featuring both, and one with just himself. Cruz has also been featured on the soundtrack of American reality TV series Jersey Shore.^[14]

[edit] 2011-present: TY.O

In March 2011, Cruz premiered an all-new song, entitled "Telling the World", which was written by Cruz and Alan Kasiyre for the Rio soundtrack. The track was not featured on any of Cruz's prior studio albums.^[15] On 23 May 2011, Cruz received his first billboard award in the United States, and announced live on stage that his third album would be released in the fourth quarter of 2011, and would be entitled Black and Leather.^[16] In June 2011, Cruz released a collaborative single, "Little Bad Girl", with French DJ David Guetta and American rapper Ludacris. The song was a worldwide smash, topping singles charts across the world.^[17] During July and August 2011, a series of unreleased songs, recorded during the album sessions, were leaked to YouTube. in an interview, Cruz promised a "fun" and "energetic" album, and claimed that due to the leak, none of the tracks posted on YouTube would be included on the album. Cruz claimed, "It's a shame really, because one person has spoilt it for all the fans. They could have had an album packed with 17, 18 tracks, and now, they're only getting eleven because of one stupid act of tomfooolery."^[18] During the interview, Cruz also claimed that the title of the album had been changed, and the album was now entitled Troublemaker, after one of the tracks included on the album. On 4 October 2011, the single "Hangover" was officially released in Germany and the United States, and it was rumoured that a solo version of the song, that features on the physical release, would be included as a bonus track on the album. However, these rumours were later quashed.^[19]. Around October 2011, the album was made available for pre-order, and as such, the album's final title, TY.O, was revealed. Cruz, via his Twitter account, made the decision to name the album TY.O after he expressed his annoyance at people constantly pronouncing his name wrong. The album was first released in Germany on December 2, 2011. It will be released in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2012. It was going to release in the US on May 17, 2012, but, now it has yet to be released.

Writing and production[link]

Cruz has written songs on albums by Cheryl Cole, JLS, The Saturdays, The Wanted and David Guetta. Cruz wrote and featured on Tinchy Stryder's hit single "Take Me Back". Pop rock band McFly recorded "Shine a Light" which not only features, but was also penned and produced by Cruz for their fifth studio album.^[20] 2011 will see him writing for Justin Bieber's next album.^[21] Jennifer Lopez's 2011 single "I'm Into You", featuring Lil Wayne, is also penned by Cruz. He also contributed significantly to David Guetta's fifth album Nothing but the Beat, penning two of his hit singles "Without You", featuring Usher and "Little Bad Girl", featuring Cruz himself and Ludacris.

Other ventures[link]

Rokstarr brand[link]

On 1 September 2009, Cruz launched the brand Rokstarr; the fashion and accessories brand has a focus on sunglasses. Musicians & Artists such as Kanye West, Shontelle, Keri Hilson, Steves Peeps and Kelly Rowland have been seen wearing them. Speaking in October to R&B writer Pete Lewis, Cruz stated: "There's a load of US celebrities that are all rocking the sunglasses already – Kid Cudi, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West... Then in the UK we have The Saturdays, JLS, Daniel Merriweather – who've all been twittering and writing on their blogs how much they love them. So yeah, it's definitely my new album 'Rokstarr' and the fashion brand that are my two main focuses at the moment."^[22]

Meanwhile, speaking again to Lewis in April 2010, Cruz revealed: "We're currently looking to expand the brand and possibly go into things like watches. I've also got a new subsidiary of Rokstarr called 'Rok By Rokstarr'. And we've just started doing things like jeans and T-shirts, and stuff that more of the fans of Taio Cruz can buy. Because with Rokstarr in itself being so expensive, a lot of the kids out there who want to buy Rokstarr things can't. So we're bringing in stuff that's a little bit more High Street and more affordable."^[23]

Discography[link]

• Departure (2008)
• Rokstarr (2009)
• TY.O (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Taio Cruz at the Internet Movie Database
• [1]
• Taio Cruz on justRHYMES.com
• Taio Cruz 'Blues & Soul' interview by Pete Lewis February 2008
• Taio Cruz at Billboard.com

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator from California
Incumbent
Assumed office November 10, 1992 Serving with Barbara Boxer
Preceded by	John F. Seymour
Chairwoman of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 2009
Preceded by	Jay Rockefeller
Chairwoman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Joe Biden
Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
In office January 4, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Trent Lott
Succeeded by	Chuck Schumer
38th Mayor of San Francisco
In office December 4, 1978 – January 8, 1988
Preceded by	George Moscone
Succeeded by	Art Agnos
Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
In office 1970–1978
Personal details
Born	Dianne Emiel Goldman (1933-06-22) June 22, 1933 (age 79) San Francisco, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Judge Jack Berman (div.) Bertram Feinstein (deceased) Richard C. Blum (1980 - )
Children	Katherine Feinstein Mariano
Residence	San Francisco, California
Alma mater	Stanford University (B.A.)
Occupation	United States Senator
Religion	Judaism
Website	www.feinstein.senate.gov

Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( /ˈfaɪnstaɪn/; born June 22, 1933) is the senior United States Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

Born in San Francisco, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University. In the 1960s she worked in city government, and in 1970 she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served as the board's first female president in 1978, during which time the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk drew national attention to the city. Feinstein, who was the first to discover the shootings, succeeded Moscone as mayor. During her tenure as San Francisco's first female mayor she took a politically moderate stance, leading a revamp of the city's cable car system and overseeing the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

After a failed gubernatorial campaign in 1990, she won a 1992 special election to the U.S. Senate. Feinstein was first elected on the same ballot as her peer Barbara Boxer, and the two became California's first female U.S. Senators. Feinstein formerly chaired the Senate Rules Committee (2007–2009) and has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. She is also the first woman to have presided over a U.S. presidential inauguration.^[1][2]

She is currently twenty-second in seniority in the United States Senate.

Early life[link]

Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman^[3] in San Francisco to Betty (née Rosenburg), a former model, and Leon Goldman, a nationally renowned surgeon. Feinstein's paternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Poland, while her maternal grandparents, who were of the Russian Orthodox faith, left St. Petersburg, Russia, after the 1917 Russian Revolution.^[4] Her mother's surname, "Rosenburg", originates from German ancestry.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Feinstein graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School (California) in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a B.A. in History.

In 1956, she married Jack Berman (died 2002), a colleague in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. Feinstein and Berman divorced three years later. Their daughter, Katherine Feinstein Mariano (b. 1957), is Presiding Judge of the San Francisco Superior Court.^[6]

In 1962, shortly after beginning her career in politics, Feinstein married neurosurgeon Bertram Feinstein; her second husband died of colon cancer in 1978.

In 1980, Feinstein married Richard C. Blum, an investment banker. In 2003, Feinstein was ranked the fifth-wealthiest senator, with an estimated net worth of $26 million.^[7] By 2005 her net worth had increased to between $43 million and $99 million.^[8] Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement^[9] – characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phone book" – draws clear lines between her assets and those of her husband, with many of her assets in blind trusts.^[10]

Early political career[link]

In 1961, Feinstein worked to end housing discrimination in San Francisco.^[11] Prior to elected service, she was appointed by then-California Governor Pat Brown to serve as a member of the California Women's Parole Board. Feinstein also served as a fellow at the Coro Foundation in San Francisco.

President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors[link]

In 1969, Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She remained on the Board for nine years.

During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of San Francisco twice, in 1971 against mayor Joseph Alioto, and in 1975, when she lost the contest for a runoff slot (against George Moscone) by one percentage point, to supervisor John Barbagelata.

She was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 with initial opposition from Quentin Kopp.

On November 27, 1978, San Francisco mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by a rival politician, Dan White, who had resigned from the Board of Supervisors only two weeks prior. Feinstein was close by in City Hall at the time of the shootings, and discovered Milk's body after hearing the gunshots and going to investigate. Later that day at a press conference originally organized by Moscone to announce White's successor, Feinstein announced the assassinations to the stunned public, stating: "As president of the board of supervisors, it's my duty to make this announcement. Both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed."^[12]

Feinstein appears in archival footage and is credited in the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk (1984). She appears again briefly in archival footage, announcing the death of Moscone and Milk in the 2008 film Milk. Feinstein and her position as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are also alluded to several times in the movie, and a portrayal of her character has a few off-screen lines.

As president of the Board of Supervisors upon the death of Mayor Moscone, Feinstein succeeded to the mayoralty on December 4, 1978.

Mayor of San Francisco[link]

As mayor of San Francisco, 1978-1988

Feinstein served out the remainder of Moscone's term. She made no staffing changes to his team until she was elected in her own right in 1979. She was re-elected in 1983 and served a full second term.

One of the first challenges to face Feinstein as mayor was the state of the San Francisco cable car system. In late 1979, the system had to be shut down for emergency repairs, and an engineering evaluation concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. Feinstein took charge of the effort, and helped win federal funding for the bulk of the rebuilding job. The system closed for rebuilding in 1982 and reopened in 1984 in time for the Democratic National Convention that was held in the city that year.^[13] Feinstein also oversaw planning policies to increase the number of high rise buildings in San Francisco.^[14]

Perhaps because of her statewide ambitions, Feinstein was seen as a relatively moderate Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities. As a supervisor, she was considered part of the centrist bloc that included Dan White and was generally opposed to Moscone. As mayor, Feinstein angered the city's large gay community by refusing to march in a gay rights parade and by vetoing domestic partner legislation in 1983. In the 1980 presidential election, while a majority of Bay Area Democrats continued to support Senator Ted Kennedy's primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter even after it was clear Kennedy could not win, Feinstein was a strong supporter of the Carter-Mondale ticket. She was given a high profile speaking role on the opening night of the August Democratic National Convention, urging delegates to reject the Kennedy delegates' proposal to "open" the convention, thereby allowing delegates to ignore their states' popular vote, a proposal that was soundly defeated.

In the run up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. However, he chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. Also in 1984, Feinstein proposed banning handguns in San Francisco, and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. She won the recall election and finished her second term as mayor on January 8, 1988.

In 1985, at a press conference, Feinstein revealed details about the hunt for serial killer Richard Ramírez, and in so doing angered detectives by giving away details of his crimes.^[15]

In 1987, City and State magazine named Feinstein the nation's "Most Effective Mayor." Feinstein served on the Trilateral Commission during the 1980s while mayor of San Francisco.

Governor's election[link]

In 1990, Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of California. Although she won the Democratic Party's nomination for the office, she then lost in the general election to Republican Senator Pete Wilson, who vacated his seat in the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992, she was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures associated with that campaign.^[16]

U.S. Senate career[link]

Elections[link]

Official senate photo from 2003

Feinstein in 2010, as she hosted an event in which 5 members of the U.S. Senate attended Feinstein's home

On November 3, 1992, Feinstein won a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated a year earlier when Senator Pete Wilson resigned to become governor. The election was held at the same time as the general election for U.S. President and other offices. Barbara Boxer was elected at the same time for the Senate seat to be vacated by Alan Cranston. Because Feinstein was elected to an unexpired term, she became a senator as soon as the election was certified in November while Boxer would not take office until the expiration of Cranston's term in January; thus Feinstein became California's senior senator, even though she was elected at the same time as Barbara Boxer. Feinstein was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006.

In April 2011, Feinstein said she planned to run for reelection in 2012.^[17]

Approval ratings[link]

Committees[link]

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Chairwoman)
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security
• Committee on Rules and Administration
• Select Committee on Intelligence (Chairwoman)

Political positions and votes[link]

Feinstein voted for the extension of the PATRIOT ACT and the FISA provisions.^{[citation needed]}

Feinstein co-sponsored (along with Tom Coburn, an Oklahoman Republican) an amendment through the Senate to the 'Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011' that eliminated the 'Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit'. The Senate passed the amendment on June 16, 2011. Introduced in 2004, the subsidy provided a 45c per gallon credit on pure ethanol and a 54c per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. These subsidies had resulted in an annual expenditure of $6 billion, the removal of which will help to quash the escalating US debt crisis.^[18][19]

On May 12, 2011, Feinstein co-sponsored PIPA.^[20] In January 2012, Feinstein met with representatives of technology companies, including Google and Facebook. According to a spokesperson, Feinstein "is doing all she can to ensure that the bill is balanced and protects the intellectual property concerns of the content community without unfairly burdening legitimate businesses such as Internet search engines."^[21]

2008 presidential politics[link]

The line for unclaimed tickets to the inauguration outside Feinstein's office

As a superdelegate, Feinstein had declared that she would support Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, once Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee for the party, she fully backed his candidacy. Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C. home to both Clinton and Obama to have a private one-on-one meeting.^{[dead link][22]} Feinstein did not attend the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver because she fell and broke her ankle.^[23]

She chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration.^[24]

2010 Gubernatorial election[link]

Feinstein had been reported as considering a run for Governor of California in 2010 to replace term limited Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger. A private poll in July 2008 showed Feinstein far outpacing former governor Jerry Brown, 50 percent to 24 percent, with Congressman John Garamendi at 10 percent.^[25] A February 2009 poll showed that 36 percent of Democrats sampled in the poll said they would support Feinstein if she ran for governor. Brown earned 14 percent, followed by Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa, at 9 percent and 22 percent undecided.^[26] By October, although undeclared, in a poll by Field Research she led the Democratic field with 52 percent of all voters and 68 percent of Democratic voters.^[27] After months of speculation, Feinstein announced in February 2010 that she would not be running for governor.^[28] Feinstein became campaign chair for Barbara Boxer in the United States Senate election which resulted in Boxer's reelection.^[29][30]

Awards and honors[link]

Feinstein was presented with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service by the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001 in Los Angeles, California.

Offices held[link]

Electoral history[link]