Mary Jo White (born December 27, 1947) is the 31st and current Chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She was the first woman to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, serving from 1993 to 2002. On January 24, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated White to replace Elisse B. Walter as Chairwoman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 8, 2013 and was sworn into office on April 10, 2013. White was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in McLean, Virginia. She received her B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 1970. She earned her M.A. in psychology in 1971 from The New School for Social Research[4] and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1974,[1] where she was a Writing & Research Editor of the Columbia Law Review. White became Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in December 1992, and in March 1993 was appointed by President Bill Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. She is noted for having overseen prosecutions of John Gotti and the terrorists responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, chief among them Ramzi Yousef. New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS correspondent Scott Pelley that the World Trade Center attack in 1993 "should have been a huge wake-up call for us (terrorism)." White, however, played down the attack as a criminal act.[5] After President Clinton's controversial last day presidential pardons, she was appointed by new Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate Marc Rich's pardon.[1] For the past 10 years, she has been chair of the litigation department at Debevoise & Plimpton.[6] In this regard, The Huffington Post noted, "If she is confirmed by Congress, the agency will have at its helm a well-respected attorney who won high-profile cases against mobsters, terrorists and financial fraudsters over the course of nearly a decade as the U.S. attorney for Manhattan."[7] It has been asserted summarily in Rolling Stone magazine that, among other duties at Debevoise, White has used her influence and connections to protect certain Wall Street CEOs from prosecution,[8] including a notable case involving the firing of Gary J. Aguirre for investigations into the CEO of Morgan Stanley executive John J. Mack. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jo_White Richard Cordray (born May 3, 1959) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician who currently serves as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.[1] Prior to his appointment in January 2012, Cordray served in various positions in the State of Ohio. A Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford from 1981 to 1983, Cordray was editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and subsequently served as a law clerk for Judge Robert Bork on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and after that, Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1987 he became an undefeated five-time Jeopardy! champion.[2] Cordray was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1990. After redistricting, Cordray decided to run for the United States House of Representatives in 1992 but was defeated. The following year he was appointed by the Ohio Attorney General as the first Solicitor General of Ohio. His experience as Solicitor led to his appearance before the United States Supreme Court to argue six cases, where he had previously clerked. Following Republican victories in Ohio statewide elections in 1994, Cordray left his appointed position and entered the private practice of law. He was elected Franklin County treasurer in 2002. While in private practice he unsuccessfully ran for Ohio Attorney General in 1998 and United States Senator in 2000. Cordray won re-election as Franklin County treasurer before being elected Ohio State Treasurer in 2006. Cordray was elected Ohio Attorney General in November 2008 to fill the remainder of the unexpired term ending January 2011. In 2010, Cordray lost his bid for re-election to former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine. On July 17, 2011, President Barack Obama announced he would nominate Cordray to lead the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. On January 4, 2012, the White House announced that it would make a recess appointment of Cordray to the post.[3][4][5] On July 16, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Cordray to a five-year term as Director in a 66--34 vote. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Cordray

• published: 01 Nov 2013
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