Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown | Index | Pete Wilson

George Deukmejian

35th Governor, Republican
(1983-1991)

- Portait of Governor
- Short Biography
- Administration
- Personal information
- This Time in California

 

Biography*
Born and raised in New York, George Deukmejian attended the local college and was nick-named "Duke" by his fellow students. He went on to earn his law degree at St. John's University and practiced law in New York before serving with the U.S. Army in Paris. Returning to the U.S., Deukmejian established a law practice in Southern California, and eventually served as State Assemblyman, State Senator, and Attorney General prior to assuming the office of Governor. As a legislator, he sponsored the "Use a gun, go to jail" law. Asked why he ran for the office of Governor, Deukmejian replied, "Attorneys General don't appoint judges - Governors do." During his eight- year term, Deukmejian appointed 1,000 judges, and by the time he left office, he had appointed the majority of California State Supreme Court Justices then serving on the bench.

Administration under Governor George Deukmejian

- Inaugural Address - January 3, 1983
- Inaugural Address - January 5, 1987

The Life of Governor George Deukmejian

Born
June 6, 1928
New York, New York

Family
First Lady: Gloria M. Saatjian
Children: 2 daughters, 1 son

This Time in California, The Nation, The World
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
Calif   Macintosh computer introduced

Twenty-first Olympic Games in Los Angeles

 

    California's total merchandise export reaches $28 billion

 

    State population - 29,760,021

 

 
U.S.A                  
World       Chernobyl reactor & Space Shuttle Challenger disasters

 

World stock market crash

 

      Operation Desert Storm

 


* All Biographies excerpted fromThe Governors of California and their Portraits (see credits)
Governors of California is a service from the California State Library to the People of California