Jerry Brown

Name at birth: Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr.

A longtime presence in California politics, Jerry Brown is also nationally known thanks to his presidential ambitions in 1976, 1980 and 1992. The son of former California attorney general and governor "Pat" Brown, Jerry was a Jesuit seminary student and lawyer before following his dad's path into government. He was California's secretary of state (1970-74), then succeeded Ronald Reagan as governor and served two terms (1975-83). A young bachelor with a quirky but media-friendly persona, Governor Brown made national news for his progressive politics, his presidential ambitions and his personal life. He lobbied for a communications satellite and got labelled "Governor Moonbeam"; he played the spoiler role in the Democratic presidential primaries of 1976 and 1980; he dated pop singer Linda Ronstadt and took her on a highly publicized trip to Africa. After his second term as governor he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. senate, travelled to Japan to study Zen Buddhism, worked in Mother Teresa's programs in India and hosted a California radio show. A maverick Democrat throughout most of his career, Brown was elected to the nonpartisan post of mayor of Oakland, California in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. He was elected as a Democrat to the post of state attorney general in 2006, his reputation as a far-left liberal somewhat tempered from his early years.