Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer
54th Governor of New York
In office
January 1, 2007 – March 17, 2008
Lieutenant
David Paterson
Preceded by
George Pataki
Succeeded by
David Paterson
63rd New York State Attorney General
In office
January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2006
Governor
George Pataki
Preceded by
Dennis Vacco
Succeeded by
Andrew Cuomo
Born
June 10, 1959 (1959-06-10)
The Bronx, New York
Nationality
American
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Silda Wall Spitzer
Children
3
Residence
Manhattan, New York
Alma mater
Princeton University
Harvard Law School
Profession
Attorney
Religion
Jewish[1][2]
Eliot Laurence Spitzer
(born June 10,
1959) is an American lawyer and former
politician of the Democratic Party. He served
as Governor of New York from January 2007
until his resignation on March 17, 2008 in
the wake of his involvement in a high-priced
prostitution ring. Prior to being elected gov-
ernor, Spitzer served as New York State At-
torney General.
Spitzer was born and raised in Riverdale,
in The Bronx borough of New York City, to
real estate tycoon Bernard Spitzer and Anne
Spitzer, an English literature professor.[3] He
attended Princeton University for his under-
graduate studies and Harvard University for
law school. It was there that he met his fu-
ture wife, Silda Wall. After earning his Juris
Doctor degree, Spitzer joined the law firm of
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Two years later, he joined the Manhattan
District Attorney’s office, headed by Robert
M. Morgenthau, to pursue organized crime.
He launched the investigation that brought
down the Gambino family’s control over Man-
hattan’s garment and trucking industries. In
1992, Spitzer left to work at the law firm of
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and,
later, Constantine and Partners.
In the 1998 election, Spitzer defeated in-
cumbent Republican Dennis Vacco by a slim
margin to become New York State Attorney
General. His campaign was financed by a
controversial multi-million dollar loan from
his father. As attorney general, Spitzer pro-
secuted cas