Hon. George Deukmejian

George Deukmejian was born and raised in New York, attended the local college and was nicknamed "Duke" by his fellow students. He earned his law degree at St. John's University in NYC 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 the California State Legislature for 16 years as a state assemblyman and a state senator. As a legislator, he sponsored the "Use a gun, go to jail" law. Deukmejian then became attorney general before serving as governor of California for two terms from January 1983 through January 1992. During Deukmejian’s governorship, nearly three million new jobs were created and California became one of the world’s ten largest economies. After he left the governor’s office, Deukmejian devoted his time to numerous philanthropic and charitable causes.