Bio of Dick Thornburgh: Former Governor of Pennsylvania and Attorney General of the United States of America

Dick Thornburgh served as Governor of Pennsylvania, Attorney General of the United States under two presidents and the highest-ranking American at the United Nations during a public career, which spanned over 25 years. He is currently counsel to the national law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP, in its Washington, D.C. office.

Elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1978 and re-elected in 1982, Thornburgh was the first Republican ever to serve two successive terms in that office. He served as Chair of the Republican Governors Association and was named by his fellow governors as one of the nation's most effective big-state governors in a 1986 Newsweek poll.

During his service as Governor, Thornburgh balanced state budgets for eight consecutive years, reduced both personal and business tax rates, cut the state's record-high indebtedness and left a surplus of $350 million. Under his leadership, 15,000 unnecessary positions were eliminated from a swollen state bureaucracy. Widely recognized economic development, education and welfare reform programs were implemented. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate, among the ten highest in the nation when he was elected, was among the ten lowest when he left office. Thornburgh was instrumental in the establishment of the Ben Franklin program, which since its founding in 1983, has supported the development of over 1,500 high technology companies in the state.

After his unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate, Thornburgh served three years as Attorney General of the United States (1988-1991) in the cabinets of Presidents Reagan and Bush. He mounted an unprecedented attack on white-collar crime as the Department of Justice obtained a record number of convictions of savings and loan and securities officials, defense contractors and corrupt public officials. Thornburgh established strong ties with law enforcement agencies around the world to help combat drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism and international white-collar crime. The Legal Times noted that Thornburgh as Attorney General "built a reputation as one of the most effective champions that prosecutors have ever had” He is one of only twenty persons, including seven Presidents, to be named as an honorary Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As Attorney General, Thornburgh played a leading role in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a parent of a son with mental retardation, he and his wife Ginny have taken a special interest in the needs of persons with disabilities.

He also took vigorous action against racial, religious and ethnic "hate crimes," and his office mounted a renewed effort to enforce the nation's anti-trust and environmental laws. During his tenure as Attorney General, Thornburgh twice personally argued and won cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Thornburgh served in the Justice Department under five Presidents, beginning as United States Attorney in Pittsburgh (1969-1975) and Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division (1975-1977), emphasizing efforts against major drug traffickers, organized crime and corrupt public officials.

During his service as Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations (1992-1993), Thornburgh was in charge of personnel, budget and finance matters. His report to the Secretary-General on reform, restructuring and streamlining efforts designed to make the United Nations peacekeeping, humanitarian and development programs more efficient and cost-effective was widely praised. He also has served as a consultant to the United Nations and the World Bank on efforts to battle fraud and corruption.

Thornburgh has traveled widely, visiting over 40 countries and meeting with leaders from Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Australia and Central and South America. He served as an observer to Russia's legislative (1993) and presidential (1996) elections and is Chairman of the U.S. Committee for Hong Kong.

Thornburgh was educated at Yale University, where he obtained a degree in civil engineering, and at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law where he served as an editor of the Law Review. He has been awarded honorary degrees by 30 other colleges and universities. Thornburgh served as Director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government (1987-1988) and was a visiting lecturer at the George Washington University Law School (1995). He has lectured on over 100 other campuses, including Moscow State University.

Thornburgh is a member of the board of directors of Elan Corporation, plc, an international pharmaceutical firm headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and serves on the boards of the University of Pittsburgh, The Urban Institute, the National Museum of Industrial History and the DeWitt Wallace Fund for Colonial Williamsburg. He is Chairman of the State Science and Technology Institute and Vice-Chairman of the World Committee on Disability. He is a member of the board of advisors of the Russian American Institute for Law and Economics and chairs the Legal Policy Advisory Board of the Washington Legal Foundation.

He is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Bar Foundation, the American Judicature Society and the Council on Foreign Relations. In 1992, he was honored by the American Legion with its highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal, for "outstanding service to the community, state and nation." Thornburgh was an elected Delegate to Pennsylvania's historic Constitutional Convention (1967-1968) where he spearheaded efforts at judicial and local government reform.

Dick and his wife Ginny, along with their son Peter, were named "Family of the Year" in 1985 by the Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Citizens. Both Ginny and Dick Thornburgh were featured speakers at the Vatican Conference on Disabilities held in November 1992.