Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph "Rudy" W. Giuliani (1944- ) served as the Mayor of New York City from 1994 through December 31, 2001.
Giuliani first gained stature as the US district attorney for the New York courts. In this position he prosecuted numerous high-profile cases, including indictments of leading Wall Street figures Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken for insider trading. Giuliani attracted some criticism for arranging very public arrests of people, then dropping charges for lack of evidence before going to trial.
Giuliani first ran as the Republican candidate for mayor in 1990 but he lost to Democrat David Dinkins. In 1994 he successfully ran against incumbent Dinkins in an election which divided the city, primarily on racial lines.
In his first term as mayor, Giuliani pursued an aggressive and hugely successful policing policy resulting in declines in virtually every category of crime. Much of this was a continuation of policies begun under Mayor Dinkins; Giuliani also claimed credit for reducing crime at a time when the crime rate was dropping nation-wide. Such policing efforts led to a majority of blacks and other minorities distrusting or even hating the police department for their aggressive tactics and disjunction from the communities. Among the better-known incidents of police brutality during the Giuliani mayorality are the killing of unarmed Amadou Dialou in a storm of 41 bullets and the brutalization of Abner Louima while in custody.
Giuliani pursued similarly aggressive real estate policies. The Times Square redevelopment project saw Times Square transform from a run-down center for businesses ranging from tourist attractions to peep shows to a high-price district filled with stores and theaters oriented towards families, including the MTV studios and a massive Disney store and theater. Giuliani also led the destruction of the majority of the community gardens in New York City, and throughout his term pursued the construction of new sports stadiums in Manhattan, a goal at which he did not succeed, though new minor league baseball stadiums opened in Brooklyn, for the Brooklyn Cyclones, and in Staten Island, for the Staten Island Yankees.
Giuliani, after being elected, avoided one-on-one interviews with the press, preferring to only speak to them at press conferences or on the steps of City Hall.
Since the World Trade Center attack Giuliani has been widely hailed for his calm and effective leadership in the crisis. For this, he was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2001.
He ran an abortive campaign for U.S. Senate in 2000 against Hillary Rodham Clinton, withdrawing because of prostate cancer and the fallout from his extramarital affair with Judith Nathan. He is married to Donna Hanover, but he has announced that he is seeking a divorce. They have one son.