Deukmejian, George (Courken George Deukmejian, Jr.), 1928–2018, American political leader, b. Menands, N.Y., grad. St. Bernardine of Siena College (now Siena College), 1949, St. John's Univ. law school, 1952. Moving to California in 1955, he worked for the Texaco oil company, was elected to the state assembly as a Republican (1962), then served as a state senator (1967–79) and state attorney general (1979–83). In 1982 and 1986, he was elected governor, both times defeating Tom Bradley, the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles. As governor, Deukmejian, a fiscal conservative with a law and order stance, cut the budget rather than raise taxes and greatly increased the size of the state's prison system, but also signed bills that outlawed semiautomatic rifles and paid for health insurance for the seriously ill uninsured with tobacco taxes. Declining to run again, he became a partner (1991–2000) in a law firm.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies
