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Higher Office(s) Served: Senator

Military Service: Marines

PETE WILSON served as Governor of California from January 1991 until January 1999. He was born in Lake Forest, Illinois. He attended Yale University on an ROTC scholarship, earned a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1955, and then served for three years as a Marine Corps infantry officer. He earned a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall, in 1962. His public service career began in 1966, when he was elected to the California Assembly. In 1971 he was elected mayor of San Diego. After 11 years as mayor, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1982 and was reelected in 1988. He was elected Governor of California in 1990 and was reelected in 1994.

Sources:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Official Records: California State Archives

Personal Papers: Stanford University, Hoover Institution

Image source: California State Library: Governors' Gallery

Governors of California 1849-2002