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Andrew Mark Cuomo (ˈkwoʊmoʊ ; ˈkwɔːmo; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and former government official who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuomo, held for three terms (52nd governor). Born in Queens, New York City, Cuomo is a graduate of Fordham University and Albany Law School. He began his career working as the campaign manager for his father in the 1982 New York gubernatorial election. Later, Cuomo entered the private practice of law and chaired the New York City Homeless Commission from 1990 to 1993. Cuomo then served in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as assistant secretary from 1993 to 1997 and as secretary from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. After failing to win the Democratic primary in the 2002 New York gubernatorial election, Cuomo was elected New York attorney general in 2006. Cuomo won the 2010 Democratic primary for governor of New York and won the general election with over 60 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2018. During his governorship, Cuomo signed the Marriage Equality Act in 2011 to legalize same-sex marriage, the Compassionate Care Act in 2014 to legalize the medical use of cannabis, and the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in 2021 to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Cuomo's administration oversaw the construction of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, the Second Avenue Subway, the Moynihan Train Hall, and a reconstruction of LaGuardia Airport. In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the 2012 Webster shooting, Cuomo signed the NY SAFE Act of 2013, the strictest gun control law in the United States. He also delivered Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act; a 2011 tax code that raised taxes for the wealthy and lowered taxes for the middle class; 12-week paid family leave; and a gradual increase of the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour.
