Mario Cuomo

Who is Mario Cuomo?

Mario Matthew Cuomo is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. He served as the Secretary of State of New York from 1975 to 1978, as the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1979 to 1982 and as the 52nd Governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994.

He was known for his liberal views and public speeches, particularly his keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention where he attacked President Reagan's record, saying: "There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don't see, in the places that you don't visit, in your shining city." The speech brought him to national attention and he was widely considered a front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President in both 1988 and 1992, but he declined to seek the nomination in both instances. His legacy as a reluctant standard-bearer for the Democrats in presidential elections led to him being dubbed "Hamlet on the Hudson".

Cuomo was defeated for a fourth term as Governor by George Pataki in the Republican Revolution of 1994 and he subsequently retired from politics. He is the father of Andrew Cuomo, the 56th Governor of New York and journalist Chris Cuomo, currently at CNN.