Gov. Eliot Spitzer  Chautauqua Institution 2007
August 7, 2007 - 10:45 am

Eliot Spitzer was inaugurated as New York’s 54th Governor on January 1, 2007.

In his inaugural address, Governor Spitzer said: “Every policy, every action and every decision we make in this administration will further two overarching objectives: We must transform our government so that it is as ethical and wise as all of New York, and we must rebuild our economy so that it is ready to compete on the global stage in the next century.”

Prior to being elected Governor, Mr. Spitzer served for eight years as New York State Attorney General, where he won national recognition for landmark cases protecting investors, consumers, the environment and low-wage workers.

Before he ran for Attorney General, Governor Spitzer worked as an attorney in both the public and private sectors. From 1986-1992 he was an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where he rose to the Chief of the Labor Racketeering Unit. He also worked for the New York City law firms of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Constantine & Partners.

Governor Spitzer received his undergraduate degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, he clerked for U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet.

This will mark Eliot Spitzer’s second appearance on the lecture platform following his keynote address during the week on applied ethics (“What is the Business of Business?”) in 2004.