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Xavier Becerra

Also Known As Becerra

Education

  • Graduated - C.K. McClatchy High School
  • - University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain
  • Bachelor of Arts in economics - Stanford University
  • Juris Doctor - Stanford Law School
  • State Bar of California -

Overview

Xavier Becerra is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Becerra was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017.

Born in Sacramento, California, Becerra graduated from Stanford University and received his Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School. He worked as a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an administrative assistant for state senator Art Torres. He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990 before he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.

Becerra was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. He represented California's 30th congressional district from 1993 to 2003, California's 31st congressional district from 2003 to 2013, and California's 34th congressional district from 2013 to 2017. He served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2009 to 2013, and as a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Becerra began his career as a lawyer, working on cases involving individuals who had mental disorders for the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts (now Community Legal Aid).

Becerra worked as an administrative assistant for California state senator Art Torres in 1986. He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice under Attorney General John Van de Kamp from 1987 to 1990.

After incumbent state assemblyman Charles Calderon decided to seek a seat in the California Senate, Becerra launched a grass-roots campaign for the California State Assembly, defeating Calderon's Senate aide Marta Maestas in the Democratic primary.better source needed] He went on to defeat Republican Lee Lieberg and Libertarian Steven Pencall, receiving 60% of the vote. Becerra served one term in the State Assembly, representing California's 59th district, from 1990 to 1992. As a state legislator, Becerra worked to pass a law that would increase gang members' sentences.

Early Life

Xavier Becerra Born in Sacramento, California, on January 26, 1958, Becerra is the son of working-class parents, Maria Teresa and Manuel Guerrero Becerra. His father was born in the U.S. and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, and his mother was from Guadalajara. As a child, Becerra grew up in a one-room apartment with his three sisters.

He graduated in 1976 from C.K. McClatchy High School, located in the center of Sacramento. He studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain, from 1978 to 1979, before earning his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Stanford University in 1980, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. He received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1984 and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1985

Becerra is married to physician Carolina Reyes, and they have three daughters. He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, based in Washington, D.C. Becerra is a Roman Catholic

Career

  • United States Secretary of Health and Human Services - American lawyer and politician

Reference

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