Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from the state of New York. Formerly Mayor of New York City, Giuliani is currently seeking the Republican nomination in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Rudolph Giuliani was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the only child of working-class parents Harold Angel Giuliani, and Helen C. D'Avanzo, both children of Italian immigrants. The family was Roman Catholic and its extended members included police officers, firefighters, and criminals. Giuliani eventually decided to forego the priesthood, instead attending New York University School of Law in Manhattan, where he made law review and graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor in 1968
Giuliani was U.S. Attorney until January 1989, resigning as the Reagan administration ended. He garnered criticism until he left office for his zealous handling of cases and was accused of prosecuting cases to further his political ambitions. He joined the law firm White & Case in New York City as a partner. He remained with White & Case until May 1990, when he joined the law firm Anderson Kill Olick & Oshinsky, also in New York City. He served as mayor of New York City from 1994 through 2001.
Guiliani was prominent in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. He made frequent appearances on radio and television on September 11 and afterwards—for example, to indicate that tunnels would be closed as a precautionary measure, and that there was no reason to believe that the dispersion of chemical or biological weaponry into the air was a factor in the attack. In his public statements, Giuliani mirrored the emotions of New Yorkers after the attacks: shock, sadness, anger, resolution to rebuild, and the desire for justice to be done to those responsible. "Tomorrow New York is going to be here", he said. "And we're going to rebuild, and we're going to be stronger than we were before...I want the people of New York to be an example to the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, that terrorism can't stop us."
A draft movement began in late 2005 to get Giuliani to run for President of the United States in 2008. Throughout 2006, rumors circulated regarding a possible Giuliani campaign, abetted by hints from the former Mayor himself. In November 2006 Giuliani announced the formation of an exploratory committee. In February 2007 he filed a "statement of candidacy" and confirmed on the television program Larry King Live that he was indeed running.
(From Wikipedia)