Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani
107th Mayor of New York City (1993-2001)

The mayor of New York City is bound to gain more press and acknowledgement (good or bad) than any other mayor in this country, but none of New York’s mayors have become so respected as Rudy Giuliani. As the 107th mayor of the city, Giuliani gained international attention and honor for his heroism on September 11, 2001. The day the towers tumbled down into fire and ruins, and debris and ash hung throughout the city, stretching into neighboring states, Rudy reached out to the hearts of hundreds of millions people across the world. He was able to express in words what so many people were feeling and thinking.

Within minutes of the first plane crashing into the Twin Towers, Giuliani was revving up an emergency task force that would support and protect New York and comfort all Americans. He stood strong, brave, and compassionate during one of our nation’s biggest crises on its own soil. An inspiration for courage under the worst conditions, Rudy Giuliani was named Time magazine’s 2001 Person of the Year for “…having more faith in us than we had in ourselves, for being brave when required and rude when appropriate and tender without being trite, for not sleeping and not quitting and not shrinking from the pain all around him…”

Before September 2001, Giuliani was accustomed to both public scrutiny and praise. As U.S Attorney for New York’s Southern District, Giuliani fought battles against drugs, organized crime, and government corruption. Upon his election as mayor in 1993, he swept into New York City on a mission to clean up the city and bring back economic and cultural growth. His aggressive tactics caused some critics to squawk, but those same tactics reduced crime and murder rates by two-thirds. Rudy can take a large portion of the credit for making the city more habitable for residents and tourists alike. When Giuliani took office, he turned a flailing city into the best-known example of the resurgence of urban America; and nearing the end of his second term, he revived and inspired an entire country.