Back چورچ ديوكميچيان ARZ جرج دکمجیان AZB Джордж Дьокмеджиян Bulgarian George Deukmejian Catalan George Deukmejian German George Deukmejian Spanish جرج دکمجیان Persian George Deukmejian Finnish George Deukmejian French Ջորջ Դոքմեջյան Armenian
George Deukmejian | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, c. 1983–1991 | |
| 35th Governor of California | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 | |
| Lieutenant | Leo T. McCarthy |
| Preceded by | Jerry Brown |
| Succeeded by | Pete Wilson |
| 27th Attorney General of California | |
| In office January 8, 1979 – January 3, 1983 | |
| Governor | Jerry Brown |
| Preceded by | Evelle J. Younger |
| Succeeded by | John Van de Kamp |
| Member of the California State Senate | |
| In office January 2, 1967 – January 8, 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Cologne |
| Succeeded by | Ollie Speraw |
| Constituency | 31st district (1977–1979) 37th district (1967–1977) |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 39th district | |
| In office January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Williamson |
| Succeeded by | James A. Hayes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Courken George Deukmejian Jr. June 6, 1928 Menands, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 2018 (aged 89) Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Siena College (BA) St. John's University, New York (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | "The Iron Duke"[1][2][3] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1953–1955 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | Army JAG Corps |
Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (/djuːkˈmeɪdʒən/[4] dyook-MAY-jən; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent.
Born in New York, Deukmejian moved to California in 1955. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1962 to represent Long Beach.[5][6] Four years later he was elected into the State Senate and later served as the Senate's minority leader. In 1970, Deukmejian unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General of California, finishing fourth in the Republican primary. In 1978 he secured the nomination and defeated Yvonne Brathwaite Burke to become the state's 27th attorney general. As attorney general, he led a veto override against Governor Jerry Brown, who had vetoed legislation to authorize the death penalty in the state.
After Governor Brown did not seek reelection in 1982, Deukmejian won the Republican nomination for governor and faced Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley in the general election. Although opinion polls showed that Bradley had a favorable lead in the race, Deukmejian narrowly won the election outright. In 1986, Deukmejian defeated Bradley again for a much larger victory. As governor, Deukmejian made a name for being tough on crime, presenting himself to be in favor of "law and order". Under his administration, the California prison population nearly tripled, and he increased spending for the building of new prisons.
Deukmejian retired from front-line politics in 1991 and was succeeded as governor by fellow Republican Pete Wilson.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SFOwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Luther, Claudia; Paddock, Richard C. (May 8, 2018). "George Deukmejian dead at 89, public safety and law-and-order dominated two-term governor's agenda". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ Ronayne, Kathleen; Oberthur, Anna; Bollag, Sophia; Thompson, Dan (May 8, 2018). "George Deukmejian, ex-governor of California, dies". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ "Deukmejian". The CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ Service, City News (May 9, 2018). "Former California Gov. George Deukmejian Dies at Age 89". Long Beach Post News. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
- ^ "'If I Could Do It . . .'". News and Events. March 28, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2025.