ca_gov_LUNGREN
ATTORNEY GENERAL DAN LUNGREN
Age: 52 Born: September 22, 1946; Long Beach, California Education: Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. (1971); University of Notre Dame, B.A. (1968) Military: None Family: Married - Bobbi; Three children Hometown: Roseville, California Religion: Catholic Career: Attorney General (1991-present); U.S. Rep. (1979-89); Practicing attorney (1973-78); Republican National Cmte (1971-72); Senate aide (1969-71) |
• Lungren was born and raised in California. His father was former President Richard Nixon's personal physician during the 1950s and 60s and traveled with Nixon on the campaign trail. Lungren attended high school in Long Beach and graduated from Notre Dame in 1968. He attended law school at the University of Southern California Law Center but transferred and received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1971.
• During law school, he worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to Sen. George Murphy (R-CA) and Sen. Bill Brock (R-TN). After law school he later worked for the co-chairman and as director of special programs at the Republican National Committee.
• In 1973, Lungren moved back to California and practiced medical malpractice law in Long Beach. He practiced with the firm Ball, Hunt, Hart, Brown & Baerwitz from 1973-78.
• Lungren first ran for Congress in 1976 when he tried to unseat Democrat Mark Hannaford, but he narrowly lost. On his second try in 1978, he successfully unseated Hannaford. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 10 years.
• Nominated for State Treasurer by Gov. George Deukmejian in November 1987, Lungren fell one vote short of confirmation when State Senator Quentin Kopp, an independent, withdrew support for Lungren in return for a committee chairmanship. Lungren went back into private law practice in 1989-90 as partner at Diepenbrck, Wulff, Plant & Hannegan in Sacramento before making another run for office.
• In 1990, Lungren was elected to his current position, Attorney General, and he was re-elected in 1994 with 54% of the vote. In 1996, TIME magazine named him as one of 10 'Rising Republicans' in the country.
• Lungren was lampooned in a week's worth of the 'Doonesbury' comic strip in 1996 after he ordered a raid on the Cannabis Buyers Club, an organization promoting the medicinal use of marijuana. He called on newspapers to pull the strip, but his pleas were ignored.