Rudolph W. Giuliani is the former Mayor of New York City. After joining the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy Giuliani rose quickly through the ranks, becoming the Chief of the Narcotics Unit at age 29. After the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1981, Giuliani was named Associate Attorney General, the third highest position in the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1983, President Reagan appointed Rudy Giuliani as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Giuliani spearheaded successful efforts against organized crime, white-collar criminals, drug dealers and corrupt elected officials. Few U.S. Attorneys in history can match his record of 4,152 convictions with only 25 reversals. In 1993, Rudy Giuliani was elected Mayor of the City of New York. He focused on reducing crime, reforming welfare, and improving the quality of life and was re-elected in 1997.Under Mayor Giuliani’s leadership, overall crime was cut by 56%, murder was cut by 66%, and New York City—once considered the crime capital of the country—became the safest large city in America according to the FBI. Mayor Giuliani also implemented the largest and most successful welfare-towork initiative in the country, turning welfare offices into Job Centers and reduced welfare rolls by 640,000—nearly 60%.
On September 11, 2001, America suffered the worst attack in its history when terrorists crashed planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Mayor Giuliani was widely lauded for his steady hand during challenging times. He was named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine, knighted by the Queen of England, dubbed “Rudy the Rock” by French President Jacques Chirac, and former first lady Nancy Reagan presented him with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Freedom Award. Rudy Giuliani is an American hero. His views on leadership have helped shape our country, and have the capacity to transform the leadership of our organizations and businesses as well.