PROFILE
Dream come true
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U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has created history as the first Hispanic to hold the post. His life has all the elements of the American Dream, writes RANDOR GUY.
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AP
Journey To The Top: Gonzales being sworn in as Attorney-General.
FOR the first time in the history of the United States, a Hispanic has been chosen to be the Attorney General, one of the most important offices in the American Government. Indeed, Alberto Gonzales has created history and entered the glittering galaxy of achievers. His life has all the elements of the American Dream. Gonzales is just 49 and he has achieved much in so short a time, which speaks highly of his talents and skills.
The Attorney General heads the Department of Justice, which has six divisions constituting the world's largest law firm. It also controls its subsidiary but important law enforcement agencies, with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) being the most important. The Department employs 1,10,000 employees and has a mega-budget of $25 billion.
No props
Dame Destiny did not bestow on him any advantages at birth. He was an underdog in the U.S. with no wealthy background to prop him up. He was born on August 4, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas.
His parents were immigrant farm workers. Neither of his parents was very well educated. Of their eight children, Alberto is the only one to have gone to college. His father and uncle built a modest two-room home on their own while he was at school and college. Many of his friends in Washington are surprised that his mother still lives in the same home in Texas.
Indeed even after a successful legal innings and later political career under George Bush in Washington, Gonzales certainly is not a rich man by American standards — not even by the Indian yardstick — for somebody of his status and stature and the high offices he has held. His financial disclosure statement filed last year shows his assets between $72,000 and $3,81,000 under different heads with more than $10,000 in credit card debt.
Raised in Houston, Gonzales supported his family by selling soft drinks at the Rice University Stadium. A brilliant student at school and good athlete, he entered the U.S. Air Force after high school. Then he made his way to the Air Force Academy, but after two years, found an increasing interest in law. Then, he joined the Rice University to study Political Science. And then on to the famed and prestigious Harvard Law School where he graduated in 1982.
After taking his Law degree he set up practice at Houston and joined the well known and top-slot legal firm, Vinson and Elkins who specialised in corporate law. By sheer dint of merit, hard work and devotion to his chosen profession, he was taken in as junior partner of the prestigious firm. When George William Bush was the Governor of Texas, he met Gonzales and was impressed by his talents and skills.
Way to the top
Consequently, he appointed him as the Governor's general counsel in 1995, an office he held until 1997. His work earned him the appreciation of those with whom he came into contact. Bush appointed him Texas Secretary of State in 1997. He was obviously going places. In 1999, he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Texas, which he served for two years.
When George Bush rode his way to the White House, Gonzales travelled along and was appointed the White House counsel in 2001. When Bush was elected President for a second term in 2004, he announced that Gonzales was the candidate for the post of Attorney General.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, his appointment was greeted with jeers, groans and moans. Most protests came from the Democratic Party. Besides the possible prejudice of his ethnic background, they felt that Bush was doing it only as a favour to his old Texan pal for his past services.
The main objection to his appointment was that he supported the Torture-Abuse treatment meted out to prisoners in Iraq and did not raise objections to inhuman deeds of the American soldiers, which provoked protest in many parts of the world. When he was charged with having flouted the humane provisions of the Geneva Convention in the treatment of prisoners of war, Gonzales wrote in a memo, "the war on terrorism renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions."
Another objection is his views on Abortion. In a leading case in Texas legal history, a minor was raped leading to her pregnancy. She wished to terminate the pregnancy without parental knowledge, which is illegal in Texas. Legal action was taken against her and she lost in the lower court. She went on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Here she won, thanks to the final casting vote by Gonzales who ruled that a minor could terminate her pregnancy legally, if it was the result of rape.
Awards
His critics have openly remarked that George Bush was only continuing his favours to his Texan pal and appointed him as Attorney General, as a short step to elevate him to the American Supreme Court. If this happens, he would be the first Hispanic to sit on the Bench of that august body. However, Gonzalez, at least for now, has gone on record that he has no such ambitions. Expectedly he has already received many awards and decorations for his outstanding achievement against many hurdles. He now sits in the high office, which has attracted attention in many parts of the world.
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