Governor Thomas W. “Tom” Corbett
Thomas W. “Tom” Corbett (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician who has been the 46th Governor of Pennsylvania since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Corbett was the Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 1997; he was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate following Preate’s indictment. Subsequently he was elected as Attorney General in 2004; he served as Attorney General from 2005 to 2011, winning re-election in 2008.
Corbett received his Bachelor’s degree from Lebanon Valley College and was employed as a 9th grade teacher for one year. Corbett then earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University Law School. He served in thePennsylvania Army National Guard 28th Infantry Division from 1971 to 1984, rising to the rank of Captain.
Corbett’s career has been split between private practice and civil service. He began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Pittsburgh‘s Allegheny County. After three and a half years, he was hired in 1980 as assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
In 1983, Corbett went into private practice for several years. During this period, Corbett won his first election as a township commissioner in the Pittsburgh suburb of Shaler Township.
In 1988, a judge appointed him to monitor the Allegheny County jail while it was under the court’s supervision. In 1989, Senators John Heinz and Arlen Specter recommended to President Bush that he nominate Corbett for the post of United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Corbett served in the post until May 1993, when he was dismissed by President Bill Clinton.
Corbett then returned to private practice, also serving as an adviser to the gubernatorial campaign of Tom Ridge. Following Ridge’s victory, Corbett served on a number of state commissions including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which he served as chairman.
Corbett left office in 1997 and again went into the private sector, first as general counsel for Waste Management, Inc., then opening his own practice.
Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett Speaks at Shanksville Memorial for 9/11 Anniversary
