George Deukmejian was elected to the State Assembly in 1962 to represent Long Beach.
36 Facts About George Deukmejian
2.
In 1970, George Deukmejian unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General of California, finishing fourth in the Republican primary.
3.
In 1986, George Deukmejian defeated Bradley again for a much larger victory.
4.
George Deukmejian retired from front-line politics in 1991 and was succeeded as governor by fellow Republican Pete Wilson.
5.
George Deukmejian's parents were Armenians born in the Armenian Highlands, who emigrated from the Ottoman Empire to the United States in the early 1900s.
6.
George Deukmejian's father, Courken George Deukmejian, whose sister was killed during the Armenian Genocide, was a rug merchant born in Aintab.
7.
George Deukmejian's mother, Alice Gairden, was born in Erzurum; in the United States she worked for Montgomery Ward and later for New York State.
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George Deukmejian moved to California in 1955 where his sister, Anna Ashjian, was living and there was a large Armenian community.
9.
George Deukmejian introduced him to his future wife Gloria Saatjian, a bank teller whose parents were immigrants from Armenia.
10.
George Deukmejian and his wife had three children: two daughters, born in 1964 and 1969; and one son, born in 1966.
11.
In 1962, George Deukmejian was elected to represent Long Beach in the State Assembly.
12.
George Deukmejian first ran for Attorney General of California in 1970, finishing fourth in the Republican primary.
13.
George Deukmejian won the election for Attorney General in 1978 and served from 1979 to 1983.
14.
George Deukmejian was elected in 1982 to his first term as Governor of California.
15.
George Deukmejian first defeated Lieutenant Governor Mike Curb, a recording company owner, in the Republican primary.
16.
George Deukmejian strongly criticized the Supreme Court of California, which was dominated by Brown appointees, notably controversial Chief Justice Rose Bird.
17.
George Deukmejian won the election by about 100,000 votes, about 1.2 percent of the 7.5 million votes cast.
18.
George Deukmejian's governorship was certainly a departure from that of his predecessor, Jerry Brown.
19.
George Deukmejian vowed not to raise taxes, later saying that he was "business friendly".
20.
George Deukmejian faced a Democrat-dominated California State Legislature during his two terms as governor.
21.
George Deukmejian was the sole Republican statewide officeholder until Thomas W Hayes was appointed California State Treasurer, following the death of Treasurer Jesse Unruh.
22.
In 1983, George Deukmejian abolished the Caltrans Office of Bicycle Facilities and reduced state spending for bicycle projects from $5 million to the statutory minimum of $360,000 per year.
23.
George Deukmejian halted the hiring of new state employees and banned out-of-state travel for those in government.
24.
George Deukmejian rejected the legislature's demands for tax hikes, and pared $1.1 billion from its budget by selectively vetoing spending items.
25.
Three years later, George Deukmejian faced his own billion dollar deficit.
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George Deukmejian supported a raise in the state minimum wage in 1989.
27.
George Deukmejian largely made his career by being tough on crime.
28.
George Deukmejian increased spending for the building of new prisons.
29.
George Deukmejian did not seek reelection to a third term as governor in the 1990 gubernatorial elections.
30.
George Deukmejian was the last governor not affected by the two-term limit that was passed by voters in 1990.
31.
On October 1,1989, Governor George Deukmejian signed legislation authorizing the purchasing of health insurance by uninsured Californians suffering from catastrophic serious illnesses, such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, to be funded through tobacco tax revenues.
32.
George Deukmejian reentered public life by serving on special committees, including one to reform the California penal system, and a charter-reform committee in his hometown of Long Beach.
33.
George Deukmejian oversaw a revamping of the UCLA Willed Body Program after a scandal involving the sale of human body parts donated for science.
34.
George Deukmejian received an honorary doctor of laws degree from California State University, Long Beach, in 2008, because of his support for education, state law, and Long Beach.
35.
George Deukmejian resided in the Belmont Park neighborhood of Long Beach for over 51 years.
36.
George Deukmejian died of natural causes at his home on May 8,2018, at the age of 89.