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'''Tom Thomas J. Ridge''' (Tom Ridge) is the first Secretary of the [[Department of Homeland Security]].
"Prior to his current appointment, Secretary Ridge served as Assistant to the President for the [[Office of Homeland Security]]. Previously, he was a twice-elected Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1995 to 2001. In addition, he was elected to Congress in 1982 and was re-elected six times.
"After he received his law degree, Secretary Ridge was in private practice before becoming assistant district attorney in Erie County. He also served as an infantry staff sergeant in Vietnam, earning the Bronze Star for Valor. He is a graduate of Harvard University and received his J.D. from Dickinson School of Law."
From http://www.results.gov/leadership/bio_372.html
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'''Timeline'''
*Ridge was born August 26, 1945, in Munhall, near Pittsburgh, but was raised in Erie, PA.
*Cathedral Preparatory School; B.A. with honors (cum laude) Harvard University (1967); and Dickinson Law School.
*Drafted while in second year at Dickinson (1968) [Note: another source says end of first year] and served in Viet Nam; Bronze Star for Valor.
*Practices law with David Gifford (1972).
*Erie County Public Defenders' Office (1973-1975).
*Assistant District Attorney (1975-1976).
*Runs [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] Presidential Campaign in Erie County, PA.
*Returns to District Attorney's office (1980-1982).
*Congressman 21st District (1982-1994).
*Announces candidacy for Governor (1993).
*Governor of Pennsylvania (1995-2001).
*Office of Homeland Security (October 18, 2001).
*Appointed to National Red Cross Governance Board by President [[George Walker Bush]] (April 17, 2003). [http://www.redcross.org/press/disaster/ds_pr/030417ridge.html]
'''External Links'''
*[http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/ridge/ Tom Ridge, Governor].
*[http://www.hscb.org/tomridgebio.htm Homeland Security Cultural Bureau] biography of Tom Ridge.
*Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn, [http://www.counterpunch.org/ridge2.html Tom Ridge in Vietnam
Tarnished Star], CounterPunch, October 1, 2001.
*[http://www.npr.org/news/specials/response/home_front/features/2001/oct/ridge.html Security Chief Ridge: 'The Task is Enormous'], NPR.org, October 8, 2001.
*Angus Love, [http://www.guerrillanews.com/newswire/172.html Who Is Tom Ridge?], Guerrilla News, October 18, 2001.
*John W. Dean, [http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20020412.html Tom Ridge's Non-Testimonial Appearance Before Congress: Another Nixon-style Move By The Bush Administration], FindLaw's Legal Commentary, April 12, 2002.
*[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june02/ridge_5-9.html Newsmaker: Tom Ridge], Online NewsHour, May 9, 2002.
*[http://www.time.com/time/pow/article/0,8599,393066,00.html Person of the Week: Tom Ridge. Now for the hard part: After a week in which the Senate gave him a cabinet-level position, the Homeland Security chief is preparing to take on the toughest job in Washington], Time.com, November 22, 2002.
*[http://www.goerie.com/risingson/ Ridge's journey to the national stage], The Rising Son; updated January 21, 2003. Locally produced biography of Tom Ridge.
