CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://berggruen.org/people/willie-lewis-brown-jr","20130629081322","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1372493602"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />    <title>Berggruen Institute on Governance | Willie Lewis Brown, Jr.</title> <link href="/web/20130629081322cs_/http://berggruen.org/assets/application-72a375453fc9a2efe431bcba4ebb4f7b.css" media="all" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> <script type="text/javascript"> var localizedShowMoreText = "Show more"; var localizedShowLessText = "Show less"; var localizedEllipsisText = " ..."; </script> <script src="/web/20130629081322js_/http://berggruen.org/assets/application-8b0f362434e8724d53ba4e55a3a805bb.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <meta content="authenticity_token" name="csrf-param"/> <meta content="MdcoPu7bbjAkHiRWFiR66jeM1M6zcDC8uQagvzVGtSU=" name="csrf-token"/> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-35901629-1']); _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', 'berggruen.org']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/https://ssl' : 'https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); </script> </head> <body> <div id="main"> <div id="header"> <div id="superLogoContentLoggedOut" style="">   <div class="language-selection"> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/willie-lewis-brown-jr?locale=en" class="icon-flag-US selected"></a> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/willie-lewis-brown-jr?locale=fr" class="icon-flag-FR "></a> </div> </div> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/"><img alt="Logomain-short" class="logoImage" src="/web/20130629081322im_/http://berggruen.org/assets/logoMain-short-8976bde13e015cf501d10ba4466e9619.png"/></a> <div id="subLogoContent"> <table id="subLogoTable"> <tr> <td class="berggruenLinks"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://berggruenholdings.com/" class="berggruenLinks">HOLDINGS</a></td> <td class="berggruenLinksActive berggruenLinks"><div class="berggruenLinksActive"><a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/" class="berggruenLinks">INSTITUTE</a></div></td> <td class="berggruenLinks"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://nicolasberggruentrust.com/" class="berggruenLinks">TRUST</a></td> <td class="berggruenLinks"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://nicolasberggruenarts.com/" class="berggruenLinks">ARTS</a></td> <td style="" id="logoTagLine"></td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <div id="councilButtonContainer"> <table><tr> <td class="councilBtn">  <a class="councilButtonLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/21st-century-council"> <div class="gradientButton councilButton councilButtonMargin" style=" /* -moz-box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); -webkit-box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); */ ">21st Century Council <div class="councilButtonSelectedBodyTextOPEN"> <p><span>A forum for dialogue and action on global governance, emphasizing the G-20 as the governing body of globalization. Members include former heads of state, global entrepreneurs and political thinkers.</span></p> </div> </div> </a> </td> <td class="councilBtn">  <a class="councilButtonLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/the-future-of-europe"> <div class="gradientButton councilButton councilButtonMargin" style=" /* -moz-box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); -webkit-box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); box-shadow: 0px -1px 0px 0px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 2px 2px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, .075); */ ">Council for the Future of Europe <div class="councilButtonSelectedBodyTextOPEN"> <p><span>This Council gathers a small group of the region's most eminent political figures to research, debate and advocate ways forward for a united Europe.</span></p> </div> </div> </a> </td> <td class="councilBtn">  <a class="councilButtonLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/think-long-committee-for-california"> <div class="councilButton">Think Long Committee for California <div class="councilButtonSelectedBodyTextOPEN"> <p><span>Advocates a comprehensive approach to repairing California's broken system of governance while proposing policies and institutions vital for the state's long-term future.</span></p> </div> </div> </a> </td> <td class="councilBtn"> </td> </tr></table> </div> <table id="memberTable" colspacing="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="memberTableBreadCrumCell"> <div class="breadcrumbs"> <a class="breadBack" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/">< Homepage</a> </div> <div class="breadcrumbs"> </div> </td> <td class="memberTableSearchBoxCell"></td> </tr> <tr> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/web/20130629081322cs_/http://berggruen.org/css/jquery.rollbar.css" media="screen"/>  <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20130629081322js_/http://berggruen.org/js/jquery.easing.1.3.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20130629081322js_/http://berggruen.org/js/jquery.mousewheel.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/web/20130629081322js_/http://berggruen.org/js/jquery.rollbar.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(window).ready(function(){ // scroll homepageTableTwoColCScroller // if($('#memberPageActivityStreamContentScroller')){ // if($('#memberPageActivityStreamContentScroller').height() > 1024) { // $('#memberPageActivityStreamContentScroller').height(1024); // $('#memberPageActivityStreamContentScroller').addClass("activityAddedBGforScroll"); // $('#memberPageActivityStreamContentScroller').rollbar({touchSpeed: 1.2}); // } // } // if($('#membersScroller')){ // if($('#membersScroller').height() > 1024) { // $('#membersScroller').height(1024); // $('#membersScroller').addClass("activityAddedBGforScrollNarrow"); // $('#membersScroller').rollbar({touchSpeed: 1.2}); // } // } }); function showAllMembers(){ // if($('#membersScroller').height() > 700){ // $('#membersScroller').height(700); // $('#memberListShowHide').html('view all'); // }else{ // $('#membersScroller').height('100%'); // $('#memberListShowHide').html(''); // } } </script>  <td class="memberTableColumn1"> </td>  <td colspan="2" class="memberTableColumn2"> <table id="memberTableSubTable" colspacing="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td class="memberTableSubTableColumn1"> <img alt="Willie_lewis_brown_jr" class="memberImageMemberPage" src="/web/20130629081322im_/http://berggruen.org/uploaded_images/memberMainImages/willie_lewis_brown_jr.jpg"/></br> </td> <td class="memberTableSubTableColumn2"> <div class="memberPageTitle"> Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. </div> <div class="memberPageBio"> Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. was born in Mineola, Texas. He聽聽enrolled at San Francisco State, hoping to become a math聽instructor. Once in college though, he was quickly swept up into the world of campus politics. He became active in his聽church, and in the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP. After earning a degree in political science, Willie Brown went to聽Hastings law school, where he was elected president of his class. There were few African American attorneys practicing聽in San Francisco at the time, and Brown made a name for himself in the community by taking on cases other attorneys would聽have dismissed as hopeless.聽Throughout the '60s and onto the '70s, Brown played an increasingly important role in the California Democratic Party. He聽made his first impact on the national stage in 1972, when he electrified delegates to the Democratic National Convention聽with a fiery speech delivered during a credentials fight. When Unruh stepped down in 1974, Brown seized the chance to run聽for Speaker of the Assembly but did not win. By 1980, Brown was ready to try for the Speakership again,聽and won the office聽with an unexpected coalition of 28 Republicans and only 23 Democrats.聽Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Brown exercised unprecedented power in the legislature, dictating budget聽agreements to a succession of Governors, Democratic and Republican. When Willie Brown ran for re-election in 1994,聽California's newly-enacted term limits assured that it would be his last stint in the legislature. Although Brown easily聽retained his Assembly seat in 1994, Republicans won a one-vote majority in the California State Assembly and it appeared聽that Willie Brown's record-setting tenure as Speaker was finally over. Brown pulled off a remarkable upset, clinging to聽his leadership of the Assembly by a margin of a single vote, cast by a Republican member whose loyalty Brown had won in an聽earlier session.聽When the Republican dissenter was recalled in a special election, Brown stunned the opposition again, by persuading聽another Republican member to stand for Speaker against the Republicans' chosen leader. Brown's choice won the votes of聽all Democrats and a single Republican in the Assembly. When Brown's chosen successor was also recalled, he persuaded聽Democrats to support the candidacy of the one Republican who had supported Brown's choice for Speaker, thereby dooming聽the hopes of Brown's Republican rival for a third time. The Republican majority were forced to withdraw their first聽choice and elected a fourth Speaker for the brief remainder of the Assembly session.聽Willie Brown had returned to San Francisco to run for Mayor. He faced considerable challenges, including an incumbent聽opponent with broader appeal to the political center, and two challengers from the left, one with considerable appeal聽to the city's large gay community. Brown's natural base of support among African Americans counted for little in a city聽where they were less than a quarter of the city's population. After a fiercely fought primary contest, Brown won the聽right to face the incumbent mayor head-on in the general election and won the endorsement.聽Willie Brown won and began his term as one of the most popular mayors in the city's history, and was easily re-elected to a聽second term. Although an economic downturn strained the city's finances in his second term, when he left office in 2003,聽Mayor Brown was able to see his chosen successor elected in his place. Willie Brown's eight years as Mayor of San Francisco聽provided a fitting climax to a career in public service spanning nearly 40 years.聽Since leaving office, he has written a daily newspaper column for the San Francisco Chronicle, hosted a daily radio聽program in San Francisco, and is a regular commentator on the national cable news network MSNBC. In another vein, he has聽founded the Willie Brown Institute on Politics and Public Service, an independent, non-profit forum for non-partisan聽education, debate and discussion of public policy issues. He has shared the lessons of his life -- in and out of politics --聽in his 2008 autobiography, Basic Brown. </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="memberTableSubTableColumnMemActivity">  </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer"> <table id="footerTable" colspacing="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td class="footerColumnHead">CURRENT PROJECTS</td> <td class="footerColumnHead footerColumnHeadExtra1">BERGGRUEN ORGANIZATIONS</td> <td class="footerColumnHead footerColumnHeadExtra2">CONTACT INFORMATION</td> <td class="footerColumnHead"></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="footerColumn footerColumnExtra1"> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/21st-century-council" class="footerLink">21st Century Council</a> <br/> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/the-future-of-europe" class="footerLink">Council for the Future of Europe</a> <br/> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/think-long-committee-for-california" class="footerLink">Think Long Committee for California</a> <br/> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/councils/vision-for-africa" class="footerLink">Vision for Africa</a> <br/> <br/> <div class="footerColumnHead" style="">OFFICERS</div>  <div class="homepageOfficersTitle">CHAIRMAN</div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/nicolas-berggruen">Nicolas Berggruen</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersTitle">EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR</div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/dawn-nakagawa">Dawn Nakagawa</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersTitle">DIRECTOR</div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/tim-shortley">Tim Shortley</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"> </div> <div class="homepageOfficersTitle">SENIOR ADVISORS</div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/nathan-gardels">Nathan Gardels</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/jendayi-frazer">Jendayi Frazer</a> <span class="homepageOfficerItal">Africa</span></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/people/max-von-bismarck">Max von Bismarck</a> <span class="homepageOfficerItal">Europe</span></div> <br/> <br/> </td> <td class="footerColumn footerColumnExtra2"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://berggruenholdings.com/" class="footerLink">Holdings</a><br/> <a href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/" class="footerLink">Institute on Governance</a><br/> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://nicolasberggruentrust.com/" class="footerLink">Charitable Trust</a><br/> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://nicolasberggruenarts.com/" class="footerLink">Arts</a> <br/> <br/> <div class="footerColumnHead">OFFICES</div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock" style="margin-top: 7px;"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/offices">Los Angeles</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock" style="margin-top: 1px;"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/offices">Berlin</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock" style="margin-top: 1px;"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/offices">New York</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock" style="margin-top: 1px;"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/offices">Washington, D.C.</a></div> <div class="homepageOfficersNamesBlock" style="margin-top: 1px;"><a class="footerLink" href="/web/20130629081322/http://berggruen.org/offices">Z眉rich</a></div> </td> <td class="footerColumn footerColumnExtra3"> <table id="footerContactsTable" colspacing="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td class="footerColumn footerColumnContact1">Berggruen Institute on Governance<br/>100 Wilshire Blvd<br/>Santa Monica, CA, 90401</td> <td class="footerColumn footerColumnContact2">Tel +1 (310) 550-7083<br/>Fax +1 (310) 550-7083<br/><a class="footerLink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/mailto:BIG@berggruen.org" style="font-size:13px;">BIG@berggruen.org</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="1" class="footerColumn"> <div class="footerColumnHeadSocialMediaBuffer footerColumnHeadSocialMedia">STAY CONNECTED</div> <a class="footerLink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001GNjT2Haiu0gpR1hiMUmbiw%3D%3D">Sign up for our newsletter</a>   <div style="margin-top:10px;"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicolas-Berggruen-Institute/197409086964019" target="_blank"><img alt="Facebook" class="socialMediaIcon" src="/web/20130629081322im_/http://berggruen.org/assets/facebook-a1bfbef246c3a98e931271d223201ccc.png"/></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/https://twitter.com/berggruenInst" target="_blank"><img alt="Twitter" class="socialMediaIcon" src="/web/20130629081322im_/http://berggruen.org/assets/twitter-0fe79a185923b8e1ba39bf9817d0bbf3.png"/></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://www.linkedin.com/company/berggruen-institute" target="_blank"><img alt="Linkedin" class="socialMediaIcon" src="/web/20130629081322im_/http://berggruen.org/assets/linkedin-f5f4e1a7155e7bc9d5722d629c6e8084.png"/></a><br/> </div> </td> <td colspan="1" class="footerColumn"> <div class="footerColumnHeadSocialMedia footerColumnHeadSocialMediaBuffer">SITE CREATED BY</div> <div style="margin-top:1px;"><a class="footerLink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130629081322/http://www.cousins-sears.com/">Cousins & Sears<br/>Creative Technologists</a></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body> </html>