Leon Edward Panetta is a Democratic politician who has an extensive and notable career in public service.  From 1977 to 1993, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from California’s 16^th District. He then served as Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from July 17, 1994 to January 10, 1997. 

Panetta has received a number of awards including the Abraham Lincoln Award in 1969, Peter Burnett Award for Distinguished Public Service in 1993, and the John H. Chafee Coastal Stewardship Award in 2001.

Background and Education

Leon Panetta was born on June 28, 1938 in Monterey, California to Italian immigrants. In 1956 he entered the University of Santa Clara where he obtained a B.A. degree in Political Science. He graduated magna cum laude in 1960. He received a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University Law School in 1963, where he became an editor of the Law Review. In 1965, he was admitted to the California bar and began his private practice.

Panetta is married to Sylvia Marie Varni. They have three sons.

Career Milestones

From 1964 to 1966, he served in the United States Army where he received the Army Commendation Medal.  From 1966 to 1969, he served as a legislative assistant to United States Senator Thomas H. Kuchel from California. From 1969 to 1970, he became Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. After which, he was appointed Director of the Office for Civil Rights, playing a significant role in the implementation of equal education laws. He then went to New York in 1970 to work as an executive assistant to Mayor John Lindsay of New York, where he watched over the city’s relations with the state and federal governments. A year after, he returned to California to practice law at Panetta, Thompson & Panetta until 1976 when he got elected to Congress. 

When he became a U.S. Representative from California’s 16^th (and now 17^th district), he served in a number of committees including: 

·         The Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Domestic Marketing, Consumer Relations, and Nutrition (Chairman)

·         The Task Force on Domestic Hunger, which was created by the U.S. House Select Committee on Hunger (Chairman)

·         The Caucus of Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress (Chairman)

·         The President’s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (Chairman)

·         The Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Personnel and Police (Chairman)

·         The House Budget Committee (Chairman; 1989 to 1993)

Panetta also authored the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Fair Employment Practices Resolution wherein civil rights protection was extended to House employees for the first time. Additionally, he was instrumental to the creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which safeguarded the California coast, as well as legislations that created Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for hospital care for the terminally sick and various legislations that dealt with issues concerning education, health, defense, and agriculture. 

Panetta got reelected in the U.S. House of Representative for nine terms.

However in 1993, before he could even serve his ninth term, President Bill Clinton appointed Leon Panetta Director of the Office of Management and Budget. He helped develop a budget package, which was aimed to balance federal budget and eventual budget surpluses.  

He was then appointed Chief of Staff to President Clinton on July 17, 1994 and he served until January 20, 1997. He was the chief negotiator of the 1996 budget concession that again contributed to the aim of balancing the budget.

Presently he co-directs the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, which is an independent study center that was established in 1998 for the improvement of public policy. He also presently teaches public policy at Santa Clara University and serves as a Distinguished Scholar to the Chancellor of the California State University system.