Eric Garcetti

Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who has been the United States ambassador to India since May 11, 2023.

Garcetti was born on February 4, 1971, in Los Angeles, and was raised in Encino in the San Fernando Valley.

He is the son of Sukey (née Roth) and Gil Garcetti, the former Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Garcetti's paternal grandfather, Salvador, was born in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Salvador was brought by his family to the United States as a child after his father, Massimo "Max" Garcetti, was murdered by hanging during the Mexican Revolution.

Max had immigrated to Mexico from Italy.

He married a Mexican woman and became a judge.

His paternal grandmother, Juanita Iberri, was born in Arizona, one of 19 children born to an immigrant father from Sonora, Mexico, and an Arizona-born mother whose father and mother were both Mexican.

Garcetti's maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants.

His maternal grandfather, Harry Roth, founded and ran the clothing brand Louis Roth Clothes.

Garcetti's family celebrated Passover and Chanukah, and he attended a Jewish camp.

Garcetti attended elementary school at UCLA Lab School, formerly University Elementary School; and middle and high school at Harvard-Westlake School.

While in high school, he was a member of the Junior State of America, a national civic engagement and political debate organization for students.

Garcetti majored in political science and urban planning, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in 1992 as a John Jay Scholar.

During that time, he lived in Carman Hall and Furnald Hall, served on the student council, was president of the St. Anthony Hall fraternity and literary society, founded the Columbia Urban Experience, and co-wrote and performed in three years of the Varsity Show, a student-written musical.

He received a Masters of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, graduating in 1993.

He met his future wife while they were both studying as Rhodes Scholars at the University of Oxford, he at the Queen's College, Oxford and she at Wadham College, Oxford.

While at Oxford, he was a member of the Oxford University L'Chaim Society founded by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, along with future U.S. senator Cory Booker.

He later began studying for a PhD in ethnicity and Eritrean nationalism at the London School of Economics but as of 2022 does not appear to have ever completed the degree.

Prior to his election to the Los Angeles City Council, Garcetti was a visiting instructor of international affairs at the University of Southern California, and an assistant professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College.

His academic work focused on ethnic conflict and nationalism in Southeast Asia and Northeast Africa.

During this time, he published articles and chapters of books on post-conflict societies, Eritrean nationalism, and non-violent action.

He has served on the California board of Human Rights Watch, and currently serves on the advisory board for Young Storytellers, an arts education nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.

Garcetti is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

City Council District 13 was left vacant after incumbent Jackie Goldberg was elected to the State Assembly in 2000.

Garcetti ran for the open seat and was elected in 2001, narrowly defeating former city council member Michael Woo 52 to 48 percent.

In 2004, Garcetti authored Proposition O, a city stormwater bond which sought to clean the city's waterways.

He was re-elected again in 2005 (unopposed) and 2009 (with 72% of the vote).

A former member of the Los Angeles City Council, Garcetti served as City Council president from 2006 to 2012.

He was the city's first elected Jewish mayor, and its second consecutive Mexican-American mayor.

He was elected as the youngest mayor in over 100 years, having been 42 at the time of his inauguration.

Upon nomination of President Joe Biden after a previously failed nomination the year before, Garcetti was finally confirmed as Ambassador to India by the Senate on a 52–42 vote on March 15, 2023.

Garcetti served as council president from January 1, 2006, to January 12, 2012.

He was elected by his colleagues to succeed Alex Padilla, who resigned after being elected to the California State Senate.

He was one of the first elected officials in Los Angeles to hold "office hours" each month, where constituents could meet with him face-to-face.

He implemented a "Constituent Bill of Rights" that ensured that constituents' phone calls were returned within a single workday, that constituents are included in all land-use decisions in their neighborhood, and that all constituent concerns are tracked on a computer system that details all actions taken on that particular case.

He ensured that the meetings started on time, and all past meetings were made available online.

He has also helped more than 1,500 local constituents learn about the governmental process by hosting Government and Planning 101 courses throughout the city.

He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022.

A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 election, and re-elected in 2017.