JANET RENO BIOGRAPHY

OCCUPATIONS:

U. S. Attorney General; nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993.
Ms. Reno worked to reduce crime and violence; to enhance prevention and early intervention efforts to keep children away from gangs, drugs, and violence; to enforce civil rights to ensure equal opportunities for all; to prosecute violations of ecological statutes,
1993-2001

State Attorney, Dade County, Florida.
Reno was the first Florida prosecutor to assign lawyers to collect child-support payments from deadbeat fathers. Winning re-election for four terms, as a Democrat, in heavily conservative, Republican Dade County,
1978-1992

Partner, Law firm of Steel, Hector and Davis (Miami),   1976-1978

Administrative Assistant to the State Attorney,
11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida,
1973-1976

Staff Director, Judiciary Committee, Florida House of Representatives- where she helped revise the Florida court system.  1971-1972

Partner, Law firm of Lewis and Reno,
1967-1971

Associate, Law firm of Brigham & Brigham,
1963-1967

EDUCATION:

Janet attended public schools in Dade County, Florida.   She was the debating champion in high school.

Ms. Reno received her Bachelor's degree (Major: chemistry) from Cornell University in Ithaca,  NY,  in 1960.
President of the Women's Self Government Association.

[She earned room and board as a waitress and dormitory supervisor].

She received her Law degree from Harvard University School of Law, in 1963.

Priorities/Accomplishments:

Quotes

Public Official; Attorney


[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]

PERSONAL:

Birthplace:   Miami, Florida
Born:       July 21, 1938

Ms. Reno enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading poetry, and listening to music(ranging from opera to country-and-western).

Hero:   Former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy

Motto:   (From Mother, Jane Wood) "Good, better, best. Don't ever rest until good is better and better is best."

Ms. Reno has had Parkinson's disease since 1995, but it does not affect her activities or job performance.


Time Line Information:

Controversies:

Articles:


Janet Reno: ChildHood

Janet Reno is the eldest sister of four siblings.

Janet's father, Henry Reno, came to the United States from Denmark. Mr. Reno was a police reporter (forty-three years) at the Miami Herald; he died in 1967.

Jane Wood Reno (Janet's mother) after raising her children, became an investigative reporter for the Miami News. Mrs. Reno built the family home from scratch. Her influence helped Janet realize what "hard work" can accomplish. Mrs. Reno's homily: "Good, better, best. Don't ever rest until good is better and better is best." Janet's mother died in 1992 at age seventy-nine.

Links:

Jane Wood Reno


Book: "Janet Reno Doing the Right Thing"-
By Paul Anderson
Reviews

...a Reno-watcher for the Miami Herald for a dozen years, is an unabashed admirer and does a creditable job of relating Reno's lively and unusual family history, from her immigrant paternal grandfather's casting aside of their classic Danish surname, Rasmussen, for Reno, an all-American moniker picked fresh off a map of the U.S., to Reno's wonderfully independent, eccentric, generous, and resourceful mother, who built the sturdy South Florida house Reno still calls home. Anderson tracks young Reno--tall, confident, and brilliant--through her years at Cornell as a chemistry major and at Harvard Law School where sexism was the norm. He also sums up her demanding, controversy-strewn years as Florida's state attorney, all the while praising her as a woman of little vanity and tremendous integrity, a "lifetime supporter of legal aid for the poor," a devoted and effective advocate for children, and an enthusiastic workaholic. Reno's compassionate but no-nonsense personality comes through loud and clear in this rapid sketch and welcome tribute, but we'll hope that there will be many more "firsts" for this outstanding woman and a more in-depth biography to chronicle them.
Donna Seaman read more



~ Janet Reno is Running for Florida Governor in 2002! ~


~ Personal Website Dedicated to Janet Reno ~