Here's a look at the life of Joseph Lieberman, former U.S. senator from Connecticut.
Birthdate: February 24, 1942
Place of birth: Stamford, Connecticut
Birth name: Joseph Isadore Liberman
Father: Henry Lieberman, package store owner
Mother: Marcia (manager) Lieberman
Marriages: Hadassah (Freilich) Lieberman (1983-present); Elizabeth Haas (1965-1981, divorced)
Children: with Hadassah Lieberman: Hani and Ethan (stepson); with Betty Haas: Rebecca and Matthew
Education: Yale University, B.A., 1964, Yale Law School, LLB, 1967
Religion: Jew
Lieberman was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential campaign. He is the first Jewish person nominated by a major party.
When Lieberman ran for state Senate in 1970, one of the volunteers who worked on his campaign was future President Bill Clinton.
At Yale, his nickname was “Senator.”
He has said that he took time off from college in 1963 to spend a few weeks in Mississippi working on civil rights.
1967-1969 – He works with the private law firm Wiggin and Dana.
1968 – He manages Democrat Robert F. Kennedy's Connecticut presidential campaign.
1970 – He is elected to the Connecticut Senate, representing New Haven.
1972-1983 – Partner at the law firm Lieberman, Segaloff and Wolfson.
1975-1981 – Connecticut Senate Majority Leader.
1980 – He runs unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress.
1983-1988 – Connecticut Attorney General.
November 8, 1988 – He becomes the first Orthodox Jew elected to the United States Senate.
1989-2013 – United States Senator from Connecticut.
1995-2001 – President of the Democratic Leadership Council.
August 8, 2000 – Vice President Gore chooses Lieberman as his running mate in the presidential race.
January 7, 2003 – He publishes the book “An Amazing Adventure: Joe and Hadassah's Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign,” along with his wife Hadassah Lieberman.
January 13, 2003 – He declares that he will run for president in the 2004 elections.
February 3, 2004 – He abandons the race for the presidency.
August 8, 2006 – He is defeated in the Connecticut Democratic Senate primary by Ned Lamont. Lieberman then announces that he will run for election as an independent.
November 7, 2006 – Wins re-election as an Independent.
December 17, 2007 – He endorses Republican Senator John McCain during the primary campaign for the presidential nomination. The endorsement sparks controversy, and after the election, the Senate Democratic caucus strips him of his spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Lieberman is allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
January 19, 2011 – He announces that he will not run for re-election.
January 2013 – He retires from the Senate.
June 6, 2013 – He joins the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.
January 2, 2014 – Announces that he will serve as chairman of the executive board of Victory Park Capital, a private equity firm.
January 12, 2015 – After the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, Lieberman writes an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal and states that a global alliance is necessary to combat terrorists.
August 10, 2015 – United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group campaigning for sanctions against Iran, announces Lieberman as its new president.
May 17, 2017 – White House spokesman Sean Spicer says Lieberman is a candidate to replace James Comey as FBI director.
May 25, 2017 – Withdraw his name from consideration for the FBI director position.
September 9, 2019 – In an op-ed for USA Today, Lieberman, representing UANI, writes that 2020 Democratic presidential candidates should support Trump's Iran policy and not commit to rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal.
October 19, 2021 – Lieberman's book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work and How We Can Make It Work Again, is published.
December 4, 2023 – Yeshiva University announces the establishment of the Senator Joseph Lieberman Center for Advocacy and Public Service.
