Andrew Cuomo | Biography & Facts - Britannica

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• Introduction & Top Questions
• Early life and education
• From assistant district attorney to secretary of HUD
• Governor of New York
  • Policies and COVID
  • Sexual misconduct allegations and resignation
• Return to politics
• Personal life

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• What previous offices has Andrew Cuomo held?
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External Websites

• The New York Times - The Rise and Fall of Andrew Cuomo
• Official Site of Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State
• Official Site of Andrew Cuomo
• ABC News - Who is Andrew Cuomo? Here's what you need to know about the New York Governor's fall from power

Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

• Andrew Cuomo - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Andrew Cuomo American politician Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: Andrew Mark Cuomo Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 29, 2025 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

What previous offices has Andrew Cuomo held?

Andrew Cuomo served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1997–2001) under President Bill Clinton and as New York’s attorney general (2007–2010). He became governor of New York in 2011 but resigned in 2021 amid sexual misconduct allegations. In 2025 Cuomo announced that he was running for mayor of New York City.

Is Andrew Cuomo married?

Andrew Cuomo is not currently married. In 1990 he wed Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The couple had three children before divorcing in 2005. That year Cuomo began dating TV chef Sandra Lee. The relationship ended in 2019.

What is Andrew Cuomo doing now?

Andrew Cuomo ran for mayor of New York City, but he was defeated in the primary by democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani.

Andrew Cuomo (born December 6, 1957, New York, New York, U.S.) is an American politician and attorney who served as the governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, when he resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations. He previously served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD; 1997–2001) under Pres. Bill Clinton and as New York’s attorney general (2007–10). In 2025 Cuomo mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City.

Early life and education

As a teenager in Queens, New York, Cuomo put up posters to help his father, Democrat Mario Cuomo, campaign for state office. Andrew Cuomo graduated from Fordham University in 1979, the year in which his father became New York lieutenant governor. After graduating from Albany Law School (J.D., 1982), he ran the campaign that made his father governor (1983–95). For the next two years Andrew Cuomo worked as his father’s senior adviser in Albany.

From assistant district attorney to secretary of HUD

In 1984 Cuomo moved to New York City, where he became an assistant district attorney and a partner in the law firm of Blutrich, Falcone & Miller. During this time, he began to focus on the problems of the city’s homeless population, and in 1986 he founded Housing Enterprises for the Less Privileged (HELP), an organization that provided transitional housing for people living on the streets. He continued to advise his father from a distance and managed his successful 1986 gubernatorial reelection campaign.

Cuomo’s efforts for the homeless led to his appointment in 1991 to chair the New York City Commission on the Homeless. After Clinton’s election as president in November 1992, Cuomo went to Washington, D.C., to help with the transition to the new administration and stayed to work on housing at the federal level. In May 1993 the U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment to HUD as assistant secretary for Community Planning and Development. Working closely with Vice Pres. Al Gore, Cuomo introduced new government policies to move the homeless into permanent housing with the help of transitional housing and expanded social services. In December 1996 President Clinton nominated Cuomo to become secretary of HUD, a post that he held from 1997 to 2001.

Governor of New York

Policies and COVID

After losing his first New York gubernatorial bid in 2002, Cuomo won election as the state’s attorney general in 2006. He ran again for governor in 2010 and this time was successful in winning the office, handily defeating his Republican opponent, businessman Carl Paladino, in the general election. Cuomo was reelected to a second term in 2014. As governor of New York, he signed legislation in 2011 that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. In late 2014 he announced a ban on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, citing a state-funded health study that found “significant public health risks” associated with the practice. He also oversaw tax cuts and an increase to the minimum wage. Cuomo faced controversy in 2014 when he abruptly closed a commission he had created the previous year to root out government corruption. Amid allegations that his administration had interfered with the panel, federal authorities conducted an investigation, and in 2016 it was announced that there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

In March 2020 New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and Cuomo gained a national profile with his press briefings, in which he often criticized Pres. Donald Trump’s response to the crisis. The governor’s popularity rose as many praised his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, and he released American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020). However, he was not without his critics, some of whom accused him of causing unnecessary deaths among nursing-home patients, a population especially hard-hit by COVID-19. Drawing particular criticism was a controversial state policy in which people infected with the virus were sent to nursing homes. Cuomo defended the plan, but in 2021 it was revealed that his administration had undercounted nursing-home deaths. The matter became the subject of an FBI investigation.

Sexual misconduct allegations and resignation

Another scandal emerged in late 2020 when a series of women began accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment. In addition, there were allegations that he created a toxic workplace. Cuomo denied the claims, and he defended his physical gestures as a way of “convey[ing] warmth, nothing more.” However, the state’s attorney general subsequently launched an investigation. The final report was released in August 2021, and Cuomo was found to have sexually harassed numerous women “through unwelcome and unwanted touching, as well as by making numerous offensive and sexually suggestive comments.” It also determined that his administration’s response to the accusations had contributed to “an overall hostile work environment.” Cuomo again denied any wrongdoing and accused the report of being biased. Calls for his resignation increased, including within his own party; notably, U.S. Pres. Joe Biden said that he should step down. Facing likely impeachment, Cuomo on August 10 announced his resignation, effective in two weeks. He left office on August 24 and was succeeded by Lieut. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who became New York’s first female governor.

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The scandal also ensnared his brother, Chris Cuomo, a TV journalist with CNN. Chris Cuomo offered strategic advice, and once that became public in late 2021, CNN fired him.

Return to politics

In 2023 there was speculation that Andrew Cuomo would be a candidate in the following year’s Senate race, trying to unseat Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat. Cuomo ultimately did not run, but in 2025 he officially entered New York City’s mayoral race. He was one of several candidates challenging the current mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, who was embroiled in a corruption scandal. Cuomo received endorsements from such notable figures as former president Bill Clinton, but he faced a strong challenge from Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist. The Democratic primary, which used ranked-choice voting, was held on June 23, 2025, and Mamdani topped the field by a comfortable margin. Cuomo, who finished second, conceded the race, but held open the possibility that he would contest the November general election as an independent.

Personal life

In 1990 Cuomo married Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The couple had three children before divorcing in 2005. That year Cuomo began dating TV chef Sandra Lee. The relationship ended in 2019.

Quick Facts In full: Andrew Mark Cuomo (Show more) Born: December 6, 1957, New York, New York, U.S. (age 68) (Show more) Title / Office: governor (2011-2021), New York (Show more) Political Affiliation: Democratic Party (Show more) Notable Family Members: father Mario Cuomo (Show more) See all related content

Cuomo’s autobiography, All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life, was published in 2014.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.