Preceded by Jacob K. Javits Name Louis Lefkowitz Succeeded by Robert Abrams Religion Jewish Party Republican Party | Children 2 Spouse Helen Schwimmer (m. 1931) Political party Republican Role Lawyer | |
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Governor Nelson Rockefeller
Malcolm Wilson
Hugh Carey Full Name Louis J. Lefkowitz Born July 3, 1904
Manhattan, New York ( 1904-07-03 ) Profession Lawyer, Judge, Politician Died June 20, 1996, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Louis J. Lefkowitz (July 3, 1904 – June 20, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Attorney General of New York State for 22 years.
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Personal life
Lefkowitz was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Samuel Lefkowitz and Mollie (Isaacs) Lefkowitz, and brother of Leo Lefkowitz and Helen (Lefkowitz) Schlesinger. On June 14, 1931, he married Helen Schwimmer (1908–1986). They had a son, Stephen Lefkowitz, and a daughter, Joan Lefkowitz Feinbloom.
Political career
Lefkowitz was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 6th D.) in 1928, 1929 and 1930.
In 1935, he became a municipal judge. In 1957, he was elected by the New York State Legislature as New York Attorney General, to succeed Jacob K. Javits, who resigned after his election to the U.S. Senate. Lefkowitz was re-elected in 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974, holding the office for 22 years, the longest tenure since the office was established in 1777.
In 1961, he was the Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City, but lost to Democrat Robert F. Wagner, Jr.
Lefkowitz was a delegate to the 1944, 1948, 1960, and 1964 Republican National Conventions, and an alternate delegate to the 1956 Republican National Convention. He was a moderate or even liberal Republican and part of the Thomas E. Dewey and Nelson A. Rockefeller faction of the New York Republican Party.
Lefkowitz died from Parkinson's disease at his home in Manhattan.
The Louis J. Lefkowitz State Office Building at 80 Centre Street in the Civic Center district of Manhattan was named for him.