Susanna Forte

*This name uses Spanish naming customs. The first or paternal family name is* Juárez*, while the second or maternal family name is* Camarillo*.*

**Susanna María Juárez Camarillo Forte** (born 16 August 1958) is a Californian politician currently serving as the President of California since 2010, the first female and Mestizo to hold this office. Previously, Forte served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1998 to 2010, was the Leader of the Liberal Conservative Party from 2004 to 2010, and was Minister of Economics from 2006 to 2010.

Born to a working-class family of Mexican immigrants in San Diego and raised nearby Chula Vista, Forte graduated from Castle Park High School in 1976. She went on to work low-paying retail jobs until her marriage in 1977, and subsequently became a homemaker. In 1990, Forte received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of San Diego, and began a career as an economist in San Diego. She left her career as an economist in 1998 to begin a career in politics.

Forte's political career began in 1998, when she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Liberal Conservative Party, representing San Diego. While a deputy, Forte became a rising star in her party due to her outspokenness and bipartisanship. By 2002, Forte had become the most popular politician of her party. In 2004, Forte was elected leader of the Liberal Conservative Party after being unopposed in the leadership election. She helped the party join the governing coalition in the 2006 election. After joining the governing coalition, Forte was appointed Minister of Economics by Prime Minister William Hemsworth. Forte was nominated as the Liberal Conservative candidate in the 2010 presidential election, and quickly began rising in polls after controversies engulfing the Social Democratic and Republican candidates Thomas Jensen and Paul Woolf, respectively. Forte won the first round of the election, and later advanced to the runoff against Jensen, where she won. She was inaugurated as President on 3 November 2010, becoming the first female and Mestizo-Californian to be President of California. She won reelection against Social Democratic candidate Isaac Menendez in the 2015 election.

During her tenure as president, Forte has been praised by both ends of the political spectrum for her bipartisanship, transparency, and likability as an international representative of California. Although the president does not have the power to propose or pass legislation, Forte has come out in support socially liberal bills such as the passage of same-sex marriage in 2012 and the easing of abortion restrictions in 2013. Opinion polling in 2017 place public support of Forte at 81%, one of the highest in the world and the highest of any Californian president of all-time.

## Early life and family

Forte was born on 16 August 1958 in San Diego to parents Armando (1928–2013) and Sofía Juárez (née *Camarillo*; 1931–). Both were emigrants from Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico who arrived in San Diego during the late-1940s. Armando worked jobs as a manual laborer and in other low-paying blue-collar positions, while Sofía worked as a housekeeper at a luxury hotel in La Jolla. Forte's native language is Spanish, and she learned English while in school. When she was four years old, her family moved to the nearby city of Chula Vista, where Forte grew up. She has three elder sisters – Amelia, born  (1950-04-12) 12 April 1950 (age 73), Rosa, born  (1951-07-30) 30 July 1951 (age 72), and Paola, born  (1957-01-02) 2 January 1957 (age 67) – two elder brothers – Julio, born  (1954-10-18) 18 October 1954 (age 69), and José, born  (1956-06-13) 13 June 1956 (age 67) – and a younger brother – Marco, born  (1960-09-28) 28 September 1960 (age 63).

## Education and early career

Forte began her education in 1963, attending public schooling in Chula Vista. She began high school at Castle Park High School in 1972. While in high school, Forte developed a love for cooking, and wanted to pursue a career as either a professional chef or a high school home economics teacher. She was a member of her high school's cheerleading squad, and served as co-captain in her senior year. Outside of high school, Forte was an accomplished gymnast and dancer, who wished to represent California at the Olympic Games as a gymnast one day. Forte graduated from high school in 1976, and was elected prom queen upon her graduation.

After graduating from high school, Forte ultimately opted not to attend college, as her parents wished for her to be a housewife and mother, which she accepted. She worked small part-time jobs in the retail and food preparation industries for a year, until her marriage in 1977. After getting married, Forte stopped working to become a homemaker. In 1986, Forte decided to go back to school and enrolled in the University of San Diego as an economics major. She graduated with her bachelor's degree in 1990. After graduating from college, Forte received a position working at a San Diego economics consulting firm. She remained in this position until beginning her political career in 1998.

## Political career

### Chamber of Deputies

In 1997, Forte was invited by the by the Liberal Conservative Party to be included on their ticket for the 1998 Californian general election in San Diego. The party ultimately won enough seats for Forte to be seated, and she became a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Shortly after first receiving her seat, she became well-known throughout California for her outspokenness and bipartisanship. By 2002, Forte had the highest polling rates of any politician in her party. She was later reelected in the 2002 and 2006 elections.

### Minister of Economics

In June 2004, Forte announced her candidacy for Leader of the Liberal Conservative Party after the announcement that Jeffrey Goddard would be resigning from the position prior to the 2004 election. She won the election by default shortly afterwards, as no other candidate stepped forward to run against her. As leader, she lead the Liberal Conservative Party in the 2004 election, and saw a great increase in seats for the party.

In the 2006 election, Forte led the Liberal Conservatives to become the second-largest party in the Chamber of Deputies. They formed a coalition with the Republican Party, and Forte was appointed Minister of Economics by Prime Minister William Hemsworth. Throughout her tenure as Minister of Economics, Forte consistently was ranked as the most-popular minister amongst the Californian public. She officially resigned from the position on 3 November 2010 due to her inauguration as president.

### President of California

On 22 December 2009, Forte officially announced that she'd be nominating herself as the Liberal Conservative nominee for the 2010 presidential election. Her nomination was confirmed by the Liberal Conservative members of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate in January 2010.

Beginning the election cycle as third in the polls behind the Social Democratic and Republican candidates Thomas Jensen and Paul Woolf, respectively, Forte began to rise significantly following a strong performance in the first debate on 18 March 2010, and controversies engulfing both Jensen and Woolf. In the first round vote, held on 26 May 2010, Forte placed first after receiving 42.7% of the total vote. She advanced to the second round along with Jensen. In the second round vote, held on 21 July 2010, Forte won the election with 56.4% of the vote, largely due to endorsements from the Republican Party. She was inaugurated and took office on 3 November 2010, becoming the first female and first Mestizo to become president.

As President of California, Forte holds no actual power over legislation or law, yet serves as the nation's chief international diplomat, cultural representative, symbolic ruler, and commander of the armed forces. Despite not having actual power, she can influence legislation by announcing her support or disapproval of certain bills, and can veto any ministerial appointments made by the Prime Minister. As president, Forte has influenced the passing of a same-sex marriage bill in 2012 and the easing of abortion restrictions in 2013. Additionally, she vetoed the appointment of far-left deputy Howard Kazinsky as Minister of Economics in 2016, becoming the first ministerial veto by the president since the 1990s.

## Personal life

Forte began a relationship with Italian national Giorgio Forte in 1976, while she was a senior in high school and he was a sophomore at the University of San Diego, after meeting at an on-campus party. They became engaged in February 1977, after Susanna had become pregnant, and married that April. Through his marriage to Susanna, Giorgio received Californian citizenship in 1981. Prior to her election as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, Giorgio worked for a non-governmental organization in San Diego. After her election, he began *The Free Bird Organization*, a lobbying group based out of Los Angeles. The organization lobbies for official pardons of non-violent offenders serving long prison sentences in order to assist with overcrowding and to ease taxpayer spending on public prisons. He resigned from his position at the organization in 2010 to prioritize his duties as First Gentleman.

Susanna and Giorgio have five children together: Claudia, born  (1977-09-13) 13 September 1977 (age 46), Daniella, born  (1978-10-30) 30 October 1978 (age 45), Robert, born  (1980-05-22) 22 May 1980 (age 43), Christina, born  (1981-12-17) 17 December 1981 (age 42), and Pietro, born  (1983-03-24) 24 March 1983 (age 40). Claudia has served in the Chamber of Deputies since 2012. The family is Roman Catholic. While Susanna and Giorgio have both resided in Los Angeles Plaza since her election as president, none of their children have ever permanently lived there with them. Before her election to the Chamber of Deputies, the family lived in the San Diego suburb of Carlsbad.