Meet Vice President Al Gore

Al Gore was born on March 31, 1948, to then-Senator Albert Gore, Sr., and Pauline Gore. Raised in Carthage, Tennessee, and our nation's capital, he received an honors degree in government from Harvard University in 1969. After graduation, he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and later became an investigative reporter with The Nashville Tennessean. He attended Vanderbilt University Divinity School and Vanderbilt Law School and also operated a small home-building business.

Gore's congressional career began when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976. He was elected to the Senate in 1984 and re-elected in 1990, becoming the first candidate in modern history -- Republican or Democrat -- to win all 95 of Tennessee's counties. A candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1988, Gore won more than three million primary votes.

Al Gore was inaugurated as the 45th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 1993. Bill Clinton chose him as a running mate, in part because of his outstanding leadership on environmental and technology issues. As Vice President, Al Gore is involved in a wide range of Administration initiatives, directs the National Performance Review, and advises the President on foreign policy matters.

Among elected officials, Vice President Gore's environmental record is outstanding. He is the author of the national best-seller Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit, which outlines an international plan of action to confront global environmental crises. In 1994, President Clinton and Vice President Gore unveiled the Global Climate Change Action Plan, a strategy to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The Vice President also began the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, an international project that brings together children, educators, and scientists to monitor the global environment.

As Vice President, Al Gore has worked hard to encourage interest in the National Information Infrastructure and the development of a Global Information Infrastructure -- systems to increase access to advanced computing and communication technologies. He also chairs the Community Enterprise Board of the President's Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program, which designates certain areas of the country as eligible to receive federal assistance to implement plans for revitalization. Al Gore has moderated three annual Family Reunion Conferences for policy makers and experts, citizens, and community service providers to address issues that affect American families.

Vice President Gore is married to Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson Gore. They have four children: Karenna, Kristin, Sarah, and Albert III.