Name: Alberto R. Gonzales
Age: 50
Occupation: Attorney General of the United States
Place of Residence: Washington D.C.
Bio: From Wikipedia: “Gonzales was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Humble, near Houston. He was the second of eight children born to Pablo and Maria Gonzales. His father, who died in 1982, was a construction worker. Both his parents were children of immigrants from Mexico with less than a high-school education themselves; in the midst of a national debate in the US about immigration from Mexico, Gonzales told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that no immigration documentation exists for three of his grandparents and they may have entered and resided in the United States illegally” But that never stopped Gonzales from moving forward. A veteran of the Air Force and the only one of his siblings to graduate from college, Gonzales graduated from Harvard Law School in 1982. When he was appointed general counsel to then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, that paved the way for a career with the shrub, becoming Texas Secretary of State in 1997 and finally to be named to the Texas Supreme Court in 1999, both appointments made by Governor Bush.

Why he’s loved: Alberto Gonzales is the first Latino to serve as Attorney General, an example to all Latinos who yearn to play a role in government. He’s considered a hard liner on the issue of homeland security and is loyal to G.W. Busg which makes him a favorite Latino among Republicans. There was buzz that Gonzales was going to be a Supreme Court nominee after Justice O’Connor announced her retirement and after Justice Rehnquist passed,however that never happened.

Why he’s hated: The idea of a Latino Republican just doesn’t make sense for many. Seen by some as a Latino token/lapdog of the Bush administration, the state of Texas executed more prisoners during Gonzales’ term. Gonzales had connections with the former energy company Enron and Gonzales has been accused of telling lies to Congress regarding domestic spying within the U.S. Gonzales wrote a number of memos and Executive Orders that did everything from attempting to place limitations on the Freedom of Information Act by restricting access to the records of former presidents to saying that U.S. use of torture was ok.

Why He’s Influential: As Attorney General he represents Latinos in the highest levels of goverment. His position helps formulate executive policy, and depending where you are on the political spectrum, that could be very good or very bad.

VOTE for Alberto Gonzales as VL’s most Influential Latino 2006.