Portal:Houston/Selected biography/February 2007

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William "Bill" Howard White (born June 16, 1954) is the current mayor of the city of Houston, Texas (January 2, 2004–present).

Born in San Antonio as the son of school teachers, White attended Harvard University on American Legion scholarships and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in economics. He then attended The University of Texas School of Law, where he was elected editor-in-chief of its law review and graduated with highest honors.

White began his career as a lawyer at Susman Godfrey, LLP, a leading Houston law firm, from 1979 to 1993, where he practiced business litigation and anti-trust law, and eventually became partner. He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy under President Clinton from 1993 to 1995. He organized Frontera Resources, a developer of oil and gas in the Caspian Sea region, and was also the chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, from 1995 to 1998. He was the president and CEO of WEDGE Group, an energy, construction and real estate company, from 1997 to 2004.