Governor of Massachusetts from January 3, 1991 to July 29, 1997. Resigned to be nominated for Ambassador to Mexico under President Bill Clinton. That nomination was defeated by the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee under Sen. Jesse Helms, a fellow Republican.
Children: David, Ethel, May, Quentin, Frances.
Served as US Attorney for Massachusetts (1981-86). Promoted in 1986 to head the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in Washington, DC.
Has published three novels.
(As of January 2001 was a partner in law firm McDermott, Will & Emery.