ARNIE THE GREAT

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is certainly a name we won't forget. Popularly known as "The Austrian Oak", this bodybuilding champion has the biceps and the brains to take him a long way from his native home of Austria. His thrive for success in everything he undertakes has brought him to where he is today, ever since he crossed the ocean to the U.S. to take part in the 1968 Mr. Universe competition.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria on July 30, 1947.His parents were the local police chief Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972), and his wife, the former Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998), who had been married on October 20, 1945, when he was 38 and she was a 23-year-old widow.

Arnold played many sports, but discovered his passion for bodybuilding when his soccer coach took the team for weight training.

He attended a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local cinemas, viewing his idols such as musclemen Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. He was so dedicated as a youngster that he was known to break into his local gym so that he could train on weekends when it was usually closed.

Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian army in 1965, to fulfill the one-year service requirement expected at the time of all 18 year old Austrian males. During this year he snuck off the base to compete in his first bodybuilding competition, the Mr. Junior Europe, where he won first place. He was punished for sneaking off, but the respect he gained from his superiors was obvious: his drill sergeant once yelled at a group of soldiers, "Why don't you be more like Schwarzenegger!"
By the age of twenty he was named Mr. Germany and Mr. Universe. Later he won many other titles. Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in September of 1968, with little money or knowledge of the English language, and trained at Gold's Gym in Santa Monica under the patronage of Joe Weider. It is here where Schwarzenegger became good friends with professional wrestler, "Superstar" Billy Graham.
In 1977, Arnold Schwarzenegger declared, "Milk is for babies" in Pumping Iron, the documentary about bodybuilders that launched the Austrian's superstar career . He earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where he graduated with degrees in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979. He invested his contest earnings in real estate and a mail-order bodybuilding equipment company.
Schwarzenegger became a U.S. citizen in 1983, although he also retains his Austrian citizenship.
Schwarzenegger is a registered Republican. Schwarzenegger backed Republican President Ronald Reagan (another movie star turned politician) while Reagan was in office, and campaigned for George H.W. Bush in 1988. However, he chastised fellow Republicans during the impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998. Sensing an opportunity to affect the outcome of the 2004 Presidential race, Schwarzenegger campaigned in Ohio for Republican George W. Bush in the closing days of the campaign.
Schwarzenegger was appointed Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in the administration of George H. W. Bush from 1990 to 1993. During that time, Schwarzenegger traveled across the U.S. promoting physical fitness to kids and lobbying all 50 governors in support of school fitness programs. He later served as Chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. Schwarzenegger scored his first real political success on November 5, 2002, when Californians approved his personally crafted and sponsored Proposition 49, the "After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002," an initiative to make state grants available for after-school programs.
On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor Gray Davis being removed from office with 55.4% of the Yes vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the California Constitution, no runoff election was required.
Schwarznegger was sworn into office on November 17, 2003.