Homeland Security Nominee Took Rocky Path to Leadership

Bernard Kerik easily would bring the most colorful background to an otherwise uniformly button-down Bush Cabinet -- standing in sharp contrast to Tom Ridge, the by-the-books public servant he is expected to succeed as Homeland Security secretary.

Kerik, 49, is the son of an alcoholic prostitute who was found murdered in a pimp’s bed, as he recounted in his 2002 autobiography, “The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice.” He described himself as a troublemaker; by age 16, he said, he was a veteran of countless street fights. A student of martial arts, he dropped out of high school and joined the Army.

Assigned to South Korea as a military policeman, Kerik got a young local woman pregnant, and was transferred back to the United States. Through discipline and determination, he changed course, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Empire State College in New York.

After working briefly as a security guard in Saudi Arabia, Kerik worked his way up the law enforcement ladder. By 30, he was warden of the largest county correctional facility in New Jersey.

But he took a 50% pay cut to fulfill a lifelong dream -- becoming a New York City police officer. It didn’t take Kerik long to stand out, and he soon joined the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, participating in many spectacular sting operations.

In 1993, he joined the security detail of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the crime-busting U.S. attorney who was running for New York mayor. When Giuliani was elected the following year, he named Kerik the corrections department’s first deputy commissioner, a position overseeing what many regarded as an explosive prison system on Rikers Island. But under Kerik’s supervision, violent incidents dropped by 93%.

In 2000, Giuliani named him New York’s 40th police commissioner. Kerik resigned after Giuliani left office in 2002, then joined the former mayor at Giuliani Partners, a strategic consulting firm, as senior vice president.

Kerik finished writing his autobiography at 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, just hours before the first hijacked passenger jet slammed into the World Trade Center.

Like Giuliani, albeit to a lesser extent, Kerik won broad recognition for his response and leadership in the aftermath of the attacks.

“Being the police commissioner after Sept. 11 is painful,” Kerik later told television host Oprah Winfrey.

“It’s heart-wrenching. But it also has clearly demonstrated to me that this is the best job you could ever have. Because the people that work for [me], there are none better.”

His job performance also drew notice at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. In 2003, after U.S. forces had ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, President Bush dispatched Kerik to Iraq to help organize a 35,000-member police force.

Upon Kerik’s return, Bush welcomed him back publicly on the White House South Lawn, praising him for completing his task “in a very quick period of time.”

“Bernie went there and made a big difference,” Bush said.