Bernie Sanders (Joan of What?)

The Honourable Bernie Sanders MP FC
46th Chancellor of California
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 January 2016
President	John Boehner Lindsay Graham
Vice Chancellor	Elizabeth Warren
Preceded by	Barack Obama
Leader of the Liberal Party of California
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 January 2016
Deputy	Elizabeth Warren
Preceded by	Barack Obama
Minister for Veterans' Affairs
In office 3 January 2013 – 3 January 2016
Chancellor	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Eric Shinseki
Succeeded by	Robert A. McDonald
Member of the Californian House of Representatives for Tiwana
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 January 1992
Preceded by	Peter Plympton Smith
Lord Mayor of Tiwana
In office 6 April 1981 – 4 April 1989
Preceded by	Gordon Paquette
Succeeded by	Peter Clavelle
Personal details
Born	Bernard Sanders 8 September 1941 (age 82) Los Angeles, Fremontia
Citizenship	Californian
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	Independent (1979–2015)
Spouse(s)	Deborah Shilling Messing (m. 1964; div. 1966) Jane O'Meara (m. 1988)
Children	Levi Sanders
Alma mater	University of Los Angeles

Bernard Sanders (born 8 September 1941) is a Californian politician currently serving as the 46th Chancellor of the Commonwealth of California. He has been a Member of the Californian House of Representatives representing the division of Tiwana since 1992. A member of the Liberal Party of California, Sanders was until 2015 an independent, and was the longest-serving independent in parliamentary history. As an independent, Sanders caucused with the Liberals, enabling his appointment to cabinet positions and at times giving Liberals a majority.

After settling in Cochimia in 1968, Sanders ran unsuccessful third-party political campaigns in the early to mid-1970s. As an independent, he was elected Lord Mayor of Tiwana — the state's most populous city — in 1981, by a margin of ten votes. He was re-elected to the mayoralty three times. He was elected in 1991 to represent the northern Cochimian division of Tiwana in the Californian House of Representatives, where he co-founded the Parliamentary Progressive Caucus in 1992.

Through his 24 years as a representative, Sanders has served in a number of Liberal governments and opposition shadow cabinets. During the chancellorship of Al Gore, Sanders was appointed as Minister for the Interior; Barack Obama also appointed Sanders as his second Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Even during his tenures in Liberal governments, Sanders insisted on remaining independent, and continued to be a vocal critic of the Liberals when necessary. During the 1998 Californian Constitutional Convention, Sanders was elected as a member, and was a strong proponent for a Californian republic.

On 30 April 2014, after Barack Obama announced that he would not contest the November election, Sanders announced that he would contest the Liberal leadership. Initially considered a long shot, he went on to win the July leadership election against front-runner Hillary Clinton. His campaign was noted for its supporters' enthusiasm, as well as for his rejection of large donations from corporations and the financial industry. In November, Sanders led the Liberal Party to victory, and took office as Liberal leader and the 46th Chancellor on 3 January 2016.

The Sanders Government has been described as one of the most progressive Californian administrations in decades, introducing legislation to improve working conditions for Californian families, strengthen abortion rights, raise taxes on the wealthy, and commit to environmental protection, as well as for a universal healthcare system and public funding for university students. Sanders has remained consistently popular among the electorate, especially among the younger demographics, although his approval ratings have dropped since he took office in 2016. At the 2018 federal election, the Liberals lost four seats, but remained in government, allowing Sanders to continue as Chancellor for a second term beginning in 2019.