Dianne Feinstein is California’s senior Senator and the longest-serving woman senator ever. She has built a reputation as an independent voice, working hard to find commonsense solutions to problems facing California and the nation. Let’s get to know a lot more about who she is.
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein, née Dianne Emiel Goldman, was born on June 22, 1933 in San Francisco, California, United States and died at her Washington, D.C., home Thursday night (September 28, 2023).
Her parents were Leon Goldman, a prominent surgeon; and his wife Betty (née Rosenburg), a former model. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Her maternal grandparents, the Rosenburgs, were from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Although they were of German-Jewish ancestry, they practiced the Russian Orthodox (Christian) faith, as was required for Jews in Saint Petersburg.
Christianity was passed down to Feinstein’s mother, who insisted on her transferral from a Jewish day school to a prestigious local Catholic school, but Feinstein listed her religion as Judaism.
She was an American Democratic politician who represented California in the U.S. Senate from 1992 to 2023.
She was the first woman to serve as senator from that state. Feinstein had previously served as the first female mayor of San Francisco (1978–88).
What was her educational background?
Senator Feinstein spent her childhood in San Francisco’s upscale Presidio Terrace district. She attended public school through the eighth grade and eventually became the only Jewish student at an elite Roman Catholic high school, the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School.
Feinstein entered Stanford University in 1951,first as a premed student and then as a political science and history major. After graduating in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree, she interned at the Coro Foundation in San Francisco, an organization whose goal was to provide young people with political experience.
What was Feinstein’s first career appointment?
From 1960 to 1966 Feinstein worked on the California Women’s Board of Terms and Parole. She chaired San Francisco’s Advisory Committee for Adult Detention from 1966 to 1968, and in 1969 she won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She served in this role for nine years and was the board’s first female president (1970–71, 1974–75, 1978).
How did Feinstein first become mayor?
In 1971 and again in 1975, she ran unsuccessfully for mayor of San Francisco. In 1978, when Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated, Feinstein, as president of the Board of Supervisors, succeeded to the mayoral position. Just a few days before the assassinations, the followers of Jim Jones—most of whom were former Bay Area residents—had committed mass suicide at their compound in Guyana.
Feinstein’s leadership during this difficult time in the city’s history earned her much respect and public support. She was elected mayor in her own right in 1979 and served until 1988. While in office, she received high marks for improving city services such as garbage collection and transportation and for furthering gay rights. In 1982, however, she opposed a measure that would have granted registered domestic partners the right to some benefits, such as insurance; that position cost her the support of much of her constituency.
When was she elected into office as Senator?
Dianne Feinstein was elected into Senate in 1992 after serving the maximum of two terms as Mayor of San Francisco.
She first ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of California in 1990, but lost to Republican Sen. Pete Wilson. When Wilson won the election and vacated his Senate position, Feinstein was then elected to take over his seat. She was accordingly sworn into office in November 1992 for a special two-year term and was reelected to a full six-year term in 1994.
While in office, Feinstein wrote a legislation that included a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of semiautomatic military combat weapons and drafted the California Desert Protection Act, which called for the protection of more than 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of desert, national parks, and nature reserves.
During her career she continued to focus on criminal justice and environmental concerns. She served on several committees during her tenure in the Senate, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which she was the first female member, the Appropriations Committee, the Rules and Administration Committee, and the Select Committee on Intelligence. In 2007, when the Democrats regained control of the U.S. Senate, Feinstein became the first woman to serve as chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
Health challenges becoming a worry.
In 2022, as the 88-year-old senator appeared to suffer from short-term memory issues, there arose concerns about Feinstein’s ability to serve. While she rejected calls for her resignation, the following year several Democrats announced that they would challenge Feinstein for her Senate seat in 2024.
In February 2023, Feinstein declared that she would not seek reelection. She died in September at the age of 90.
Was Feinstein ever married or had children?
Feinstein was married three times. First to Jack Berman (who worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office) in 1956 through to 1959, and had a daughter Katherine Anne Feinstein (born Berman) on July 31, 1957—who later became a judge—before divorcing in 1959.
Three years later she wed Bertram Feinstein, a neurosurgeon, in 1962 but Bertram died in 1978 due to colon cancer, rendering her widowed. They had no children.
In 1980 she married Richard C. Blum, who was an investment banker. They were together until his death in 2022.
Dianne Feinstein’s daughter, Katherine Feinstein Mariano (b. 1957), was the presiding judge of the San Francisco Superior Court for 12 years, through 2012.
What was her net worth before her demise?
Feinstein was one of the richest U.S. lawmakers, with a net worth as high as $69.4 million this year, according to financial disclosure records according to cbsnews.com.
Feinstein’s most recent financial disclosure form, filed in May, shows that her wealth included millions held in a blind trust — a standard financial arrangement for members of Congress — U.S. Treasury bills and other low-risk instruments, and money stashed in several large bank accounts. She also owned a condominium in Hawaii worth as much as $5 million, according to the document.