Bill Richardson

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has worked some high-level jobs throughout his career – U.S. Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Secretary of Energy – but if you ask him, he'll tell you he's the most qualifed candidate for another position: President of the United States.

The 59-year-old Richardson was born in Pasadena, California to an American father who grew up in Nicaragua and a Mexican mother. Raised in Mexico City, where his father worked as a banker, Richardson moved back to the U.S. at age 13 when he enrolled at the Middlesex School where he was the only Hispanic student and a star baseball player.

In 1966, Richardson attended Tufts University in Boston – his father's alma mater – and majored in political science and French, eventually earning a Master's Degree in International Affairs. In 1980, after a few years of working for the U.S State Department and Senate in international affairs, Richardson moved to New Mexico and ran for Congress, narrowly losing the election. Only two years later, he mounted a second, this time successful campaign and spent the next 14 years serving "La Tierra del Encanto" as a congressman. During his tenure, the friendly legislator was called upon to negotiate the release of American prisoners with various foreign leaders, including Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro.

In 1997, Richardson's diplomatic talents were rewarded when President Bill Clinton appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The following year, he became the Secretary of the Department of Energy where he served for two years. Returning to New Mexico in 2002, Richardson defeated Republican John Sanchez in a tight race for the governorship, serving as the country's only Hispanic governor. Four years later, he was re-elected in a landslide, earning nearly 70 percent of the vote. In early 2007, he announced his intention to run for president, and earlier this week, he formally declared his candidacy.

The self-deprecating Richardson knows he's an underdog in the 2008 race for president, but he maintains that his jam-packed resume is what will separate him from the pack over time. Even if he does not earn his party's nomination, some have speculated that Richardson's qualifications make him a no-brainer for a job he may not be willing to accept: Vice President.