Michael Chertoff is an American attorney and former government official born on November 28, 1953, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He earned a B.A. from Harvard University in 1975 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1978, with additional study at the London School of Economics. He began his legal career as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York in 1983, prosecuting major Mafia families, and later served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he oversaw the investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2003, he was appointed as a U.S. Circuit Judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Chertoff's most prominent role came as the second U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, serving from February 15, 2005, to January 21, 2009, under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act, he played a key role in shaping post-9/11 national security policies and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. His tenure was marked by responses to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and efforts to reform immigration and border security. Post-government, he co-founded The Chertoff Group, a security consulting firm where he serves as Executive Chairman, and is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP (and previously at another major law firm), focusing on national security, cybersecurity, and regulatory issues. He also serves on boards of think tanks focused on security policy and is known as a long-term business partner and former superior at the Department of Homeland Security.