William Joseph Hochul Jr. ( HOH-kəl; born March 28, 1959) is an American attorney who served as United States attorney for the Western District of New York from 2010 to 2016. Hochul has been the first gentleman of New York since August 2021, when his wife, Kathy Hochul, ascended to the governorship following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. He was previously the Second Gentleman while his wife was lieutenant governor from 2015 to 2021.
Hochul is currently counsel at international law firm Davis Polk & Wardell.
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Early life and education
William Joseph Hochul Jr. was born in Buffalo, New York on April 1, 1959. His grandparents were Catholic immigrants from Poland. He graduated from Cheektowaga Central High School in Cheektowaga, New York, just outside Buffalo. Hochul earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984.