Here's a look at the life of 2016 GOP Presidential candidate and former New York Governor George Pataki.

Birth place: Peekskill, New York

Birth name: George Elmer Pataki

Father: Louis Pataki, postman

Mother: Margaret (Lagana) Pataki

Marriage: Elizabeth "Libby" Rowland (1973-present)

Children: Emily, Teddy, Allison and George Owen

Education: Yale University, B.A., 1967; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1970

Religion: Catholic

Other Facts:

Governor of New York during the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Was an editor of the Columbia Law Review.

Speaks Spanish, French, German and some Hungarian.

He was raised on a farm that his Hungarian grandparents owned.

Calls issues like abortion and same-sex marriage a "distraction" and should be left up to the individual states to decide.

1981 - Becomes the youngest elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York.

1985-1992 - Member of the New York State Assembly, serving four consecutive terms.

1993-1995 - New York State senator for the 37th District.

January 1, 1995 - Begins his first term as the 53rd governor of New York after defeating Mario Cuomo.

1998 - Is re-elected governor of New York.

1998 - "Pataki: An Autobiography" is released.

2002 - Is re-elected governor of New York for his third and final term.

December 17, 2002 - Signs the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) into law, which protects gay and lesbian New Yorkers from workplace, housing and other public services discrimination.

February 16, 2006 - Pataki undergoes an emergency appendectomy.

February 21, 2006 - Pataki undergoes another surgery to alleviate a blockage in his digestive system.

2007 - President George W. Bush nominates Pataki to be a U.S. representative to the 62nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

2007 - Joins the law firm of Chadbourne& Parke, LLP focusing on environmental matters.

April 2010 - Announces the formation of Revere America, a political action committee (PAC) fighting against President Barack Obama's health care legislation.

May 28, 2015 - Pataki announces he will run for the GOP presidential nomination.