Bruce M. Botelho is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 attorney and politician in the state of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. Born in Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...

, he has served as the mayor of Juneau on two occasions and was the Alaska Attorney General

Alaska Attorney General

The Alaska Attorney General is the chief legal advisor to the government of the State of Alaska and to its governor. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature. The position has existed since the early days of the Territory of Alaska, though it was...

 for eight years. He is currently mayor of Juneau.

Early life

Bruce Botelho was born in Juneau, Alaska, in 1948. He was raised in that city and in Anchorage, graduating from Juneau Douglas High School in 1966, after which he attended school in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 as an exchange student. He graduated from Willamette University

Willamette University

Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...

 in Salem, Oregon

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

, with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 Literature in 1971. Botelho then went to law school

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

 and graduated from Willamette’s School of Law

Willamette University College of Law

Willamette University College of Law is a private law school located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1842, Willamette University is the oldest university in the Western United States...

 with a Juris Doctorate in 1976. He also earned a ZP (Germanistik), at Ruprecht Karl Universität in Heidelberg, Germany. He married the former Maria De Guadalupe Alvarez, known as Lupita, and they have two children, Alex and Adriana. Bruce is an accomplished international folk dancer.

Career

The first job out of law school for Bruce was in the Alaska Attorney General’s office in 1976. He then began his political career in 1983 when he was elected to the City and Borough of Juneau assembly. He was elected as mayor of Juneau in October 1988, serving until October 1991. He served as deputy attorney general for Alaska beginning in 1992. On January 12,1994 he was appointed by Governor Walter J. Hickel as Attorney General and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature that May. In December 1994, Governor Hickel was succeeded by Tony Knowles, who asked Botelho to continue in office. He served until December 2002. In October 2003, he was elected to his second term as mayor of Juneau. Botelho was re-elected in October 2006 and again in October 2009. Botelho is a member of the Tongass Futures Roundtable,, serves on the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission, is a director of the Alaska Municipal League and president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. He is a former trustee of the Alaska Permanent Fund

Alaska Permanent Fund

The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976, primarily by the efforts of then Governor Jay Hammond...

, an original trustee of the Alaska Children's Trust, and former chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. He has been an active participant in Scouting, having served as president of the Southeast Alaska Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and in numerous other volunteer Scouting capacities.