(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-30 14:35

As mayor, he fostered a take-charge image by rushing to fires and crime scenes to brief the press, but some critics felt he was more concerned about taking credit from others for what became a historic decline in the city's crime rate during his tenure.

And, while the cleanup of New York in the 1990s helped the city take advantage of the nation's economic boom, critics - especially in minority communities - complained that Giuliani's tactics were too aggressive and trampled on civil rights.

A bout with prostate cancer and the very public breakup of his marriage with second wife Donna Hanover - she first learned he was filing for divorce when he made the announcement at a televised news conference - forced Giuliani to withdraw from a race for the US Senate against Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2000.

By the summer of 2001, public esteem for Giuliani was at a low ebb. On the morning of Sept. 11, Giuliani did what he always did: rushed to the scene.

In the minutes, hours, and days that followed, he presented a calm, determined presence - urging people not to panic, but reminding them of the grim toll of the terrorist attacks. The image of a dusty, sweaty Giuliani walking near Ground Zero, surrounded by firefighters and police, was seared into the national memory.

In December 2001, Time magazine named him "person of the year" and its cover showed Giuliani standing atop a skyscraper in front of the New York City skyline with the label "Rudy Giuliani - tower of strength."

In the years after the attacks, that reputation helped launch a hugely successful consulting business, and got him a major piece of a Washington, D.C.-based law firm with a long list of big corporate clients.

Yet, while Giuliani has long been known as efficient and tough-minded, he also can be brusque, rude and occasionally harsh.

His past associations in business and politics have come under scrutiny. President Bush, at Giuliani's urging, nominated Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner and one-time close associate of Giuliani to head the Homeland Security Department. Kerik withdrew his nomination, and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of accepting a gift from a company suspected of ties to organized crime.

In the final days of his Florida campaign, the former mayor trailed badly in polls but insisted he would win an upset victory. As the actual votes were counted, only about one in six GOP voters chose Giuliani.

With no working strategy, no primary victories, and dwindling resources, the mayor's third-place finish spelled the end of his campaign, even if his crestfallen supporters couldn't believe it.

"They'll be sorry!" a woman with a New York accent called out to the mayor as he spoke. "You sound like my mother," Giuliani joked.

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