Tom Ridge, Head of Homeland Security

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 8 -- Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge moves into his new office in the White House today, his first day as the head of the new Office of Homeland Security.

Ridge's office will be steps away from President Bush's. He will be one of the select few officials participating in top-level war council meetings every day as he oversees domestic efforts to prevent terrorist actions.

Bush and his new homeland security chief have been political and personal friends for more than 20 years. Their relationship will make all the difference to Ridge's success in Washington.

"Tom Ridge can pick up the phone and immediately call the president and say, 'Mr. President, you've got to break a tie, we've got a big problem here,'" said Gov. Frank Keating, R-Okla. "The president trusts Tom enough to say, 'Well, let's think about it. Let's talk about it' — whatever the issue may be."

Bush senior also considers Ridge a favorite — ever since he helped Bush run for president in 1980.

Bush announced Ridge as head of his newly created Office of Homeland Security during his address to Congress on Sept. 20. He created the position after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America, in which hijacked airplanes struck New York and Washington, leaving thousands dead or missing. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, Ridge's home state.

Ridge, 56, will have a staff of nearly 100 officials, most of them currently working for the White House or other agencies, plus a dozen employees of his own.

Experienced Crime Fighter

Friends say Ridge's broad portfolio — 12 years in Congress and two terms as Pennsylvania's governor — will prove invaluable, especially his focus on fighting crime.

Ridge campaigned for tough crime measures, and signed some into law as governor. Among them was a bill requiring trigger locks on guns and another making it a felony for convicted felons to possess guns.

A Political Household

Ridge was born in 1945, while his father was away in the Navy during World War II. His father later became a meat salesman in Erie, Pa., where the family lived in a housing project.