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Washington’s biggest news-makers In the past year, Robert Griffin III and IMF chief Christine Lagarde jumped into the ranks of Washington’s biggest news makers. Who else is there? We look at enduring stars, supernovas and people known as much for infamy as fame. Let us know in the comments section who else you think should be included.
Robert Griffin III, Redskins quarterback
The 2011 Heisman-winning quarterback did everything expected of him in his first season for the Redskins. A big question: Will he come back from the injury that ended his -- and the team's -- playoff dream?
John McDonnell
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The Washington Post
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Christine Lagarde, managing director, International Monetary Fund
In 2011, Forbes ranked Lagarde the world's ninth most-powerful person. She was the first woman to become minister of economic affairs of a Group of Eight economy, first female chair of the international law firm Baker & McKenzie and first female chief of the International Monetary Fund — following the scandal-plagued, hard-partying Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Lagarde doesn't drink alcohol and is a vegetarian. She sang ska in a band in college, and her hobbies include scuba diving.
Neil Hall
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Reuters
Jose Andres, chef, TV personality, philanthropist
Is there a cuisine the peripatetic Jose Andres can’t master? The chef’s starry restaurants come in flavors as diverse as Mexican, Greek and Chinese and can be enjoyed on both coasts. (Plus, there’s his classes in culinary physics at Harvard and his occasional “Top Chef” and Anthony Bourdain guest spot). But his work with job training for the homeless in Washington and relief efforts in Haiti, among other passions, reminds us why Andres is the best ambassador Spain has ever sent over.
Timothy A. Clary
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AFP/Getty Images
Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court justice
The first Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has gone where few recent justices have lived, buying a home in the rising U Street corridor. She also has been widely praised for her best-selling memoir. What's next for the justice in the city: Washington Nationals fandom? Doubtful. Sotomayor was born in the Bronx and has been a longtime Yankees fan. On news she would be appointed to the Supreme Court, she said: "I had my [hand] over my chest, trying to calm my beating heart, literally."
Tim Sloan
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AFP/Getty Images
Marion Barry, D.C. Council member, ex-mayor
In his first phase, he was a civil rights activist from Mississippi who worked hard to rise to power as the District’s second black mayor. Second phase: cocaine, conviction, disgrace. Third phase: council member, still often politically incorrect, but one with the devotion of many Washingtonians who are marginalized by the city's yuppie invasion/transformation. Cheered at the funeral in May of another D.C. one-of-a-kind: go-go pioneer Chuck Brown.
Linda Davidson
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The Washington Post
Vincent C. Gray, mayor
The native Washingtonian personally integrated George Washington University's Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity in 1963 and expanded Covenant House into a leader for homeless care. But his time as mayor and his 2010 campaign have been under scrutiny. Questions over campaign funds, an undisclosed satellite negative campaign and possession of a list of voters in public housing have sullied his administration. Associates have been charged in connection with accusations.
Sarah L. Voisin
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The Washington Post
Bryce Harper/Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
One is the N.L. Rookie of the Year; the other returned to become an established star. At 19, the brash, hard-working Harper was the youngest non-pitcher ever on an All-Star squad. Strasburg is an anchor of the best starting pitching staff in baseball.
Joe Skipper
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Reuters
Gwen Ifill, host, Washington Week in Review
The face of a weekly TV program broadcast to the nation, Ifill also is a blogger, columnist and public speaker who projects an everywoman personality. In a commencement speech to Bates College, Ifill spoke of tripping while walking in town — while reading on her smartphone. She moderated the 2004 and 2008 vice presidential debates and is the author of the book "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.''
Frederick M. Brown
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Getty Images
Jim Yong Kim, World Bank president
A doctor and anthropologist, Kim was a MacArthur fellow and co-founder of Partners in Health, an innovative nonprofit organization that has about 14,000 employees working on preventive care and collaborating with local caregivers to improve health in low-income communities worldwide. Kim, nominated by President Obama for the World Bank, left the presidency of Dartmouth College for the promise of fusing economic development and global health.
Jacquelyn Martin
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AP
Valerie Jarrett, presidential gatekeeper
One of three senior advisers to President Obama, Jarrett was deputy chief of staff to Chicago's mayor when she met and offered a job to the woman who would become the first lady. The Stanford- and Michigan Law School-educated Jarrett co-chaired Obama's transition team. She's in charge of public engagement and intergovernmental affairs. Did we say powerful?
Marvin Joseph
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The Washington Post
Barack and Michelle Obama, U.S. president and first lady
By definition, the president almost always is the leading character in this town, and an active first lady is a bonus. Their influence goes beyond government to fashion, exercise, sports, gardening and fighting child obesity. One effect of note: The Obamas have helped the local restaurant industry with the publicity from their frequent visits.
Patrick Smith
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Getty Images
David Rubenstein, Carlyle Group founder
A Baltimore native, Rubenstein is extraordinarily D.C. civic-minded. And he’s able to be: In 2011, Forbes ranked him the 138th richest person in America. In 2010, he bought the last privately owned copy of the Magna Carta for $21.3 million and lent it to the National Archives, which he has given $13.5 million for a new gallery and visitors center. After 2011's earthquake, Rubenstein pledged $7.5 to help repair the damaged Washington Monument. In December, he donated $4.5 million to the National Zoo’s cash-strapped giant panda program.
Ricky Carioti
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The Washington Post
Andy Shallal, bookstore/restaurant owner, neighborhood redeveloper
People didn't know what to make of Shallal when he opened Busboys and Poets, his Langston Hughes tribute bookstore-restaurant, along Washington's Black Broadway, the U Street corridor. The naturalized Iraqi American, who became obsessed with Harlem's renaissance in school, has expanded to Shirlington, Fifth and K streets NW and Hyattsville. He sees himself as an activist first, businessman second. “I call him ‘democracy’s restaurateur,' " Ralph Nader says.
Matt McClain
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For The Washington Post
Michelle Bachmann, member of Congress
Magnetic, dogmatic; loved, hated. There's no middle ground for this GOP member of Congress and onetime presidential contender. She was named to "The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People for 2012'' — and excoriated by 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain for casting aspersions at Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's aide for a purported Arab American conspiracy. Almost anything she says can go radioactive — that's why she's covered so closely.
Jonathan Ernst
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Reuters
Grover Norquist, anti-tax advocate, big government bete noire
Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform is behind the pledge not to raise marginal income tax rates for individuals and businesses, a document that has influenced Republican lawmakers (Democrats might say handcuffed them) for a generation. Norquist began working for Republicans before he was a teenager, volunteering in Richard M. Nixon's 1968 campaign. One effort, to bring the Arab American community into the Republican Party, caught Michele Bachmann's attention, and he was included in her harangue about an anti-Muslim conspiracy.
Haraz N. Ghanbari
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AP
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former secretary of state
Brainy first lady, heavy-hitting senator, former U.S. secretary of state, she's often seen as a favorite for another Washington residence in 2016 -- 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. She has built coalitions across party lines, earning the respect of John McCain as well as President Obama, her bitter 2008 primary-season rival.
Jacquelyn Martin
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AP
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![The first Hispanic appointed to the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has gone where few recent justices have lived, buying a home in the rising U Street corridor. She also has been widely praised for her best-selling memoir. What's next for the justice in the city: Washington Nationals fandom? Doubtful. Sotomayor was born in the Bronx and has been a longtime Yankees fan. On news she would be appointed to the Supreme Court, she said: 'I had my [hand] over my chest, trying to calm my beating heart, literally.'](/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/03/30/Conversations/Images/CNN-5-SoniaSotomayor.jpg)
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