Phil Hardberger was elected Mayor of San Antonio on June 7, 2005. A veteran public servant, Hardberger was the first Mayor in modern San Antonio history ever to have been elected from outside the City Council.

A Texas native, Hardberger served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force where he piloted the B-47 bomber. He then went on to serve as Executive Secretary of the U.S. Peace Corps and as Assistant Director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity. Hardberger had a distinguished legal career in San Antonio before being elected Associate Justice and then Chief Justice of the Fourth Court of Appeals.

A graduate of Baylor University, Columbia University, and Georgetown Law School, Hardberger has authored two books on courtroom evidence and procedure.

His honors include the 1999 Star of Texas Public Service Award for Judicial Ethics and Excellence and the St. Mary’s University School of Law’s Rosewood Gavel Award. Hardberger was named Texas Judge of the Year in 2003, and given the nation’s highest award by the National Council of Chief Judges in 2004.

A pilot and race-car driver, Hardberger has completed ascents of Mount Rainier and Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mayor Hardberger has been married to wife, Linda, for 37 years. He has two daughters and two grandchildren.