Born in Chicago in 1955, Greg Nickels moved to Seattle with his family at the age of six, where he attended Seattle Prep and the University of Washington. He got his first job in city government in the mid-1970s, working as a buyer-trainee in the purchasing department. He was a legislative assistant to City Council member Norm Rice from 1979 until 1987. In that year he was elected to the King County Council and served there until 2001, when he was elected Mayor of Seattle. He served two terms as Mayor but was defeated in the 2009 election. He was perhaps most well known nationally for his environmental advocacy, leading the effort to create the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, in which over 1000 cities pledged to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Kyoto protocols. Nickels was president of the United States Conference of Mayors and also served on the Sound Transit board of directors.