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Arnold Alois Schwarzeneger was born in Thal which is a small town in Austria in 1947. He was the son of the local chief of police, his father had been part of the German army during the second world war but fell victim to malaria in 1943, which meant the end of his military career. Arnold was brought up strictly in a Catholic fashion, with visits to the local church on Sundays.
From 1965 to 1966 he served in the army as a draftee, he entered and won the Jr. Mr. Europe contest of 1965 for which he went absent without leave in order to be able to enter into the contest. Later on he won a second contest and earned the title "best shaped man in Europe", which was the actual start of his bodybuilding career.
In 1966 he entered the Mr. Universe competition in London, but was second to Chester Yorton. After the event he got invited by one of the judges who was impressed by his appearance and offered to start coaching him. While training in London Arnold also developed a better grasp on the English language, and in 1967 he succeeded in taking the Mr. Universe title. Obtaining the title at age 20 also meant he was the youngest Mr. Universe in history. He would hold his title for 3 years in a row.
In 1968 Schwarzenegger moved to the United States where he started to pursue a career in acting, while continuing to train, his accent being his largest obstacle. In 1973 he won the Mr. Olympia title, which he would hold for another 7 years.
His first appearance on screen occurred in 1970 where he played the part of Hercules in the movie of the same name, using the pseudonym Arnold Strong. This debut was followed by a part in The Long Goodbye in 1973, after which he scored a bigger part in Stay Hungry in 1976 for which he gained a Golden Globe award. 1982 was the breakthrough year for Schwarzenegger when he obtained the leading role in Conan The Barbarian and also played the part in the following sequel in 1984. After this he would appear in the role that has made him legendary, playing the leading part in the Terminator, as he would in the 2 sequels to follow years after the original.
In the mean time during the eighties action movies became widely popular and the genre landed him and other action stars like Sylvester Stalone and to a lesser extent Jean Claude van Damme, into international stardom.
In all those years Schwarzenegger has been known to be a Republican and is also registered as such. During his acting years, his political views were often a topic of discussion as they often clashed with the views of many other famous stars. Therefore his political stance was clear from the start.
Schwarzenegger appeared in a 1985 anti drugs video, promoted by the government and was actively involved in the Reagan campaign in 1988. From 1990 to 1994 Schwarzenegger has been chairman for many organizations which gained him his first experiences in politics.
In 2003 he actually ran for governor of California, something he had contemplated often in the years before, and won. He also won the re-election in 2006, despite a bad financial period.
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