<P> Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics . Cain pursued graduate studies at Purdue University and graduated with a Master of Science in Computer Science in 1971, while also working full - time for the U.S. Department of the Navy . In 1977, he joined Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis where he later became vice president . During the 1980s, his success as a business executive at Burger King prompted Pillsbury Company to appoint him as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, in which capacity he served from 1986 to 1996 . </P> <P> Cain was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch from 1989 to 1991 . He was deputy chairman, from 1992 to 1994, and chairman, from 1995 to 1996, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City . In 1995, Cain was appointed by Newt Gingrich to the Kemp Commission, and was a senior economic adviser to the Bob Dole presidential campaign . Cain became the CEO of the National Restaurant Association, in which he served as president and CEO from 1996 to 1999 . During the presidency of Bill Clinton, Cain publicly opposed the Clinton health care plan of 1993, about which he questioned the president at a town hall meeting . Cain has served as a member of the board of directors of several companies, including Aquila, Inc., Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO . </P> <P> In May 2011, Cain announced his presidential candidacy . By the fall, his proposed 9--9--9 tax plan and debating performances had made him the Republican front - runner and he briefly led President Obama in the polls . In November, however, his campaign struggled with allegations of sexual misconduct--all denied by Cain--and he announced its suspension on December 3 . At the end of 2011, the Pew Research Center reported that, of the Republican candidates, "Herman Cain was the most covered candidate" during the year . On May 15, 2012, Cain endorsed Mitt Romney . </P> <P> Herman Cain was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Lenora (Davis) Cain, a cleaning woman and domestic worker, and Luther Cain Jr., who was raised on a farm and worked as a barber and janitor, as well as a chauffeur for The Coca - Cola Company president Robert W. Woodruff . Cain has said that as he was growing up, his family was "poor but happy ." Cain related that his mother taught him about her belief that "success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but what you start out with spiritually ." His father worked three jobs to own his own home--something he achieved during Cain's childhood--and to see his two sons graduate . </P>

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