Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of New York, serving since 1999. A Democrat, in 2005 he became chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In November 2006, he was elected to the new post of Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In this position, he is the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, behind Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin.

Schumer was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. His parents were Selma Rosen and Abraham Schumer.. He attended public schools in Brooklyn, scoring a perfect 1600 on the SAT, and graduated as the valedictorian from James Madison High School in 1967. Schumer competed for Madison High on the It's Academic television quiz show.

He attended Harvard College, where he became interested in politics and campaigned for Eugene McCarthy in 1968. After completing his undergraduate degree, he continued to Harvard Law School, earning his Juris Doctor in 1974. Schumer passed the New York State Bar Exam in early 1975 but never practiced law, entering politics instead.