Born May 16th, 1937, in Greensboro, NC Moved to a farm in Rock Ridge in

preschool Mother was a teacher, father was a soil

conservationist Was raised in the Free Will Baptist

Church

Went to North Carolina State University Got a bachelor’s and a Mater’s degree at

State for law school Got another law degree at the University

of North Carolina

Married Carolyn Leonard in 1958 They moved to Nepal for 2 years working

as economic advisors to the government under a Ford Foundation grant

Had 4 kids

Was first elected for governor in 1976 Won against Republican David Flaherty Got 65% of the votes

Won governorship again in 1980 Beat Beverly Lake Created The School of Science and

Mathematics and the Microelectronics Center for gifted young adults

Approved a $0.03 gas increase, the money went into highway improvements

He ran for a US senate seat in 1984 but lost 48% to 52%

He ran against Jesse Helms who already had the seat

Spent over $26 million on the race (mostly for TV adds) making it the costliest senate campaign

Left politics because of this and back into law

He returned to politics in 1992 when running for governor again

He defeated Republican Jim Gardner People now started calling him “governor

for life” created Smart Start, a nonprofit program

that provided child care, heath care, and family support for children

Ran for governor again in 1996 Defeated Robin Hayes Hurricanes Fran and Floyd tested his

leadership during this term Left office in 2001, being replaced by

Mike Easley

He improved test scores more than any other state in the 90s

Was the first to have 4 terms as governor Is now a member of the Womble Carlyle

Sandridge & Rice PLLC law firm in Raleigh

Now chairs the board of the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Education Leadership and Policy