James Holshouser

James Eubert Holshouser, Jr. (born October 8, 1934) was the 68th Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was born in Boone, North Carolina.

Holshouser was trained as an attorney and served several terms representing Watauga County, NC in the North Carolina General Assembly. He also chaired the state Republican Party before becoming North Carolina's first Republican governor elected since 1896, narrowly defeating Skipper Bowles. At age 38, he was also the state's youngest governor since the nineteenth century. Many Republicans disliked Holshouser's moderate stances on issues. The governor supported Gerald Ford for president in 1976, while Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms supported Ronald Reagan. When Reagan won the North Carolina presidential preference primary of 1976, the Republican state convention refused to appoint Holshouser as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

His accomplishments in office include consolidation of the University of North Carolina system under a Board of Governors, capital improvement funding for the community college system, statewide enrollment for kindergarten and establishment of health clinics in rural areas not served by local physicians. After leaving office, he returned to the practice of law, and was elected to the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, where he still serves as member emeritus. [1] He has also served on the Board of St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC.

Holshouser eventually became great friends with Democratic Governor Jim Hunt, who had served as Lieutenant Governor while Holshouser was in office. Holshouser was the last governor who was not eligible for a second four-year term; Hunt was elected in 1976 to succeed him. They serve together on the North Carolina Advisory Board of DonorsChoose. Holshouser recently campaigned for state-funded judicial elections. Holshouser Hall, a residence hall at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is named in his honor, as is the stretch of US 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock.

He was honored with the North Carolina Award in 2006. [2]

External links

• Biographical Timeline
• Oral History Interviews with James E. Holshouser Jr. [3], [4], [5], [6] from Oral Histories of the American South