James B. Edwards

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James Edwards
Official portrait, 1981
3rd United States Secretary of Energy
In office
January 23, 1981 – November 5, 1982
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byCharles Duncan
Succeeded byDonald Hodel
110th Governor of South Carolina
In office
January 21, 1975 – January 10, 1979
LieutenantBrantley Harvey
Preceded byJohn West
Succeeded byRichard Riley
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from Charleston County
In office
1973–1975
Personal details
Born
James Burrows Edwards

(1927-06-24)June 24, 1927
DMD)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
UnitUnited States Maritime Service
Battles/warsWorld War II

James Burrows Edwards (June 24, 1927 – December 26, 2014) was an American politician and administrator from

U.S. secretary of energy under Ronald Reagan
.

Early life and career

Edwards was born in

oral surgery
. He subsequently held a variety of positions associated with dentistry in the community.

Political career

In 1970, Edwards became chairman of the Republican Party of

Hubert H. Humphrey and longtime NAACP executive director Roy Wilkins.[1]

Edwards first ran for office in 1971, in a

General William Westmoreland in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic Congressman William Jennings Bryan Dorn of South Carolina's 3rd congressional district in the general election. Dorn had become the Democratic nominee after the winner of the runoff election, Charles D. "Pug" Ravenel
, was disqualified on residency grounds.

Edwards was elected the first Republican governor of the state since

Watergate scandal and lingering opposition to the Vietnam War
, both of which may have contributed to the primary defeat of Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces during the late 1960s.

Later career and death

At that time South Carolina governors were not allowed to serve two terms in succession, so Edwards was unable to seek reelection in 1978. In 1981, U.S. president Ronald Reagan appointed Edwards secretary of energy. He resigned two years later to serve as the President of the Medical University of South Carolina, a post he held for 17 years. In 1997, Edwards was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. In 2008, he endorsed Mitt Romney for his party's presidential nomination.[3]

As governor and thereafter, Edwards developed a close friendship with his Democratic predecessor, John C. West, whom he had earlier accused of undermining the Haynsworth nomination.

In 1994, the state legislature renamed a portion of the

Mark Clark Expressway that crosses the Wando River the James B. Edwards Bridge.[4] In 2010, the new MUSC dental building and the dental school was renamed the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine. Edwards died at his home in Mount Pleasant on December 26, 2014, from complications from a stroke. He was 87.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Charleston News & Courier, September 25, 1970
  2. ^ 1971 special election results from South Carolina's 1st District
  3. ^ "South Carolina endorsements of Mitt Romney". www.aboutmittromney.com. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  4. ^ "S*1170 - Session 110 (1993–1994)". South Carolina Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  5. ^ James B. Edwards, a Long-Shot as Governor of South Carolina, Dies at 87
  6. ^ Click, Carolyn (December 26, 2014). "Former Gov. James Edwards dies". The State. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James B. Edwards.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of South Carolina
1974 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of South Carolina
1975–1979 		Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Secretary of Energy
1981–1982 		Succeeded by
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