North Carolina Secretary of State
|
|
The North Carolina Secretary of State is an elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina, heading the Department of the Secretary of State, which oversees many of the economic and business-related operations of the state government.
The position of Secretary of State is, behind only the position of Governor, the oldest government office in the state of North Carolina. The position of North Carolina Secretary of State has, since American independence in 1776 historically had a very low rate of turnover. Only 8 individuals held the office during during the first hundred years of statehood; William Hill served as secretary for 46 years continuously, from 1811 to 1857. Remarkably, in the 20th century, Thad Eure broke even this record, holding the post for 53 consecutive years, from 1936 to 1989.
Under the North Carolina Constitution of 1971, the Secretary of State is elected every four years by a plurality of the popular vote.
List of Secretaries of State
- James Glasgow, 1777-1798
- William White, 1798-1811
- William Hill, 1811-1857
- Rufus H. Page, 1857-1862
- John P.H. Russ, 1864-1865
- Charles R. Thomas, 1864-1865
- Robert W. Best, 1865-1868
- Henry J. Menninger, 1868-1873
- William H. Howerton, 1873-1877
- Joseph A. Engelhard, 1877-1879
- William L. Saunders, 1879-1891
- Octavius Coke, 1891-1895
- Charles M. Cooke, 1895-1897
- Cyrus Thompson, 1897-1901
- John Bryan Grimes, 1901-1923
- William N. Everett, 1923-1928
- James A. Hartness, 1928-1933
- Stacey W. Wade, 1933-1936
- Charles G. Powell, 1936
- Thad A. Eure, 1936-1989
- Rufus L. Edmisten, 1989-1996
- Janice I. Faulkner, 1996
- Elaine F. Marshall, 1997-present