Henry McMaster Biography Age Wikipedia Family Marriage Education Career

Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney who is the 117th and current Governor of South Carolina. He assumed office on January 24, 2017. He previously served as the 91^st Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 2015 to 2017, as well as Attorney General of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. From 1981 to 1985, McMaster served as United States Attorney, where he was best known for investigating South Carolina marijuana smugglers in Operation Jackpot. McMaster served on the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and chaired the South Carolina Republican Party from 1993 to 2002.

McMaster succeeded to the office of Governor of South Carolina whenNikki Haley resigned as governor to become the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Henry McMaster Biography About Career

McMaster was born on May 27, 1947 in Columbia, South Carolina. He is the eldest son of John Gregg and Ida Dargan (Pet) McMaster. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature. In 1973, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law where he served on the Editorial Board of the South Carolina Law Review. Later that year, he was admitted to the South Carolina Bar, the Richland County Bar Association. He served in the United States Army Reserves, receiving his honorable discharge in 1975.

Upon graduation from law school, McMaster worked as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C. until 1974, when he joined the firm of Tompkins and McMaster. He was admitted to practice before the federal Court of Claims in 1974, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1975 and in 1978, upon motion of Senator Thurmond, the Supreme Court of the United States. For almost 29 years, McMaster practiced law, both as a federal prosecutor and in private practice, having represented clients in the state and federal courts, trial and appellate.