Rufus Edmisten
| Rufus L. Edmisten | |
|---|---|
Pictured in the 1977 North Carolina Manual
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| 46th Attorney General of North Carolina | |
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In office 1974–1984 |
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| Governor | James E. Holshouser, Jr., and James B. Hunt, Jr. |
| Preceded by | James H. Carson, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Lacy Thornburg |
| 21st Secretary of State of North Carolina | |
| Governor | James G. Martin, and James B. Hunt, Jr. |
| Preceded by | Thad A. Eure |
| Succeeded by | Janice I. Faulkner |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rufus Ligh Edmisten July 12, 1941 Boone, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
Rufus Ligh Edmisten (born July 12, 1941) is a former North Carolina Secretary of State, Attorney General, and candidate for Governor in 1984. He is currently a lawyer in private practice.
Rufus L. Edmisten was born and raised in Boone, North Carolina. He earned an undergraduate degree in political science with honors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where he served on the Law Review. During law school, he joined the Capitol Hill staff of North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin, where he served as the Counsel to Senator Ervin's Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights and as Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers. In 1973-1974, Edmisten was the Deputy Chief Counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee, which Ervin chaired. With Terry Lenzner, an assistant counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee, Edmisten served the subpoena to the White House for the Watergate tapes. It was the first time in history that a Congressional Committee served a subpoena on a sitting President. During his time working for Senator Ervin, Edmisten participated in important legislative initiatives, such as securing constitutional rights for American Indians and providing constitutional protections for military personnel. Following Senator Ervin's retirement in 1974, Edmisten returned to North Carolina. He was elected state attorney general in 1974 and served in that post for ten years. While attorney general, Edmisten engaged in a successful effort to prevent the damming of the scenic New River. He launched a variety of legislative efforts, such as securing victim's rights, enhancing the state's historic preservation laws, and setting new educational standards for the state's law enforcement personnel. Edmisten was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1984, losing to Republican James G. Martin, a loss attributed to Martin's endorsements by Edmisten's Democratic primary rivals.
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