The president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate (more commonly, "Pro-Tem") is the highest-ranking (internally elected) officer of one house of the North Carolina General Assembly. The president of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the president pro tempore actually holds most of the power and presides in the absence of the Lt. Governor. The president pro tempore, a senior member of the party with a majority of seats, appoints senators to committees and also appoints certain members of state boards and commissions. From 1777 to 1868, North Carolina had no Lieutenant Governor, and the highest-ranking officer of the Senate was known as the "Speaker". The Speaker of the Senate was next in line if the office of Governor became vacant. This occurred on two occasions.

Presidents pro tempore are elected at the beginning of each biennial session, currently in January of odd-numbered years. Between 1868 and 1992, it was rare for a president pro tempore to serve more than two terms. Marc Basnight, however, became arguably the most powerful North Carolina Senate leader in history and one of the state's most influential politicians when he served a record nearly 18 years as president pro tempore.

History Upon Republican Jim Gardner's assumption of lieutenant gubernatorial office in 1989, Democrats in the Senate modified the body's rules, transferring the powers to appoint committees and assign bills away from the lieutenant governor and to the president pro tempore. This dramatically increased the influence of the latter position.

Powers and duties The president pro tempore is responsible for appointing the members of the Senate's committees at the opening of each legislative session. They also have the power to appoint some members of state executive boards.

North Carolina Senate presiding officers

Speakers

The following members were elected speakers of the Senate:, Alternate link Samuel Ashe 1777 Whitmell Hill 1778 Allen Jones 1778–1779 Abner Nash 1779–1780 Alexander Martin 1780–1782 Richard Caswell 1782–1784 Alexander Martin 1785 James Coor 1786–1787 Alexander Martin 1787–1788 Richard Caswell 1789 Charles Johnson 1789 William Lenoir 1790–1795 Benjamin Smith 1795–1799 Joseph Riddick 1800–1804 Alexander Martin 1805 Joseph Riddick 1806–1811 George Outlaw 1812–1814 John Branch 1815–1817 Bartlett Yancey 1817–1828 Jesse Speight 1828–1829 Bedford Brown 1829–1830 David F. Caldwell 1830–1832 William D. Moseley 1832–1835 Hugh Waddell (Whig) 1836–1837 Andrew Joyner 1838–1841 Louis Dicken Wilson 1842–1843 Burgess S. Gaither 1844–1845 Andrew Joyner 1846–1847 Calvin Graves 1848–1849 Andrew Joyner 1849 Weldon N. Edwards 1850–1852 Warren Winslow 1854–1855 William Waightstill Avery 1856–1857 Henry Toole Clark 1858–1861 Giles Mebane 1862–1865 Thomas Settle 1865–1866 C. S. Winstead 1866 Matthias Manly 1866 Joseph Harvey Wilson 1867

Presidents pro tempore

The following members were elected president pro tempore of the Senate: Charles S. Winstead (R) Greensboro North State 1868–1869 Edward Jenner Warren (Conservative/D)The Elections of 1872, noting that the name Conservative was used locally but they were aligned with the national Democratic Party, leading some sources to use both names. 1870–1872 James Turner Morehead Jr. (Conservative/D) 1872–1875 R. F. Armfield was at some point elected President pro tempore but then immediately became President of the Senate due to the vacancy in the office that resulted when Lt. Gov. Curtis Hooks Brogden succeeded to the governorship. (see NC Manual of 1913, p. 476, where Armfield is listed as president of the Senate) James L. Robinson (D) 1876–1877 William A. Graham (D) 1879–1880 William T. Dortch (D) 1881–1883 Edwin T. Boykin (D)"Democratic Ticket," Wilmington Morning Star 1885–1887 Edwin W. Kerr (D)Hunt, James L. "The Making of a Populist: Marion Butler, 1863-1895: Part I." The North Carolina Historical Review, vol. 62, no. 1, 1985, pp. 53–77. "Butler vigorously attacked Kerr and other conservative Democrats." 1889 W. D. Turner (D) 1891 John L. King (D) 1893Biography of the state officers and members of the General Assembly of North Carolina, 1893 E. L. Franck Jr. (P) 1895–1897Biographical Sketches of the members of the General Assembly, 1895 R. L. Smith (D) 1899–1900 F. A. Whitaker (D) 1899—1900 Henry A. London (D) 1901–1903 Charles A. Webb (D) 1905–1908 Whitehead Klutz (D) 1909 Henry N. Pharr (D) 1911–1913 Oliver Max Gardner (D) 1915 Fordyce C. Harding (D) 1917 Lindsay C. Warren (D) 1919–1920 William L. Long (D) 1921–1924 William H. S. Burgwyn (D) 1925 William L. Long (D) 1927 Thomas L. Johnson (D) 1929 Rivers D. Johnson (D) 1931 William G. Clark (D) 1933 Paul D. Grady (D) 1935 Andrew H. Johnston (D) 1937–1938 James A. Bell (D) 1937–1938 Whitman E. Smith (D) 1939 John Davis Larkins Jr. (D) 1941 John H. Price (D) 1943 Archie C. Gay (D) 1945 Joseph L. Blythe (D) 1947 James C. Pittman (D) 1949 Rufus G. Rankin (D) 1951 Edwin Pate (D) 1953 Paul E. Jones (D) 1955–1956 Claude Currie (D) 1957 Robert F. Morgan (D) 1959 William L. Crew (D) 1961 Ralph H. Scott (D) 1963 T. Clarence Stone was elected President pro tempore when the 1963 legislature convened, but since President of the Senate (Lt. Governor) Harvey Cloyd Philpott had died, Stone immediately became President of the Senate. The Senate then elected Scott as President pro tem. (News & Observer blog comment by state legislative drafting director Gerry Cohen) Robert B. Morgan (D) 1965–1966 Herman A. Moore (D) 1967 Neill H. McGeachy (D) 1969 Frank N. Patterson Jr. (D) 1971 Gordon P. Allen (D) 1971–1974 John T. Henley (D) 1975–1978 W. Craig Lawing (D) 1979–1984 J. J. Harrington (D) 1985–1988 Henson P. Barnes (D) 1989–1992 Marc Basnight (D) 1993–2010 Phil Berger (R) 2011–present

See also Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives List of North Carolina state legislatures

References

Structure of the North Carolina General Assembly North Carolina Manual, published by the North Carolina Secretary of State

Works cited