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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=David Muldrow Beasley | image=David Beasley of SC.jpg | office=Executive Director of the World Food Programme | term_start=April 4, 2017 | term_e..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=David Muldrow Beasley
| image=David Beasley of SC.jpg
| office=Executive Director of the World Food Programme
| term_start=April 4, 2017
| term_end=
| preceded=Ertharin Cousin
| office2=113th [[Governor]] of [[South Carolina]]
| term_start2=January 11, 1995
| term_end2=January 13, 1999
| preceded2=[[Carroll Campbell]]
| succeeded2=James Hovis "Jim" Hodges
| office3=South Carolina State Representative<br> for District 56
| term_start3=January 9, 1979
| term_end3=January 10, 1995
| preceded3=Gary Byrd
| succeeded3=Denny Neilson
| birth_date=February 26, 1957
| birth_place=Darlington, South Carolina
| death_date=
| death_place=
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] (1991)
| spouse=Mary Wood Payne Beasley
| alma_mater=Lamar High School<br>
[[Clemson University]]<br>
[[University of South Carolina]] (Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate)
}}
'''David Muldrow Beasley''' (born February 26, 1957) is a former [[Governor]] of his native [[South Carolina]], with service for a single term from 1995 to 1999. He is a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]. In 2017, nearly two decades after his governorship ended, Beasley was named the executive director of the [[United Nations]] World Food Programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501201958/http://www1.wfp.org/executive-director|title=Executive Director|accessdate=October 2, 2021}}</ref> The appointment came through [[Nikki Haley]], then the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and herself a Republican former governor of South Carolina.
==Background==
Beasley graduated from Lamar High School in Lamar in Darlington County. At the age of twenty, Beasley, while still a Democrat college student, was elected as the state representative for Darlington County. He enrolled first at [[Clemson University]] but then transferred to the [[University of South Carolina]] in the capital city of [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]], from which he received a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1979 and a [[Juris Doctor]]ate from the School of Law in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/about/news/2021/a_nobel_career_path.php|title=A Nobel career path|date=February 10, 2021|accessdate=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
==Career==
Beasley remained a state legislator until he was elected governor in 1994. In 1991, he switched parties. He was the Democrat Majority Whip from 1985 to 1986 and the Majority Leader from 1987 to 1989.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tonya Brown|title=Town of Society Hill salutes former S.C. Gov. David Beasley|url=https://wpde.com/news/local/town-of-society-hill-former-south-carolina-governor-david-beasley|accessdate=October 5, 2021|publisher=wpde.com}}</ref> He served as the youngest Speaker Pro Tempore and Majority Leader in the nation.<ref name=sciway>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819172609/http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/beasley.html|title=South Carolina – David Muldrow Beasley – 1995–1999|publisher=www.sciway.net|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In the 1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election, both Beasley and his Democratic opponent, Lieutenant Governor Nick Andrew Theodore (born 1928) faced tough [[primary]] opposition within their respective parties. Beasley defeated former [[U.S. Representative]] and state Senator Arthur Ravenel, Jr. (born 1927) in both the primary and run-off, and went on to win, narrowly, the [[general election]], 470,756 votes (50.4 percent) to Theodore's 447,002 (47.9 percent).<ref name=sciway/>
During the single term of Governor Beasley, South Carolina had a record-low unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in 1998.<ref name="South Carolina Unemployment Rate">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713071209/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SCUR|url-status=live}}|title-South Carolina Unemployment Rate|publisher=FRED Economic Research|accessdate=October 3, 2021}}</ref>
Beasley emphasized his belief in [[Jesus Christ]] and<ref name="Key Races of 1998">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816092638/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/sc093098.htm|publisher''[[The Washington Post]]''|title=S. Carolina Incumbent in Unexpected Tussle|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> opposed [[gambling]], which was legal in South Carolina until 2000, with video poker casinos established in convenience stores and gasoline stations, a phenomenon described by Beasley as "the crack cocaine of gambling." Because Beasley supported legislation that would outlaw gambling, the video poker industry responded with "Ban Beasley" [[radio]] advertising and billboards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140718/https://apnews.com/381e63a1a51410ee169c115471b27e67|title=Louisiana Shuts Down Video Poker|date=July 1, 1999|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
From 1961 until 2000, the flag of the [[Confederate States of America]] flew atop the South Carolina State House.
Initially, Beasley supported the practice, but in 1996 reversed his position and called for the flag to be relocated to a monument elsewhere on the grounds. Beasley's position on the Confederate flag cost him many Republican votes in the unsuccessfully 1998 reelection bid. The Confederate flag was removed from the capitol dome in 2000 after Beasley left office. It was displayed on a pole in front of the statehouse until it was removed in 2015 at the prompting of Governor Nikki Haley from the grounds after a church shooting.<ref name=palmetto>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725003418/https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/20-years-on-ex-sc-gov-beasley-s-prayer-on-flag-answered-confederate-battle-flag/article_4b1d3ee5-1362-5e02-9cef-30a891030b31.htmldate=July 10, 2015|title=20 years on, ex-SC gov Beasley's prayer on flag answered Confederate battle flag finds a new home among artifacts|author=Meg Kinnard|publisher=''Charleston Post and Courier''|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
Beasley also faced allegations of having an affair with his former press secretary, Ginny Wolfe, but he disavowed the claim, saying, "I can tell you right now we [his wife the former Mary Wood Payne
have both been faithful to each other 100 percent."<ref name="Key Races of 1998"/>
After, he lost his reelection bid in 1998 to Democrat James Hovis "Jim" Hodges (born 1956), Beasley became a fellow at the [[Harvard University]] Kennedy School of Government. In 2003, [[United States Senator]] [[Edward Moore Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] awarded Beasley the [[John F. Kennedy]] "Profile in Courage Award" because of his call to remove the Confederate flag from the Capital dome.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729135339/https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/profile-in-courage-award/award-recipients/david-beasley-2003|title=David Beasley & #124; JFK Library|publisher=jfklibrary.org|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In 2004, Beasley entered the open competition to choose a successor to retiring Democratic Senator [[Ernest Hollings]]. He lost the Republican nomination to [[U.S. Representative]] [[Jim DeMint]] of Greenville, who won the [[general election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142358/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5271850/ns/politics/#.WNrtBo61tBw|title=DeMint defeats Beasley in S. Carolina runoff|date=June 23, 2004|accessdate=March 28, 2017}}</ref>
In 2007, Beasley endorsed [[Mike Huckabee]], former governor of [[Arkansas]], in the Republican presidential primaries, rather than eventual nominee, [[John McCain|John Sidney McCain, III]], of [[Arizona]], who then lost the general election to [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref>{{cite web |name=Aaron Sheinin|url=https://archive.today/20150422194601/http://www.mikehuckabeepresident2016.com/2007/05/huckabee-picks-up-key-endoresement.html|title=Huckabee Picks Up Key Endorsement |publisher=''The State''|date=May 19, 2007 |accessdate=April 22, 2015 }}</ref> In 2010, he endorsed [[Henry McMaster]] in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, but McMaster lost to Nikki Haley, later Beasley's benefactor.
==Later years==
In April 2005, Beasley established and incorporated the Center for Global Strategies, Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517103749/http://www.centerforglobalstrategies.org/cgs-board|title=Our Board|website=Center for Global Strategies|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In February 2017, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley nominated Beasley to be the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311195830/http://www.postandcourier.com/politics/nikki-haley-nominates-former-south-carolina-gov-david-beasley-for/article_dedc81ee-fdd4-11e6-a80b-2f0ab73f2f31.htmltitle=Nikki Haley nominates former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley for U.N. food post|publisher=''The Charleston Post and Courier''|date=February 28, 2017|accessdate=March 28, 2017}}</ref>He was chosen for the position the next month over twenty-two other applicants who had been nominated. Beasley's selection was based on his "extensive experience with key governmental and business leaders and stakeholders around the world, with very strong resource mobilization skills."<ref>{{cite web|url=
https://web.archive.org/web/20170503214111/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56459#.WQCG6WmGN1M|title=David Beasley of United States appointed as head of UN emergency food agency|publisher=UN News Centre|date=March 29, 2017|accessdate=June 28, 2017}}</ref>As the WFP director, Beasley also serves as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117193125/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/senior-management-group|title=Senior Management Group|publisher=United Nations|date=November 17, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2021}}</ref>
In December 2020, Beasley accepted the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] on behalf of the WFP for its efforts in the fight against hunger.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/about/news/2021/a_nobel_career_path.php|title=A Nobel career path|date=February 10, 2021|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, David}}
[[Category:South Carolina]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:United Nations]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]
| name=David Muldrow Beasley
| image=David Beasley of SC.jpg
| office=Executive Director of the World Food Programme
| term_start=April 4, 2017
| term_end=
| preceded=Ertharin Cousin
| office2=113th [[Governor]] of [[South Carolina]]
| term_start2=January 11, 1995
| term_end2=January 13, 1999
| preceded2=[[Carroll Campbell]]
| succeeded2=James Hovis "Jim" Hodges
| office3=South Carolina State Representative<br> for District 56
| term_start3=January 9, 1979
| term_end3=January 10, 1995
| preceded3=Gary Byrd
| succeeded3=Denny Neilson
| birth_date=February 26, 1957
| birth_place=Darlington, South Carolina
| death_date=
| death_place=
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]] (1991)
| spouse=Mary Wood Payne Beasley
| alma_mater=Lamar High School<br>
[[Clemson University]]<br>
[[University of South Carolina]] (Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate)
}}
'''David Muldrow Beasley''' (born February 26, 1957) is a former [[Governor]] of his native [[South Carolina]], with service for a single term from 1995 to 1999. He is a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]]-turned-[[Republican Party|Republican]]. In 2017, nearly two decades after his governorship ended, Beasley was named the executive director of the [[United Nations]] World Food Programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501201958/http://www1.wfp.org/executive-director|title=Executive Director|accessdate=October 2, 2021}}</ref> The appointment came through [[Nikki Haley]], then the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and herself a Republican former governor of South Carolina.
==Background==
Beasley graduated from Lamar High School in Lamar in Darlington County. At the age of twenty, Beasley, while still a Democrat college student, was elected as the state representative for Darlington County. He enrolled first at [[Clemson University]] but then transferred to the [[University of South Carolina]] in the capital city of [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]], from which he received a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1979 and a [[Juris Doctor]]ate from the School of Law in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/about/news/2021/a_nobel_career_path.php|title=A Nobel career path|date=February 10, 2021|accessdate=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
==Career==
Beasley remained a state legislator until he was elected governor in 1994. In 1991, he switched parties. He was the Democrat Majority Whip from 1985 to 1986 and the Majority Leader from 1987 to 1989.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tonya Brown|title=Town of Society Hill salutes former S.C. Gov. David Beasley|url=https://wpde.com/news/local/town-of-society-hill-former-south-carolina-governor-david-beasley|accessdate=October 5, 2021|publisher=wpde.com}}</ref> He served as the youngest Speaker Pro Tempore and Majority Leader in the nation.<ref name=sciway>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819172609/http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/beasley.html|title=South Carolina – David Muldrow Beasley – 1995–1999|publisher=www.sciway.net|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In the 1994 South Carolina gubernatorial election, both Beasley and his Democratic opponent, Lieutenant Governor Nick Andrew Theodore (born 1928) faced tough [[primary]] opposition within their respective parties. Beasley defeated former [[U.S. Representative]] and state Senator Arthur Ravenel, Jr. (born 1927) in both the primary and run-off, and went on to win, narrowly, the [[general election]], 470,756 votes (50.4 percent) to Theodore's 447,002 (47.9 percent).<ref name=sciway/>
During the single term of Governor Beasley, South Carolina had a record-low unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in 1998.<ref name="South Carolina Unemployment Rate">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713071209/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SCUR|url-status=live}}|title-South Carolina Unemployment Rate|publisher=FRED Economic Research|accessdate=October 3, 2021}}</ref>
Beasley emphasized his belief in [[Jesus Christ]] and<ref name="Key Races of 1998">{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816092638/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces98/stories/sc093098.htm|publisher''[[The Washington Post]]''|title=S. Carolina Incumbent in Unexpected Tussle|accessdate=May 20, 2020}}</ref> opposed [[gambling]], which was legal in South Carolina until 2000, with video poker casinos established in convenience stores and gasoline stations, a phenomenon described by Beasley as "the crack cocaine of gambling." Because Beasley supported legislation that would outlaw gambling, the video poker industry responded with "Ban Beasley" [[radio]] advertising and billboards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140718/https://apnews.com/381e63a1a51410ee169c115471b27e67|title=Louisiana Shuts Down Video Poker|date=July 1, 1999|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
From 1961 until 2000, the flag of the [[Confederate States of America]] flew atop the South Carolina State House.
Initially, Beasley supported the practice, but in 1996 reversed his position and called for the flag to be relocated to a monument elsewhere on the grounds. Beasley's position on the Confederate flag cost him many Republican votes in the unsuccessfully 1998 reelection bid. The Confederate flag was removed from the capitol dome in 2000 after Beasley left office. It was displayed on a pole in front of the statehouse until it was removed in 2015 at the prompting of Governor Nikki Haley from the grounds after a church shooting.<ref name=palmetto>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725003418/https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/20-years-on-ex-sc-gov-beasley-s-prayer-on-flag-answered-confederate-battle-flag/article_4b1d3ee5-1362-5e02-9cef-30a891030b31.htmldate=July 10, 2015|title=20 years on, ex-SC gov Beasley's prayer on flag answered Confederate battle flag finds a new home among artifacts|author=Meg Kinnard|publisher=''Charleston Post and Courier''|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
Beasley also faced allegations of having an affair with his former press secretary, Ginny Wolfe, but he disavowed the claim, saying, "I can tell you right now we [his wife the former Mary Wood Payne
have both been faithful to each other 100 percent."<ref name="Key Races of 1998"/>
After, he lost his reelection bid in 1998 to Democrat James Hovis "Jim" Hodges (born 1956), Beasley became a fellow at the [[Harvard University]] Kennedy School of Government. In 2003, [[United States Senator]] [[Edward Moore Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] awarded Beasley the [[John F. Kennedy]] "Profile in Courage Award" because of his call to remove the Confederate flag from the Capital dome.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729135339/https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/profile-in-courage-award/award-recipients/david-beasley-2003|title=David Beasley & #124; JFK Library|publisher=jfklibrary.org|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In 2004, Beasley entered the open competition to choose a successor to retiring Democratic Senator [[Ernest Hollings]]. He lost the Republican nomination to [[U.S. Representative]] [[Jim DeMint]] of Greenville, who won the [[general election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142358/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5271850/ns/politics/#.WNrtBo61tBw|title=DeMint defeats Beasley in S. Carolina runoff|date=June 23, 2004|accessdate=March 28, 2017}}</ref>
In 2007, Beasley endorsed [[Mike Huckabee]], former governor of [[Arkansas]], in the Republican presidential primaries, rather than eventual nominee, [[John McCain|John Sidney McCain, III]], of [[Arizona]], who then lost the general election to [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref>{{cite web |name=Aaron Sheinin|url=https://archive.today/20150422194601/http://www.mikehuckabeepresident2016.com/2007/05/huckabee-picks-up-key-endoresement.html|title=Huckabee Picks Up Key Endorsement |publisher=''The State''|date=May 19, 2007 |accessdate=April 22, 2015 }}</ref> In 2010, he endorsed [[Henry McMaster]] in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, but McMaster lost to Nikki Haley, later Beasley's benefactor.
==Later years==
In April 2005, Beasley established and incorporated the Center for Global Strategies, Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517103749/http://www.centerforglobalstrategies.org/cgs-board|title=Our Board|website=Center for Global Strategies|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
In February 2017, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley nominated Beasley to be the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311195830/http://www.postandcourier.com/politics/nikki-haley-nominates-former-south-carolina-gov-david-beasley-for/article_dedc81ee-fdd4-11e6-a80b-2f0ab73f2f31.htmltitle=Nikki Haley nominates former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley for U.N. food post|publisher=''The Charleston Post and Courier''|date=February 28, 2017|accessdate=March 28, 2017}}</ref>He was chosen for the position the next month over twenty-two other applicants who had been nominated. Beasley's selection was based on his "extensive experience with key governmental and business leaders and stakeholders around the world, with very strong resource mobilization skills."<ref>{{cite web|url=
https://web.archive.org/web/20170503214111/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56459#.WQCG6WmGN1M|title=David Beasley of United States appointed as head of UN emergency food agency|publisher=UN News Centre|date=March 29, 2017|accessdate=June 28, 2017}}</ref>As the WFP director, Beasley also serves as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117193125/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/senior-management-group|title=Senior Management Group|publisher=United Nations|date=November 17, 2018|accessdate=October 4, 2021}}</ref>
In December 2020, Beasley accepted the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] on behalf of the WFP for its efforts in the fight against hunger.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/about/news/2021/a_nobel_career_path.php|title=A Nobel career path|date=February 10, 2021|accessdate=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, David}}
[[Category:South Carolina]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:United Nations]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Former Democrats]]
[[Category:Republicans]]