Charles Grandison Rose III (August 10, 1939 – September 3, 2012) was an American attorney and politician and who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for North Carolina's 7th congressional district from 1973 to 1997.

Early life and education

Rose was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Laws from Davidson College and a Juris Doctor from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. As an undergraduate, he was a photographer for ''

The News and Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...

''.

Career

For several years, Rose practiced as a lawyer, and in 1967, he became a prosecutor for Fayetteville district courts. In 1970, Rose unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Congressman Alton Lennon in the Democratic primary, claiming over 40% of the vote. In 1972, when Lennon stepped down, Rose beat back a primary bid by a Lennon-endorsed candidate, State Senator Hector McGeachy, claiming the nomination and ultimate victory. Rose represented a district stretching from Fayetteville to Wilmington on the coast. Rose was a liberal, populist Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his conservative coastal district. However, he remained popular because he was viewed as a champion of farmers, especially

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

farmers.

He was a member of the Intelligence and Agriculture Committees. He also served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on House Administration The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on House Administration was created by the Legislative Reorganization ...

from 1991 to 1994, a post which helped earn him the nickname "mayor of the Capitol". From his early photography days he had had an interest in cutting-edge technology and, according to friend and former chief of staff John Merritt (public servant), "pushed the House of Representatives to televise its activities on C-SPAN, helped bring computers and fiber optics to Congress and was 'behind just about every tech advancement Congress made while he was there'". He also had an electric car in the 1970s. In 1991, Rose chaired the House Committee investigation of the George H. W. Bush administration's role in selling military supplies to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. After Democrats lost control of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in the 1994 Republican Revolution, Rose challenged incumbent House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt for the post of minority leader, but lost 150–50. He retired from the House the next year and became a lobbyist, working alongside his third wife, Stacye, the daughter of fellow North Carolina Congressman Bill Hefner. Rose's former intern

Mike McIntyre Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 ...

succeeded Rose in 1997, and held the seat until the 2014 election.Dalesio, Emery P., and Austin Baird
"Ex-U.S. Rep. Charlie Rose helped tobacco farmers"
, AP and ''The News & Observer'' respectively; September 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-05.Dalesio, Emery P.
"Former NC Congressman Charlie Rose dies at age 73"
, AP via '' WRAL.com'', September 4, 2012.

Personal life

Rose married Sara Louise Richardson on June 30, 1962; they had three children. Charles Grandison Rose, IV born December 14, 1965. Sara Louise Rose, born October 19, 1973. Irene Cowan Rose, born November 9, 1975. Irene died in infancy of a congenital heart defect on January 28, 1976. Sara and Charlie divorced in September 1982. Rose then married Joan Ray Teague in 1982 on Bald Head Island, North Carolina. Together they adopted a baby girl, Kelly Josephine (born October 1, 1987). The couple divorced in 1995. Rose then married Stacye Hugh Hefner in May 1995 near Washington, D.C. The couple have one daughter, Parker Delaney (born October 19, 1999). In 2009, Rose moved to

Albertville, Alabama Albertville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,386. It is the largest city in Marshall County. His ...

, to be near Stacye's mother. Rose largely gave up his lobbying work with the move. Rose died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease at a hospital in northern Alabama near their home.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Charlie 1939 births 2012 deaths North Carolina lawyers University of North Carolina School of Law alumni Politicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina Neurological disease deaths in Alabama Deaths from Parkinson's disease Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 20th-century American politicians Davidson College alumni 20th-century American lawyers