Harold Pope Jr. is an American politician and retired

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

officer serving as a member of the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico State Senate () is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state. All senatorial distr ...

from the 23rd district. Elected in 2020, he defeated incumbent Republican

Sander Rue Sander Rue (born February 6, 1954) is an American politician who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate from January 2009 to January 2021. Education Rue earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. Elec ...

. He assumed office on January 19, 2021.

Early life and education

Pope was born and raised in

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...

. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the

and worked as a dental technician. Pope then left active duty and enlisted in the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

, earning Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. After graduation he was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program and went back on active duty serving as a Chemist & Acquisitions Officer. Pope later earned a Master of Science in pharmaceutical chemistry from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

and a Master of Arts in operational leadership from the

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Un ...

at Air University.

Career

After earning his bachelor's degree, Pope was commissioned in the Air Force as an officer, working as an acquisitions officer and chemist. He specialized in satellite programs, weapon systems, and nuclear deterrence. After his retirement, Pope was appointed as a facilities transition advisor in the administration of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

Mayor Tim Keller. In the November general election for the

, Pope defeated incumbent Republican

. When Pope assumed office in 2021, he became the first African-American member of the New Mexico Senate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Harold Jr. 21st-century members of the New Mexico Legislature Air Command and Staff College alumni Democratic Party New Mexico state senators Living people Politicians from Pueblo, Colorado University of Florida alumni University of New Mexico alumni Year of birth missing (living people)