Joseph Franklin Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the 78th

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

from 1983 to 1991.

Early life and career

Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village of

Cartersville, Georgia Cartersville is a city in and the county seat of Bartow County, Georgia, Bartow County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

, to Frank and Frances Harris. Harris was the second of three children with brother Fred Harris and sister Glenda Harris Gambill. Harris attended Asbury College for one year, then went on to graduate from the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in 1958 with a degree in business administration. While attending Georgia, he also became a member of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

fraternity. Upon graduation, Harris returned to his native Cartersville, Georgia to join his father Frank and brother Fred in the family run cement business. Harris Cement Products, Inc. operated from 1940 to 1980, and during the late 1970s furnished all the cement for the bridges and overpasses constructed on

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

from Cobb County to Gordon County. Harris was persuaded to run for the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

in 1964 and served nine terms. Harris became the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in 1974. Since the death of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

on December 29, 2024, Joe Frank Harris is the earliest serving and oldest living governor of Georgia.

Gubernatorial campaign

When he ran for governor in 1982, Harris was seen as a long-shot candidate, but with the support of the Speaker of the Georgia House Tom Murphy, he was able to win the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

over U.S. Representative Bo Ginn. Deloss Walker, a political campaign consultant based in Memphis, Tennessee, played a key role in his campaign.

Gubernatorial accomplishments

Harris called himself the education governor as he raised the state salaries for teachers. and implemented the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE), built the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

, created the Technical College System of Georgia formerly known as the Department of Adult & Technical Education, and lured the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Harris is also credited with building more libraries during his term than any other governor in Georgia's history. Also during his term, Harris created the Growth Strategies Commission chaired by Cartersville native and prominent developer Joel Cowan. His fiscal strategies resulted in higher bond ratings for the state and during his governorship Georgia was rated among the country's top 15 best-managed states by '' Financial World''.

Board of regents

After two terms as governor, Harris was appointed to the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

for the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gener ...

serving for seven years, two years as chairman.

Georgia State University

From 1995 through 2009, Harris served at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

as an executive fellow and lecturer in the School of Policy Studies. He is chairman of the board of Harris Georgia Corporation, an industrial development firm that was established in 1980 in Cartersville, Georgia. He also served on the board of directors for

Aflac Aflac Incorporated (American Family Life Assurance Company) is an American insurance company and is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. It was founded in 1955 and is based in Columbus, Georgia. In the U.S., it ...

from 1991 to 2011.

Legacy

The portion of U.S. Route 41 through Bartow County is named in his honor (Joe Frank Harris Parkway), as well as the Joe Frank Harris Commons that houses The Village Summit Dining Commons at the

, the main entrance to the Georgia Ports Authority in Brunswick, Georgia (Joe Frank Harris Blvd.), and the main entrance to the Georgia State Fairgrounds in Perry (Governor Joe Frank and Mrs. Elizabeth Harris Blvd.).