Robert Byrd Jordan III (October 11, 1932 – February 16, 2020) was an American politician who served as the 29th

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member of ...

for one term (1985–1989) under Governor James G. Martin and who unsuccessfully ran for

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

in 1988. Jordan, a native of

Mount Gilead, North Carolina Mount Gilead is a town in Montgomery County, in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,171 at the 2020 census. History Ancient history The region was occupied by the Pedee people, part of the South Appala ...

, graduated from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

in 1954 with honors in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

. Prior to being elected lieutenant governor, Jordan ran his family's lumber company and served in the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from 1976 to 1984. In 1984, he defeated state House Speaker Carl J. Stewart, Jr. in a hard-fought Democratic primary, then defeated Republican John H. Carrington in the general election to become

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

's 29th lieutenant governor. He easily won the 1988 gubernatorial nomination but lost the general election to incumbent James G. Martin. An advocate of education, Jordan has served on the

North Carolina Board of Education The North Carolina State Board of Education, established by Article 9 of the Constitution of North Carolina, supervises and administers the public school systems of North Carolina. The board sets policy and general procedures for public school syst ...

, the state Board of Community Colleges, and the

University of North Carolina System A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Board of Governors. On May 20, 2009, Jordan was elected chairman of the Trustees of

to serve the remaining term of McQueen Campbell, who resigned in conjunction with the investigation of

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been ...

. Jordan Hall at North Carolina State University was named after his family. Jordan died on February 16, 2020, at his home in Mount Gilead, North Carolina.

References

External links

NC Notable Bob JordanNorth Carolina Award citationJordan elected chairman of NCSU trustees
, - Democratic Party North Carolina state senators Lieutenant governors of North Carolina North Carolina State University alumni People from Mount Gilead, North Carolina 1932 births 2020 deaths 20th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub