Governor Jim Hunt Profession Lawyer, politician Preceded by James Carson Gardner Name Dennis Wicker | Role Politician Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | |
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Full Name Dennis A. Wicker | ||
Succeeded by Beverly Eaves Perdue | ||
Dennis A. Wicker (born June 14, 1952) is an American lawyer and politician from Sanford who served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1981–1993), and as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (1993–2001). As lieutenant governor, he became the first statewide elected official to chair the State Board of Community Colleges, which sets policy for the state’s 58-campus system. Wicker was also a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education and the State Board of Economic Development. He was born in 1952 at Lee County, North Carolina.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor of North Carolina in 2000, losing to Mike Easley.
The Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center at Central Carolina Community College was named in his honor in 1995 because of his role in securing funding for the center.
Wicker is the leader of the Government Relations group in the Raleigh office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. Wicker is a regular panelist on the television show NC Spin discussing various current issues in North Carolina politics.
Wicker is a founding Board member of the Lee County Education Foundation, an acclaimed public-private venture dedicated to improving the quality of public education in the Lee County public schools.
He has three sons: Quinn Wicker, Jackson Wicker, and Harrison Wicker