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Edwin S. Lanier

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Edwin S. Lanier
7th North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance
In office
July 16, 1962 – January 10, 1973
Appointed byTerry Sanford
Preceded byCharles F. Gold
Succeeded byJohn Ingram
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 16th district
In office
1957–1961
Preceded byRalph H. Scott
Succeeded byRalph H. Scott
25th Mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
In office
1949–1954
Preceded byR. W. Madry
Succeeded byOliver K. Cornwell
Personal details
Born
Edwin Sidney Lanier

(1901-07-19)July 19, 1901
Candler, Georgia, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 1983(1983-03-05) (aged 81)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseNancy Thelma Herndon
Alma materState Normal School
University of North Carolina

Edwin Sidney Lanier (July 19, 1901 – March 5, 1983) was an American Democratic politician, who served as mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as a member of the North Carolina Senate, and as North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance.

Early life

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Edwin Sidney Lanier was born on July 19, 1901, near Metter, Georgia, into a farming family. Graduating from the State Normal Teachers School in Athens in 1921, he enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Completing his studies in 1924, he became a teacher and sports coach at a Baptist high school in Thomasville, North Carolina. In 1930, Lanier enrolled in the University of North Carolina School of Law and took a part-time position in the university's student aid office. He ended his studies and became director of student aid in 1934. Eleven years later he took on the additional position of director of records and registration, and he held both university jobs until 1961.[1]

Political career

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Lanier served on the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen from 1945 to 1949 and on the Orange County Board of Commissioners from 1954 to 1956.[1] In 1957, he was elected to the North Carolina Senate, representing the 16th district. He won reelected two years later.[2]

In 1961, North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford appointed Lanier state personnel director. In 1962, the incumbent North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance, Charles F. Gold, died, and Sanford appointed him to fill the vacancy. Lanier was sworn-in to office on July 16.[3] He won election to a full term in the office later that year, and was reelected in 1964 and 1968. He did not seek reelection in 1972.[1]

Later life

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Lanier moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1979. He succumbed to emphysema and died on March 5, 1983, at the Wesleyan Nursing Center in Charlotte.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gillespie, James D. (1991). "Lanier, Edwin Sidney". NCPedia. North Carolina Government & Heritage Library. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Sovacool, Joe (March 7, 1983). "Ex-N.C. Insurance Commissioner Edwin Lanier Dies". The Charlotte Observer. p. 2C.
  3. ^ Parker, Roy Jr. (July 17, 1962). "Lanier Takes Insurance Post Oath". The News & Observer. pp. 1–2.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Charles F. Gold
Democratic nominee for North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance
1962, 1964, 1968
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance
1962–1973
Succeeded by