The Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives is the presiding officer of one of the houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The Speaker is elected by the members of the house when they convene for their regular session in January of each odd-numbered year. Perhaps the most important duty of the Speaker is to appoint members and chairs of the various standing committees of the House.
The office evolved from the office of Speaker of the lower house of the legislature in the Province of Carolina, called the House of Burgesses. Since the House was the only elected body in the colony, the Speaker was often seen as the leading voice of the people. In 1776, North Carolina established its first constitution, which created a Senate and a House of Commons, both of which were elected. In 1868, the name of the house was changed to "House of Representatives."
For most of the twentieth century, the office's power was limited, because Speakers usually only served for a single legislative session. This changed with Speakers Carl J. Stewart, Jr. (1977â€"1980), Liston B. Ramsey (1981â€"1988) and James B. Black (1999â€"2006).
Democrats held the speaker's chair continuously from 1899 until 1994, when Republicans gained a majority and elected Harold J. Brubaker in January 1995.
In the 2003â€"2004 session, a unique power-sharing arrangement was created by Democrats and a handful of Republicans. This resulted in the first election of two speakers simultaneously, Jim Black (Democrat) and Richard T. Morgan (Republican). The two held roughly equal power and took turns presiding over the House. After Democrats won a majority in the 2004 election, this arrangement was ended, but Morgan again supported Black and was named Speaker Pro Tempore.
List of Speakers
NC House Speaker Tim Moore's 2017 Opening Day Remarks to the NC House - Rep. Tim Moore, NC Speaker of the House, addresses the House chamber on Opening Day of the 2017-18 NC General Assembly. January 11, 2017.
Speakers of the House of Burgesses
Note that some sources refer to the lower House as the House of Commons before the Revolution as well as afterward.
- George Catchmaid 1666
- Valentine Bird 1672â€"73
- Thomas Eastchurch 1675
- Thomas Cullen 1677
- George Durant 1679
- John Nixon 1689
- John Porter 1697â€"98
- William Wilkison 1703
- Thomas Boyd 1707
- Edward Moseley 1708
- Richard Sanderson 1709
- William Swann 1711
- Thomas Snoden 1711â€"12
- Edward Moseley 1715â€"23
- Maurice Moore 1725
- John Baptista Ashe 1726
- Thomas Swann 1729
- Edward Moseley 1731â€"34
- William Downing 1735â€"39
- John Hodgson 1739â€"41
- Samuel Swann 1742â€"54
- John Campbell 1754 â€" c. 1760
- Samuel Swann c. 1760â€"62
- John Ashe 1762â€"65
- John Harvey 1766â€"69
- Richard Caswell 1770â€"71
- John Harvey 1773â€"75
Speakers of the House of Commons
- Abner Nash 1777
- John Williams 1778
- Thomas Benbury 1778â€"82
- Edward Starkey 1783
- Thomas Benbury 1784 (April)
- William Blount 1784 (October)
- Richard Dobbs Spaight 1785
- John Baptista Ashe 1786â€"87
- John Sitgreaves 1787â€"88
- Stephen Cabarrus 1789â€"93
- John Leigh 1793â€"94
- Timothy Bloodworth 1794â€"95
- John Leigh 1795â€"96
- Musendine Matthews 1797â€"99
- Stephen Cabarrus 1800â€"05
- John Moore 1806
- Joshua Grainger Wright 1807â€"08
- William Gaston 1808
- Thomas Davis 1809
- William Hawkins 1810â€"11
- William Miller 1812â€"14
- John Craig 1815
- Thomas Ruffin 1816
- James Iredell, Jr. 1816â€"18
- Romulus M. Saunders 1819â€"20
- James Mebane 1821
- John D. Jones 1822
- Alfred Moore 1823â€"25
- John Stanly 1825â€"27
- James Iredell, Jr. 1827â€"28
- Thomas Settle 1828â€"29
- William J. Alexander 1829â€"30
- Charles Fisher 1830â€"32
- Louis D. Henry 1832â€"33
- William J. Alexander 1833â€"35
- William H. Haywood, Jr. 1835â€"37
- William A. Graham 1838â€"40 (W)
- Robert B. Gilliam 1840â€"41 (W)
- Calvin Graves 1842â€"43
- Edward Stanly 1844â€"47
- Robert B. Gilliam 1846â€"49 (W)
- James C. Dobbin 1850â€"51 (D)
- John Baxter 1852 (W)
- Samuel P. Hill 1854â€"55 (D)
- Jesse G. Shepherd 1856â€"57 (D)
- Thomas Settle, Jr. 1858â€"59
- William T. Dortch 1860â€"61
- Nathan N. Fleming 1861
- Robert B. Gilliam 1862â€"63
- Richard Spaight Donnell 1863
- Marmaduke S. Robins (?)
- Richard Spaight Donnell 1864â€"65
- Samuel F. Phillips 1865â€"66
- Rufus Y. McAden 1866â€"67
Notes
Speakers of the House of Representatives
- Joseph W. Holden 1868â€"70 1 (R)
- W. A. Moore 1870 1 (R)
- Thomas J. Jarvis 1870â€"72 (D)
- James L. Robinson 1872â€"75 (D)
- Charles Price 1876â€"77 (D)
- John M. Moring 1879 (D)
- Charles M. Cooke 1881 (D)
- George M. Rose 1883 (D)
- Thomas Michael Holt 1885 (D)
- John R. Webster 1887 (I) 2
- Augustus Leazar 1889 (D)
- Rufus A. Doughton 1891 (D)
- Lee S. Overman 1893 (D)
- Zeb V. Walser 1895 (R)
- A. F. Hileman 1897 (Populist)
- Henry G. Connor 1899â€"1900 (D)
- Walter E. Moore 1901 (D)
- S. M. Gattis 1903 (D)
- Owen H. Guion 1905 (D)
- E. J. Justice 1907 (D)
- A. W. Graham 1909 (D)
- W. C. Dowd 1911 (D)
- George Whitfield Connor 1913 3 (D)
- Walter Murphy 1913 (D)
- Emmett R. Wooten 1915 (D)
- Walter Murphy 1917 (D)
- Dennis G. Brummitt 1919 (D)
- Harry P. Grier 1921 (D)
- John G. Dawson 1923â€"24 (D)
- Edgar W. Pharr 1925 (D)
- Richard T. Fountain 1927 (D)
- A. H. Graham 1929 (D)
- Willis Smith 1931 (D)
- R. L. Harris 1933 (D)
- Robert Johnson 1935â€"36 (D)
- R. Gregg Cherry 1937 (D)
- D. L. Ward 1939 (D)
- O. M. Mull 1941 (D)
- John Kerr, Jr. 1943 (D)
- Oscar L. Richardson 1945 (D)
- Thomas J. Pearsall 1947 (D)
- Kerr Craig Ramsay 1949 (D)
- W. Frank Taylor 1951 (D)
- Eugene T. Bost, Jr. 1953 (D)
- Larry I. Moore, Jr. 1955â€"56 (D)
- James K. Doughton 1957 (D)
- Addison Hewlett 1959 (D)
- Joseph M. Hunt, Jr. 1961 (D)
- H. Clifton Blue 1963 (D)
- Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr. 1965â€"66 (D)
- David M. Britt 1967 (D)
- Earl W. Vaughn 1969 (D)
- Philip P. Godwin 1971 (D)
- James E. Ramsey 1973â€"74 (D)
- James C. Green 1975â€"76 (D)
- Carl J. Stewart, Jr. 1977â€"80 (D)
- Liston B. Ramsey 1981â€"88 (D)
- Josephus L. Mavretic 1989â€"90
- Daniel T. Blue, Jr. 1991â€"94 (D)
- Harold J. Brubaker 1995â€"98 (R)
- James B. Black 1999â€"2002 (D)
- James B. Black 2003â€"2004 (Co-Speaker or "Democratic Speaker")
- Richard T. Morgan 2003â€"2004 (Co-Speaker or "Republican Speaker")
- James B. Black 2005â€"2006 (D)
- Joe Hackney 2007â€"2010 (D)
- Thom Tillis 2011â€"2015 (R)
- Tim Moore 2015â€"present (R)
Notes
- Holden resigned in the middle of the 1869â€"1870 session and Moore was elected to succeed him, according to the North Carolina Manual of 1913.
- Webster was elected by the coalition of Independents and Republicans in the House, according to the New York Times and J. G. de R. Hamilton.
- Connor resigned after the January 8 â€" March 12, 1913 session. Walter Murphy served as speaker during the "extra" session that began September 24, 1913, according to the North Carolina Manual of 1913.
See also
- Speaker (politics)
- President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate
References
- Structure of the North Carolina General Assembly
- North Carolina Manual. Published by the North Carolina Secretary of State.
