Erskine Boyce Bowles (born August 8, 1945) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and political figure from
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. He currently serves as the president of the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina system includes all sixteen public four-year universities in North Carolina, United States and one public residential high school. While the system's Board of Governors oversees general system policy, the campuses are classified as separate institutions and are...
system. In 1997–98 he served as
White House Chief of StaffThe White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President...
and he also ran unsuccessfully for a North Carolina
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
seat in 2002 and 2004.
Bowles was born and raised in
Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city, by population, in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As of the 2000 census, Greensboro was home to 223,891 residents...
and is the son of the late
Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr.Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr. was an influential Democratic politician and businessman, based in Greensboro, North Carolina....
, a
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
politician who once ran for Governor of North Carolina in 1972, but lost.
Erskine Boyce Bowles (born August 8, 1945) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and political figure from
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
. He currently serves as the president of the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina system includes all sixteen public four-year universities in North Carolina, United States and one public residential high school. While the system's Board of Governors oversees general system policy, the campuses are classified as separate institutions and are...
system. In 1997–98 he served as
White House Chief of StaffThe White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President...
and he also ran unsuccessfully for a North Carolina
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
seat in 2002 and 2004.
Early life and education
Bowles was born and raised in
Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city, by population, in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As of the 2000 census, Greensboro was home to 223,891 residents...
and is the son of the late
Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr.Hargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr. was an influential Democratic politician and businessman, based in Greensboro, North Carolina....
, a
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
politician who once ran for Governor of North Carolina in 1972, but lost. Bowles graduated from
Virginia Episcopal SchoolVirginia Episcopal School is an Episcopalian college preparatory boarding and day school located in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. It was founded in 1916 by Bishop Robert Carter Jett....
before attending college. Bowles matriculated at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
, where he was admitted to the
Zeta PsiThe Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly twenty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity and graduated with a business degree. After briefly serving in the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set...
, Bowles then enrolled in
Columbia Business SchoolColumbia University Graduate School of Business, also known as Columbia Business School , is the business school of Columbia University in New York, New York. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University...
, where he earned an MBA.
Following graduation, Bowles worked for the financial firm
Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services provider headquartered in New York City, New York, United States. It serves a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 33 countries around the world with 600 offices, with...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. There, he met his wife, Crandall Close; the two married in 1971 and moved to North Carolina, where Bowles worked on his father's 1972 gubernatorial campaign. Crandall and Erskine have three children: Sam, Annie, and Bill. In 1975, Bowles helped launch the investment firm of Bowles Hollowell Conner, and remained in the corporate sector until the 1990s.
The Clinton years
In 1992, he became more involved in politics as a fundraiser for
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
's 1992 presidential campaign. President Clinton appointed Bowles to head the
Small Business AdministrationThe Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to small businesses.The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in...
in 1993. From October 1994 to December 1995, Bowles served as Clinton's White House Deputy Chief of Staff, in the first-term of the Clinton Administration.
After briefly returning to
Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 687,456 in 2008, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans"...
, where he helped found the investment bank Carousel Capital, Bowles was appointed Clinton's
Chief of StaffThe White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President...
in December 1996. One of Bowles's major responsibilities was dealing with federal budget negotiations between the White House and Congress. Bowles returned to
Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 687,456 in 2008, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans"...
and to the field of finance again in October 1998. He was also asked by North Carolina Gov.
Jim HuntJames Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician and a former four-term Democratic governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...
to head a task force on rural economic prosperity.
Senatorial races
Although initially reluctant to seek political office, Bowles reconsidered a run for the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
after the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
and, in October 2001, declared his candidacy for the Senate as a Democratic candidate. Seeking to fill the seat being vacated by
Jesse HelmsJesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, Bowles secured the party's nomination, but was defeated in the 2002 general election by Republican challenger
Elizabeth DoleMary Elizabeth Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations...
.
In 2004, Bowles campaigned again for the Senate, seeking to fill the seat being vacated by fellow Democrat
John EdwardsJohnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth...
. He faced Republican
Richard BurrRichard Mauze Burr is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina. A Republican, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for five terms, and was elected to represent North Carolina as a U.S. Senator in the 2004 election...
and Libertarian
Tom BaileyThomas Aaron Bailey is an American farmer and libertarian activist. He was the Libertarian Party candidate for the United States Senate from North Carolina in the 2004 general elections. Bailey faced Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Richard Burr in the 2004 Senate election, earning about 1%...
in a hotly contested race. The final month of the Senate campaign saw both Bowles's and Burr's campaigns turn strongly negative, with Burr's campaign attacking Bowles's associations with the
Clinton administrationWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
, while Bowles's campaign attacked Burr on his support of trade legislation and special interest donations. Both campaigns spent a great deal of money, making it one of the most expensive statewide races in North Carolina history.
Despite an early lead in the polls after the primaries, as well as fellow Democrat
Mike EasleyMichael Francis Easley is a former governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, serving from 2001 to 2009. He is a Democrat and was North Carolina's second Catholic governor...
running for a second term as governor at the top of the state party ticket, Bowles was defeated in the 2004 race as well. President Bush's comfortable electoral victory in North Carolina likely helped Burr considerably. During his concession speech in Raleigh at the Democratic headquarters, he thanked his supporters but seemed to indicate that he would not run for office again. Quoting his father, he said there were "many ways to add to the community woodpile" and that political office was only one of them. Accordingly, in 2005 Bowles accepted an appointment as
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
Deputy Special Envoy for
TsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
-affected Countries, once again working for Bill Clinton who was now serving as U.N. Special Envoy.
Since 2005
On October 3, 2005, Bowles was elected by the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina system includes all sixteen public four-year universities in North Carolina, United States and one public residential high school. While the system's Board of Governors oversees general system policy, the campuses are classified as separate institutions and are...
's Board of Governors to succeed
Molly Corbett BroadMolly Corbett Broad is an American educational administrator and the former president of the University of North Carolina.-Early life and education:Broad was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of two public school teachers...
as President of the system, even though some suggest that the Board of Governors broke the law in not holding public hearings in the hiring process. One of his most significant appointments thus far has been that of
Holden ThorpHerbert Holden Thorp is Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having assumed his duties on July 1, 2008. He previously served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Kenan Professor of Chemistry at the university. He received his B.S. in chemistry from UNC...
as the tenth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bowles also spoke at the campus memorial service in memory of slain student body president Eve Carson.
Bowles is also a member of the
board of directorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
of General Motors,
Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services provider headquartered in New York City, New York, United States. It serves a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 33 countries around the world with 600 offices, with...
, and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and serves on the North Carolina Advisory Board of
DonorsChooseDonorsChoose is a United States based nonprofit organization that provides a way for people to donate directly to specific projects at public schools ....
.
Electoral history
- 2004 election for U.S. Senate
- Richard Burr
Richard Mauze Burr is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina. A Republican, Burr represented North Carolina's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for five terms, and was elected to represent North Carolina as a U.S. Senator in the 2004 election...
(R), 52%
- Erskine Bowles (D), 47%
- Tom Bailey (Lib.), 1%
- 2002 election for U.S. Senate
- Elizabeth Dole
Mary Elizabeth Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations...
(R), 54%
- Erskine Bowles (D), 45%