Henry McMaster

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Henry McMaster (born May 27, 1947, in Columbia, South Carolina) is a Republican and the current Attorney General for South Carolina, having been first elected on November 5, 2002.

Attorney General

As attorney general, McMaster has moved to protect children from Internet predators. Using a new law he pushed through the South Carolina General Assembly in 2004, McMaster launched the statewide Internet Crimes Against Children task force made up of fourteen local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to run undercover stings targeting target predators over the Internet. In some two years, eighteen predators have been targeted and arrested by the task force.

Calling it "the state's number one crime problem," McMaster has launched a campaign against domestic violence by recruiting and deputizing volunteer attorneys to prosecute domestic violence cases "pro bono" in magistrate courts around the state where no prosecutor was available to handle the cases. McMaster has also asked the General Assembly to appropriate $2.2 million dollars to the sixteen state Solicitors for the purpose of hiring of 46 dedicated domestic violence prosecutors, one for each of the state's forty-six counties.

McMaster launched a massive state grand jury investigation and prosecution of the Carolina Investors – Home Gold Inc. collapse, calling it the "largest white collar criminal case in state history." Over 8,000 South Carolina investors lost over $275 million dollars when the companies collapsed in 2003. To date five company executives have been indicted. Four executives have been convicted or have pled guilty. The fifth is awaiting trial.

In 2004, McMaster launched a statewide task force aimed at combating illegal dog fighting and drug trafficking, putting some of the nation's highest level dog fighters and breeders behind bars. For his leadership, the Humane Society of the United States named McMaster the 2005 "National Law Enforcement Official Of The Year." McMaster has attacked the methamphetamine problem in the state, calling it the “kudzu of drugs.” In cooperation with retailers around the state, the South Carolina Meth Watch program was launched in an effort to educate retailers on the dangers of meth and how to enact loss prevention tactics to curb the theft of meth ingredients from their stores.

McMaster has also earned praise as the Sierra Club 2004 "Public Servant of the Year" for his efforts to protect the state's natural history. McMaster won a hard-fought 2005 battle in the General Assembly to grant the state grand jury authority to investigate and prosecute white-collar environmental crimes.

McMaster also opposed the ACLU when the group sued the town of Great Falls, South Carolina, on behalf of a Wiccan high priestess in order to prevent any reference to Jesus Christ being used in town council prayers.

Biography

McMaster received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Blue Key, KSK (service fraternity), Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature. After graduation, he served in the United States Army Reserves, receiving his honorable discharge in 1975. In 1973, he graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law where he served on the Editorial Board of the South Carolina Law Review. Later that year, he was admitted to the South Carolina Bar, the Richland County Bar Association. In 1974, he completed the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Upon graduation from law school, McMaster worked as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C. until 1974, when he joined the firm of Tompkins and McMaster. He was admitted to practice before the federal Court of Claims in 1974, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 1975 and in 1978, upon motion of Senator Thurmond, the Supreme Court of the United States.

For almost 29 years, McMaster practiced law, both as a federal prosecutor and in private practice, having represented clients in the state and federal courts, trial and appellate. Upon the recommendation of Senator Thurmond, McMaster was nominated by President Ronald W. Reagan as United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina in 1981. He was in fact the first U.S. Attorney in the nation to be appointed by Reagan.

While United States Attorney, McMaster instituted several innovative and extremely successful investigations. Under his direction "Operation Jackpot" was the first investigation into international drug smuggling operations within the United States to use the financial team approach. Over 100 drug kingpins were convicted of importing almost one billion dollars worth of drugs, and over one million dollars of the assets seized were channeled to SLED and the Crimestoppers organizations in South Carolina.

In 1985, McMaster proposed a statewide grand jury system for South Carolina. The statewide grand jury plan later received the support of the South Carolina General Assembly and was adopted into law in 1988. McMaster headed the South Carolina Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee from 1981-1985. He completed his four-year term as U.S. Attorney in 1985.

In 1986, McMaster was the Republican Party's nominee for the United States Senate. He was defeated by popular incumbent Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings. In 1990, he ran unsuccessfully as the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor. In 1991, he was appointed by Governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. and confirmed by the South Carolina Senate to serve on the Commission on Higher Education. He served on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Policy Council from 1991 through 2003, serving as board chairman from 1992 until 1993.

In 1993, McMaster was elected chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and was re-elected by the State Republican Convention in 1996, 1998 and 2000. He also served as a member of the Republican National Committee from 1993 until 2002. As party chairman, McMaster worked to help elect hundreds of Republicans to federal, state and local office. His leadership was instrumental in electing Republican majorities to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1994 and South Carolina Senate in 2000.

Henry McMaster's parents were John Gregg and Ida Dargan McMaster. He has five brothers, all living in Columbia. Henry is a member of the Columbia Rotary Club, the St. Andrews Society of Columbia and received the Order of the Palmetto from Republican Governor David Beasley in 1996. Henry is married to Peggy Jean McAbee of Spartanburg, and they have two children, Henry, Jr., and Mary Rogers. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia.

External links

Attorney General of South Carolina

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