Douglas Wilder | |
|---|---|
 Wilder in 2003 | |
| 78th Mayor of Richmond | |
| In office January 2, 2005 – January 1, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Rudy McCollum |
| Succeeded by | Dwight Jones |
| 66th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 13, 1990 – January 15, 1994 | |
| Lieutenant | Don Beyer |
| Preceded by | Gerald Baliles |
| Succeeded by | George Allen |
| 35th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 18, 1986 – January 13, 1990 | |
| Governor | Gerald Baliles |
| Preceded by | Richard Davis |
| Succeeded by | Don Beyer |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 9th district | |
| In office January 12, 1972 – January 1, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | M. Patton Echols |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Lambert |
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 30th district | |
| In office January 14, 1970 – January 12, 1972 | |
| Preceded by | J. Sargeant Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Leroy S. Bendheim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lawrence Douglas Wilder January 17, 1931 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (1994) |
| Spouse |
Eunice Montgomery
(m. 1958; div. 1978) |
| Children | 3, including Larry |
| Education | Virginia Union University (BS) Howard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1951–1953 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
| Awards | Bronze Star Medal |
Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era, and the first African American ever elected as governor.[a] He is currently a professor at the namesake Wilder School at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Wilder graduated from Virginia Union University and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He established a legal practice in Richmond after graduating from the Howard University School of Law. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilder won election to the Virginia Senate in 1969. He remained in that chamber until 1986, when he took office as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American to hold statewide office in Virginia. In the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election, Wilder narrowly defeated Republican Marshall Coleman.
Wilder left the gubernatorial office in 1994, as the Virginia constitution prohibits governors from immediately seeking re-election. He briefly sought the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew from the race before the first primaries. He also briefly ran as an independent in the 1994 Virginia Senate election before dropping out of the race. Wilder returned to elective office in 2005, when he became the first directly elected mayor of Richmond. After leaving office in 2009, he worked as an adjunct professor and was involved in planning the unrealized United States National Slavery Museum.
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