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“S” is for Sheheen, Robert Joseph

“S” is for Sheheen, Robert Joseph [b. 1943]. Lawyer. Legislator. Sheheen graduated from Duke and USC Law School. In 1976 he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. As chair of the House Judiciary Committee he championed causes including freedom-of-information legislation, the strengthening of local government powers, and  the periodic review of state agency regulatory functions popularly known as “sunset laws.” He was elected Speaker in 1986. As Speaker, Sheheen devoted much of his time to organizational and procedural issues at a time when South Carolina’s two-party system was growing increasingly partisan and competitive. His eight years as Speaker ended in 1994 when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. Robert Joseph Sheheen served three more terms in the House before retiring at the end of the 1999-2000 session.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.