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Higher Office(s) Served: Senator

Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  World War II

ERNEST FREDERICK HOLLINGS was born in Charleston, South Carolina. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, rising to the rank of Captain. He received a law degree from the University of South Carolina two years after the war ended and went into private practice in Charleston. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1948 to 1954, serving as Speaker Pro Tempore from 1950 until 1954, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor. In 1955, when he began his duties as Lieutenant Governor, he was also appointed to the Federal Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch. During his gubernatorial administration, which began four years later, Hollings served on the Federal Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and chaired the Regional Advisory Council on Nuclear Energy sponsored by the Southern Governors'Association. Also during his term as governor, the movement for integration gained momentum, and sit-ins and marches were held to protest segregation. After leaving office, Hollings returned to his private law practice briefly but was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1965 to complete the unexpired term of Olin Johnston. He was reelected to six additional full Senate terms, retiring in 2005. During his long and distinguished career in Congress, he chaired the Senate Budget Committee and the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Hollings also was an unsuccessful U.S. presidential candidate in 1984.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

SCIway.net