Rufus Edmisten was born and raised in Boone, North Carolina. He earned an undergraduate degree in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a J.D. from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. After a 10-year stint on North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin's staff that culminated as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Watergate Committee, he returned to North Carolina in 1974.

In that year he was elected the state's Attorney General, an office he held until he won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1984. After a hard-fought but unsuccessful campaign, he practiced law with Reagan H. Weaver for four years, after which he was elected to the office of Secretary of State in 1988. In 1996 he concluded over 30 years of public service and launched a governmental relations legal practice that became Edmisten & Webb in 1998.

Rufus and his wife, Linda, live in a ca. 1922 Raleigh Historic Landmark house that is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is set in extensive 1920s-era gardens that he cultivates religiously. They share their lives with an assortment of dogs, cats, and horses, as well as human family and friends. In their spare time, the Edmistens enjoy the outdoors, historic tourism, and antiquing.

Rufus Edmisten has served in a number of political, legal, and advisory roles over his career, including:

1964 - 1974
Aide and Chief Counsel to US Senator Sam Ervin
Counsel, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights
Chief Counsel and Staff Director, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers
Deputy Chief Counsel, Senate Watergate Committee

1974 - 1984
Attorney General of North Carolina

1984
Nominee, North Carolina Governor
Visiting Professor, Greensboro College

1985 - 1988
Senior Partner, Edmisten & Weaver, practicing Civil Law and Government Represenation

1989 - 1996
Secretary of State of North Carolina

1996 - 1999
Principal, Rufus Edmisten Law Offices

2000 - present
Partner, Edmisten & Webb Law Firm, practicing Civil Law

Edmisten also holds membership in a number of influential professional associations:

• National Association of Secretaries of State, Emeritus Member, Past President, Former Committee Chair
• Society of Attorneys General Emeritus
• Executive Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General, Past Member
• National Investor Protection Fund, North American Securities Administrators, Former Trustee
• North Carolina State Bar & North Carolina State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar & District of Columbia Bar Assocation
• Federal Bar Assocation
• American Bar Assocation
• Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity
• Capital Bank of Raleigh, Director
• North Carolina Film Council
  

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