Nomination of James B. Edwards To Be Secretary of Energy

The President today nominated James Burrows Edwards, of Charleston, S.C., to be Secretary of Energy.

Dr. Edwards, an oral surgeon, served as Governor of South Carolina from 1975 to 1978.

He was born on June 24, 1927. He received a B.S. in 1950 from the College of Charleston and a D.M.D. in 1955 from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.

During World War II, he served with the U.S. Maritime Service. He began his service as a seaman and was discharged as a deck officer. He was on active duty with the United States Navy from 1955 to 1957 and remained in the Naval Reserve until 1967, holding the rank of lieutenant commander upon discharge.

Dr. Edwards was elected chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party in 1964, a post he held until 1969. He was elected the First Congressional District Republican Party chairman in 1970 and resigned that post in 1971 to become the Republican Party's candidate for election to the United States House of Representatives. He served as a member of the South Carolina State Senate from 1972 to 1974. As Governor of South Carolina, Dr. Edwards served as chairman of the National Governors Association Subcommittee on Nuclear Energy in 1978 and as chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in the same year.

He is a member of the American Dental Association and has served as a diplomate on the American Board of Oral Surgery since 1963. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national honorary leadership fraternity, and of Phi Delta, the honorary dental fraternity. Dr. Edwards is a member of the board of trustees of Baker Hospital in Charleston and of the Charleston Council of the Navy League of the United States. He is also on the board of trustees of the College of Charleston Foundation.

Dr. Edwards is married to the former Ann Norris Darlington, and they have two children: James B. Edwards, Jr., and Catharine Darlington Edwards.