Henry Dargan McMaster (born 27 May 1947) was Governor of South Carolina from 24 January 2017, succeeding Nikki Haley. McMaster had previously served as Lieutenant-Governor from 14 January 2015 to 24 January 2017 (succeeding Yancey McGill and preceding Kevin L. Bryant), and he took over the governorship when Haley became ambassador to the United Nations.
Biography[]
McMaster speaking after Trump's victory in his state's 2024 GOP presidential primary
Henry Dargan McMaster was born in Columbia, South Carolina on 27 May 1947, and he received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969. That same year, he joined the US Army reserves, serving until 1975. In 1973, McMaster graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and he worked as a legislative assistant to Strom Thurmond in Washington DC. McMaster worked as a federal prosecutor and a private practicioner of law, and President Ronald Reagan appointed McMaster US Attorney for the District of South Carolina on 21 May 1981. McMaster cracked down on marijuana traffickers, and he left office in 1985. In 1986, he lost a US Senate election, and he was instead appointed to the Commission on Higher Education by Governor Carroll A. Campbell Jr. in 1991. In 1993, he became chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, serving until 2002, when he was elected Attorney General of South Carolina. In 2010, he was defeated in the gubernatorial election, and he endorsed Nikki Haley instead. In 2014, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, defeating Bakari Sellers. In 2016, McMaster enthusiastically endorsed Donald Trump as the GOP presidential nominee, and he claimed to have been the first politician to endorse Trump.
On 23 November 2016, President-elect Trump nominated Haley as the new US Ambassador to the United Nations, and McMaster assumed the duties of Governor on 24 January 2017. At age 69, McMaster became South Carolina's oldest governor, and he announced his intentions to allow for any eligible gun owner to buy guns without a state permit and carry it openly or concealed. He won re-election in 2018, and, in 2024, he endorsed Donald Trump's comeback presidential bid.