A native of Richland County, South Carolina, Governor McMaster received both his bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the University of South Carolina. After law school, he served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond and then began his almost-30-year career practicing law, both in private practice and as a federal prosecutor. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as United States attorney for the District of South Carolina from 1981 until 1985. In 1991, McMaster was appointed by Governor Carroll Campbell to serve on the state’s Commission on Higher Education. He was elected chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party in 1993 and was subsequently re-elected by the Republican state convention in 1996, 1998, and 2000. McMaster was elected South Carolina’s attorney general in 2002. Reelected in 2006, he held that office until 2011. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2014 and served in that role until he became South Carolina’s 117th governor in January 2017.