Bill Armistead (born May 29, 1944) is an American politician from the state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. He served as the chairman of the

Alabama Republican Party The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Alabama. It is the dominant political party in Alabama. The state party is governed by the Alabama Republican Executive Committee. T ...

from 2011 to 2015. He served in the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

from 1995 to 2003.

Early life and education

Bill Armistead was born on May 29, 1944, in Campbell, Alabama. He attended

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, where he graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 1966. While at Samford, Armistead founded the Samford chapter of the

College Republicans College Republicans are college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States. Many members belong to the organization College Republican National Committee (CRNC), College Republicans United (CRU), or various in ...

Career

Armistead worked for trucking companies for 20 years before becoming a staffer for

H. Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician, pastor, and convicted felon who served as the 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Rec ...

, the

Governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. He worked for Hunt from 1988 through 1993 as his chief economic advisor. He was elected to the

in 1994, and was reelected in 1998. In 2002, Armistead ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Alabama The lieutenant governor of Alabama is the president and presiding officer of the Alabama Senate, elected to serve a four-year term. The office was created in 1868,1868 Const. art. V, § 1 abolished in 1875,1875 Const. art. V, § 1 and recreated in ...

. He lost the election to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Lucy Baxley Lucy Mae Bruner Baxley Smith (December 21, 1937 – October 14, 2016) was an American politician who served from 2003 to 2007 as the List of Lieutenant Governors of Alabama, 28th lieutenant governor of Alabama and from 2009 until 2013 as President ...

. In 2011, Armistead was elected chairman of the

. He stepped down in 2015, when

Terry Lathan Terry Lathan is an American political activist, strategist and former teacher. She served as chair of the Alabama Republican Party from 2015 to 2021. Early life Lathan worked as a public school teacher in Mobile, Alabama.Emily HillMobile County ...

was elected. Armistead worked on both the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

gubernatorial campaigns of businessman Tim James. In 2010, Armistead was a

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

regional director for James' campaign, but after James lost a spot in the runoff for the primary, Armistead began working for future Governor Robert J. Bentley's campaign instead. Armistead currently serves as campaign chairman for James' 2022 gubernatorial run.

Personal life

Armistead resides in

Vestavia Hills, Alabama Vestavia Hills, colloquially known simply as Vestavia, is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham and it is made up of Vestavia, Liberty Park, and Cahaba Heights. As of the 2020 census, ...

. He was married to Emily Armistead from April 1968 until her death in a traffic accident in March 2017.

References

External links

Our Campaigns – Bill Armistead (AL)
profile * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Armistead, Bill Living people 1944 births Samford University alumni State political party chairs of Alabama Republican Party Alabama state senators People from Clarke County, Alabama People from Columbiana, Alabama