Charles Grandison Rose III (August 10, 1939 – September 3, 2012) was an American attorney and politician and who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

North Carolina's 7th congressional district North Carolina's 7th congressional district stretches from Wilmington and the South Carolina border to the southern suburbs of Raleigh. The district is represented by Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican. He has been in office since 2015. From 2 ...

from 1973 to 1997.

Early life and education

Rose was born in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Laws from

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. As an undergraduate, he was a photographer for ''

The News and Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the ''Charlotte Observer''). The paper has bee ...

''.

Career

For several years, Rose practiced as a lawyer, and in 1967, he became a prosecutor for Fayetteville district courts. In 1970, Rose unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Congressman

Alton Lennon Alton Asa Lennon (August 17, 1906December 28, 1986) was an American Democratic politician who represented North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. He first served as an interim appointment to the Senate from 1953–54, un ...

in the Democratic primary, claiming over 40% of the vote. In 1972, when Lennon stepped down, Rose beat back a primary bid by a Lennon-endorsed candidate, State Senator Hector McGeachy, claiming the nomination and ultimate victory. Rose represented a district stretching from Fayetteville to Wilmington on the coast. Rose was a liberal, populist Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his conservative coastal district. However, he remained popular because he was viewed as a champion of farmers, especially

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

farmers.

He was a member of the Intelligence and Agriculture Committees. He also served as chairman of the

United States House Committee on House Administration The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on House Administration was created by the Legislative Reorganization A ...

from 1991 to 1994, a post which helped earn him the nickname "mayor of the Capitol". From his early photography days he had had an interest in cutting-edge technology and, according to friend and former chief of staff

John Merritt (public servant) John Merritt is a retired Victorian public servant. He was appointed Chief Executive of VicRoads in May 2014 and announced in October 2017 that he would step down from the role in December 2017. Life and career After completing a Bachelor of ...

, "pushed the House of Representatives to televise its activities on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

, helped bring computers and fiber optics to Congress and was 'behind just about every tech advancement Congress made while he was there'". He also had an electric car in the 1970s. In 1991, Rose chaired the House Committee investigation of the

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

administration's role in selling military supplies to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. After Democrats lost control of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

in the 1994 Republican Revolution, Rose challenged incumbent House Democratic Leader

Dick Gephardt Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic ...

for the post of minority leader, but lost 150–50. He retired from the House the next year and became a lobbyist, working alongside his third wife, Stacye, the daughter of fellow North Carolina Congressman

Bill Hefner Willie Gathrel Hefner (April 11, 1930 – September 2, 2009), was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, serving between 1975 and 1999. Life and career Born in Elora, Tennessee, Hefner graduated from high school in Sardis, Al ...

. Rose's former intern

Mike McIntyre Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 y ...

succeeded Rose in 1997, and held the seat until the 2014 election.Dalesio, Emery P., and Austin Baird
"Ex-U.S. Rep. Charlie Rose helped tobacco farmers"
, AP and ''The News & Observer'' respectively; September 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-05.Dalesio, Emery P.
"Former NC Congressman Charlie Rose dies at age 73"
, AP via '' WRAL.com'', September 4, 2012.

Personal life

Rose married Sara Louise Richardson on June 30, 1962; they had three children. Charles Grandison Rose, IV born December 14, 1965. Sara Louise Rose, born October 19, 1973. Irene Cowan Rose, born November 9, 1975. Irene died in infancy of a congenital heart defect on January 28, 1976. Sara and Charlie divorced in September 1982. Rose then married Joan Ray Teague in 1982 on

Bald Head Island, North Carolina Bald Head Island, historically Smith Island, is a village located on the east side of the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. Compared to the nearby city of Wilmington to the north, the village of Bald Head Island ...

. Together they adopted a baby girl, Kelly Josephine (born October 1, 1987). The couple divorced in 1995. Rose then married Stacye Hugh Hefner in May 1995 near Washington, D.C. The couple have one daughter, Parker Delaney (born October 19, 1999). In 2009, Rose moved to

Albertville, Alabama Albertville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,386. It is the largest city in Marshall County. His ...

, to be near Stacye's mother. Rose largely gave up his lobbying work with the move. Rose died of complications related to Parkinson’s disease at a hospital in northern Alabama near their home.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Charlie 1939 births 2012 deaths North Carolina lawyers University of North Carolina School of Law alumni Politicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina Neurological disease deaths in Alabama Deaths from Parkinson's disease Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina 20th-century American politicians Davidson College alumni 20th-century American lawyers