Eric Charles Clark (born July 25, 1951) is an American politician and academic who served as the

Secretary of State of Mississippi The Mississippi Secretary of State is an officer of Mississippi originally established under the Article IV, §14 of Mississippi Constitution of 1817, and was reestablished under Article V, §133 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890. Several ...

from 1996 to 2008.

Early life and education

Eric Charles Clark was born on July 25, 1951, in

Mize, Mississippi Mize is a town in Smith County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 285 at the 2000 census. It is the home of the Mississippi Watermelon Festival. History Mize was settled by Europeans by the early 1900s on the Gulf and Ship Island Ra ...

. Graduating from Taylorsville High School, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

, Master of Arts from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, and PhD in history from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

Career

Clark began his career as a high school and community college teacher. He was a history instructor at

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi. Histor ...

from 1989 to 1995. He was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing Smith County districts, for 4 terms from 1980 to 1996. In 1995 Clark ran for the office of

. He narrowly defeated

Amy Tuck Amy Tuck (born July 8, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2008. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she was previously a member of t ...

in the Democratic primary runoff and faced Republican State Senator Barbara Blanton in the general election. He campaigned on his legislative record in the House of Representatives and defeated her in the November 7 contest. He was sworn-in on January 4, 1996. He was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He did not seek reelection in 2007 and was succeeded in office by Republican

Delbert Hosemann Charles Delbert Hosemann Jr. (born June 30, 1947) is an American politician serving as the 33rd lieutenant governor of Mississippi, since January 2020. From 2008 to 2020, he served as the secretary of state of Mississippi. Early life Hosemann wa ...

on January 10, 2008. In 2008 Clark was made executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board.

References

Works cited

External links

Mississippi Secretary of State Eric Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Eric 1951 births Living people People from Smith County, Mississippi Secretaries of State of Mississippi Millsaps College alumni University of Mississippi alumni Mississippi State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives