William J. Cole III (died April 11, 2003) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the

State Treasurer of Mississippi State Treasurer of Mississippi is a post created in 1817 when the state was admitted to the Union. Before the state was formed by splitting the Alabama Territory from the Mississippi Territory, an equivalent post was the Territorial Treasurer Ge ...

from 1980 to 1988.

Early life

Cole was raised in Wayne County, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1974.

Political career

Cole was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In 1971 he helped organized youth in support of

William F. Winter William Forrest Winter (February 21, 1923 – December 18, 2020) was an American attorney and politician who served as Governor of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as Lieutenant Governor, State Treas ...

's lieutenant gubernatorial campaign. In January 1979 Cole convinced Winter to pay for his name to be added to a poll being conducted to gauge Mississippians' attitudes towards public figures. Cole reported that the results were favorable to Winter, which in part convinced him to mount a successful gubernatorial campaign that year. Cole served as one of Winter's campaign strategists. After Winter became governor in 1980, Cole became his chief of staff. In December 1980

John Dale died. Winter, who was empowered to appoint an interim treasurer, asked Cole if he would like the post. Though surprised, Cole accepted the offer. He was sworn-in to the treasurer's office on December 19. He was succeeded by Marshall G. Bennett on January 7, 1988. In 1988 Governor Ray Mabus appointed him chairman of the State Economic Development Task Force.

Later life

After leaving the treasurer's office, Cole began practicing law, specializing in public finance, municipal bonds, and environmental law. In 2002 he was qualified to practice law before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Cole died on April 11, 2003, at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, succumbing to complications following a heart attack. A funeral was held three days later and he was buried at Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, William J. 2003 deaths State treasurers of Mississippi Mississippi Democrats