Lance Cargill is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. Cargill served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House from January 2, 2007 to January 28, 2008. He resigned after one year as House Speaker due to tax and ethics controversies and was succeeded as House Speaker by State Representative Chris Benge

Chris Benge

Chris Benge is a United States Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Benge served as the Oklahoma House of Representatives as the Speaker of the House, a position he took over after Lance Cargill resigned in January 2008.Benge was first elected to the House of Representatives in...

.

Biography

Cargill was born and raised in Harrah, Oklahoma

Harrah, Oklahoma

Harrah is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Located east of downtown Oklahoma City, Harrah had a population of 5,148 people as of 2009.-Geography:...

 where he attended Harrah Public Schools. After graduating from high school, Cargill moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma

Stillwater, Oklahoma

Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...

 where he attended Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater is a land-grant, sun-grant, coeducational public research university located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act...

. He graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 degree. He then attended the Vanderbilt University Law School

Vanderbilt University Law School

Vanderbilt University Law School is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law has consistently ranked among the top 20 law schools in the nation, and is currently ranked 16th in the 2012...

 and earned a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

.

Cargill was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2000 and served four terms in that body. In December 2006, Cargill was selected by his party to serve as the Speaker of the House. He was formally elected on the Constitutionally mandated organizational day on January 2, 2007. At the time of his election, Cargill was the youngest Speaker of the House in the United States. He was also the first representative from Oklahoma County to serve as Speaker in many decades.

Resignation as House Speaker after tax, ethics problems

On January 28, 2008, following heavy criticism for his failure to pay state taxes and questions about a PAC

Political action committee

In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...

 he led in 2006, Cargill resigned as Speaker of the House. In a press release, he stated that news accounts about his personal issues were overshadowing the important work ahead for legislators. He remained in the Legislature as a state representative, and did not file for re-election to his seat in 2008.

On August 29, 2009, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission

Oklahoma Ethics Commission

The Oklahoma Ethics Commission is an agency of the state of Oklahoma that issues rules on the ethical conduct for state elected officials and employees. It also investages and prosecutes violations of its rules. The Ethics Commission was created by a two-to-one vote of the people of the state per...

publicly reprimanded both Cargill and the Oklahoma County Republican Party for their roll in the controversial PAC.

One of Cargill's noteworthy achievements was to head up a 100 ideas Oklahoma campaign.