North Carolina Council of State - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Council of State is a group of popularly elected executive offices in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, USA. It is separate from the North Carolina Cabinet

North Carolina Cabinet

The Cabinet is the group of unelected heads of the executive departments of North Carolina, which form part of the top executives in the government of the state. It is separate and distinct from the North Carolina Council of State, the members of which are elected state-wide, and which makes up...

, which is appointed by the Governor of North Carolina

Governor of North Carolina

The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...

, and makes up the rest of the executive leadership of the government. However, Council of State members are often colloquially and erroneously called 'Cabinet members'.

North Carolina

North Carolina

retains a Jacksonian-era system of divided executive power. In addition to the Governor, the nine Council of State members are elected statewide by the voters. The term "Council of State" harks back to the colonial-era Governor's Council, which was essentially the upper house of the legislature, and then to a Council of State in the early years of statehood, which was appointed by the legislature and which curtailed the governor's power.

Today, the Council of State meets periodically, with the Governor as chair, to allow for coordination and exchange of information across executive branch agencies and to vote on certain decisions, especially regarding the sale of state property or borrowing money. In 2007, a state judge referred to an old state law that requires the Council to approve changes to capital punishment

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

procedures.

Current members

Office	Name
Lieutenant Governor	Walter H. Dalton Walter H. Dalton Walter H. Dalton is a Democratic politician from North Carolina and the state's current Lieutenant Governor. Prior to his election to that office, he was a member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's forty-sixth Senate district, including constituents in Cleveland and...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Secretary of State North Carolina Secretary of State The North Carolina Secretary of State is an elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina, heading the Department of the Secretary of State, which oversees many of the economic and business-related operations of the state government...	Elaine Marshall Elaine Marshall Elaine F. Marshall is the current North Carolina Secretary of State; she is the first woman to be elected to that office and the first woman elected to statewide executive office in North Carolina. Marshall was the Democratic Party's nominee for the United States Senate seat currently held by...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Attorney General North Carolina attorney general The Attorney General of North Carolina is the head of the state's Department of Justice and provides legal representation and advice to all state agencies. He or she does not have the authority to prosecute specific crimes unless requested to do so by a local district attorney...	Roy A. Cooper III Roy A. Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper, III is the current North Carolina Attorney General. He is a member of the North Carolina Democratic Party.-Personal life and education:...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Commissioner of Agriculture North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture The Commissioner of Agriculture is the head of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as chairman of the state Board of Agriculture. As an executive officer elected statewide, the commissioner is also a member of the North Carolina Council of State.Leonidas L....	Steve Troxler Steve Troxler Steve Troxler is a tobacco farmer and the Republican Commissioner of Agriculture for the U.S. state of North Carolina, sworn in February 8, 2005 after an extended election dispute following the November 2004 statewide election....	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...
Commissioner of Insurance North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance The North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance regulates the insurance industry in North Carolina, licenses insurance professionals in the state, educates consumers about different types of insurance, and handles consumer complaints...	Wayne Goodwin Wayne Goodwin George Wayne Goodwin was elected North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in the 2008 election. Goodwin previously served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's sixty-eighth House district, including constituents in Richmond and Stanly counties...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Commissioner of Labor North Carolina Commissioner of Labor The Commissioner of Labor of North Carolina is the head of the state's Department of Labor.The Constitution of North Carolina provides for the election by the people every four years of a Commissioner of Labor whose term of office runs concurrently with that of the governor...	Cherie K. Berry Cherie K. Berry Cherie Killian Berry is the current North Carolina Commissioner of Labor, a member of the North Carolina Council of State and head of the North Carolina Department of Labor....	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...
Superintendent of Public Instruction North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction is the elected head of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and oversees the public school systems of the state. The Superintendent is currently an elected member of the North Carolina Council of State, chosen in a partisan...	June Atkinson June Atkinson June St. Clair Atkinson was elected North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2004, in a race that was decided by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 23, 2005. She was re-elected in 2008. Dr...	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
State Treasurer North Carolina State Treasurer The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The current state treasurer is Janet Cowell....	Janet Cowell Janet Cowell Janet Cowell was elected North Carolina State Treasurer in 2008. She is North Carolina's first woman State Treasurer. She was previously a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate ....	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
State Auditor North Carolina State Auditor The North Carolina State Auditor is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The State Auditor is responsible for overseeing and reviewing the financial accounts of all state government agencies...	Beth Wood Beth Wood Beth Wood is the North Carolina State Auditor since January 10, 2009. She defeated incumbent Republican State Auditor Les Merritt in the 2008 election. She is North Carolina's first female state auditor....	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Current members

See also