Mike Easley

Michael Francis (Mike) Easley (born March 23, 1950) is a former governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, serving from 2001 to 2009. He is a Democrat and was North Carolina's second Catholic governor. Thomas Burke was the first, though Easley is the first elected by popular vote. Easley was raised a Roman Catholic in otherwise overwhelmingly Protestant Nash County, North Carolina. His father, Alexander Easley, owned one of the two big tobacco... more

Michael Francis (Mike) Easley (born March 23, 1950) is a former governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, serving from 2001 to 2009. He is a Democrat and was North Carolina's second Catholic governor. Thomas Burke was the first, though Easley is the first elected by popular vote. Easley was raised a Roman Catholic in otherwise overwhelmingly Protestant Nash County, North Carolina. His father, Alexander Easley, owned one of the two big tobacco warehouses in the area. Easley earned a degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972. While at UNC he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He then attended the North Carolina Central University School of Law, earning his J.D. degree in 1976. Easley is married to Mary Easley (nee Pipines), who worked in the Provost's Office at North Carolina State University until June 8, 2009, when her contract was terminated by the NC State Board of Trustees. She is a former law professor and also worked for... less