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Background

From a family farm in South Carolina and it’s Governor’s mansion in Columbia, to the capitals, refugee camps and war zones around the world, David Beasley has led a life of service, compassion and leadership.

David Beasley entered public service almost a half a century ago, when, at age 21, he was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives.  During his years of service in the State House, he became chair of key committees, House Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore.

In 1994, he was elected Governor of South Carolina, one of the youngest in the State’s history.  As Governor, David Beasley set out on an aggressive government reform agenda, focused on education improvement, tax cuts, welfare reform, economic development, infrastructure development, criminal justice reform and promoting timeless values of equality and freedom.

To shrink the size of government and return power to people, Governor Beasley worked closely with the State Legislature to cut over a billion dollars in taxes.  His four years in office made history as some of South Carolina’s most successful years in economic development. Capital investment announcements from 1995 through 1998 shattered old records, totaling more than $22 billion with 110,000 new jobs created, giving new hope to thousands of families. 

The results were dramatic.  New records were set in job creation, the growth of personal income and economic development.  Welfare caseloads were cut in half and the cost of government was reduced, while the State made new investments in technology, infrastructure, and a strong commitment to improvement in classroom education.

During his term in office, Governor Beasley led delegations on economic development and trade missions to countries throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa.  His economic development efforts resulted in the recruitment or expansion of more than 400 large corporations in South Carolina, including BMW, Honda, Fuji, Bose, Michelin, and Bridgestone/Firestone.

Because he understands the link between education and economic development, Governor Beasley also focused on laying the groundwork for improving South Carolina's public school system.  Under his leadership, in 1998, South Carolina created a sweeping new education accountability system that, for the first time, showed taxpayers how well the schools were doing by setting clear, measurable standards for students and teachers. 

Under Governor Beasley’s leadership, South Carolina was the first state in the nation to have every school in the state wired for the Internet.  Educational improvements underway today are being built on that legacy of leadership.

Also, under Governor Beasley’s leadership, South Carolina was one of the first states in the nation to create an infrastructure bank.  With the creation of the South Carolina Infrastructure Bank, South Carolina began over one billion dollars of road and bridge improvement that helped ignite economic development in all regions of the State.  All of this was done without a tax increase.

In 1997, the nation’s 32 Republican governors elected David Beasley chairman of the national Republican Governors Association. Under his leadership in that position, the Association set fund-raising records, and the Republican Party continued to dominate the nation’s Statehouses.

After his term as Governor ended in defeat, in part because of his effort to remove the Confederate Flag from the capitol dome, Beasley said, “We did the right thing … at the right time … in the right way — therefore, we were successful.”

David Beasley left the Governor’s office in 1999 and continued to make significant contributions to his State and Nation.  In 1999, he was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard.  In 2003 he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his courage and political sacrifice in working to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from the State Capital in Columbia.

Beasley then began a decade of building relationships and striving to make peace around the world.  He visited over 75 war-torn countries and invited many of their leaders back to his family farm in Society Hill, SC — to experience fellowship and personal growth together.  As a result, he now has dear friends all over the world.

Nominated by American presidents of both parties, he became Executive Director of the U.N. World Food Programme from 2017 to 2023, raising over $55 billion and assisting millions of starving people in more than eighty nations. As global conflict and the global pandemic plunged more people into extreme poverty, Beasley raised funding levels from $6 billion/year to over $14 billion, in order to feed 160 million people. In 2020, WFP received the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and conflict around the world and make peace.  Gov. Beasley gave the Nobel lecture in Oslo on behalf of the organization.

During his tenure at WFP, Beasley dramatically increased the role and number of women by more 4,471 increasing the percentage of women from 34 to 42% globally.

As a result of these and other peacemaking efforts, he became a trusted friend and advisor to many heads of state and leaders on all continents, and now works behind the scenes to feed the hungry, resolve conflict and make peace.

Governor Beasley has received many awards and recognition around the world. Beasley says, “I have not achieved any of it on my own.  I have had great friends and the grace of the Almighty at my side through it all.  The only purpose of being recognized is to turn it into more and better service.”