Luther Strange
Luther J. Strange III (born March 1, 1953 in Birmingham) is the Attorney General of Alabama.
Biography
Strange was born in Birmingham and grew up in Sylacauga and Homewood. He became an Eagle Scout at 13 and attended Shades Cahaba Elementary School and Homewood Middle School. He graduated from Shades Valley High School in 1970 as an All-State basketball player.
Strange attended Tulane University on a basketball scholarship, and he earned his bachelor degree in political science. He spent a year working on a Merchant Marine oilfield supply vessel in the North Sea before returning to Tulane to attend law school. He completed his Juris Doctorate in 1979 and was admitted to the Louisiana Bar the same year.
Moving back to Birmingham, Strange began working for Sonat, and was promoted to direct their Washington D.C office. When he returned he opened a law practice with Jack Selden, which merged into Bradley Arant Rose & White in 1998. He left Bradley Arant in 2008 to form his own law firm. His firm, Strange LLC, focuses on economic development work.
Since the 1990s he has been active in supporting Republican candidates for office. He founded the Red Mountain Republican Club in 1997 and was chair of the committee to elect fellow Tulane alumnus Bill Pryor as Alabama Attorney General in 1998 and 2002. In his first run for political office, he captured the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor in 2006 by defeating George Walllace, Jr. He narrowly lost by 1% in the general election to Jim Folsom, Jr. On May 13, 2009, Strange announced he was running for Alabama Attorney General in the 2010 primary elections.
He is active in the Rotary Club of Birmingham and the Monday Morning Quarterback Club. He attended Leadership Alabama. He served on Governor Riley's "Task Force to Strengthen Alabama Families" and was active in the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns for George W. Bush. In 2006 he was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, but lost to Jim Folsom Jr. In 2008 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Talladega College.
Strange, formerly of Mountain Brook, now lives in Pike Road, a suburb of Montgomery, with his wife, the former Melissa Berry. He has two sons, Luke and Keehn.
References
- Thornton, William (January 4, 2008) "Strange to form own law firm." The Birmingham News
- Chandler, Kim (May 13, 2009) "Luther Strange announces on web, by email he is running for attorney general." The Birmingham News
External links
- Luther Strange political campaign web site
- Strange, LLC web site