A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

to honor david m. Beasley on the occasion of the conclusion of his service as executive director of the united nations world food programme, and to invite him to address the general assembly in joint session in the chamber of the House of representatives at 12:00 P.M. on wednesday, May 3, 2023.

 

Whereas, The Honorable David M. Beasley was born in Lamar, South Carolina, on February 26, 1957, was raised there, educated in its public schools, and studied at both Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, earning both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of South Carolina; and

 

Whereas, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1978, at the age of 21 years, thereafter rising to the positions of Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tempore, in each case being the youngest in the country to hold those positions, continuing that service until 1995; and

 

Whereas, he was elected Governor of South Carolina in 1994, at the age of 37 years, and served admirably and effectively through four years of often difficult and divisive times; and

 

Whereas, in 2003, he was the recipient of the Profile in Courage Award, awarded by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Foundation; and

 

Whereas, he spent more than a decade after his service as Governor traveling the world on behalf of initiatives to integrate the less economically developed countries into the global economy in the face of various cultural, religious, and ethnic obstacles; and

 

Whereas, in April 2017, he was selected to become the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian organization in the world; and

 

Whereas, under his leadership the World Food Programme has fed and otherwise assisted hundreds of millions of the world's most desperate and needy people, often in extraordinarily dangerous and trying circumstances; and

 

Whereas, in his role as Executive Director of the World Food Programme he has personally visited and engaged with the people and leaders of scores of countries, often at considerable personal risk; and

 

Whereas, in 2020, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the World Food Programme the Nobel Peace Prize for its work under his leadership; and

 

Whereas, his work with and leadership of the World Food Programme has benefitted hundreds of millions of people and brought well-deserved honor and recognition to him, and by extension to this State, for which the General Assembly and the people of South Carolina are most grateful and anxious to appropriately recognize his service to the World Food Programme as that service comes to an end. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

 

That the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, honors David M. Beasley on the occasion of his conclusion of service as Executive Director of the World Food Programme, and invites him to address the General Assembly in joint session in the chamber of the House of Representatives at 12:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to The Honorable David M. Beasley.

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