Pierre Howard was the ninth Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Georgia

The Lieutenant Governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the state, elected to a 4-year term by popular vote. Unlike some states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the state Governor....

 of the US state of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

Background

He came from a political family (great-grandson of Thomas Coke Howard, member of the Georgia House of Representatives

Georgia House of Representatives

The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia.-Composition:...

, and grandson of William S. Howard

William S. Howard

William Schley Howard was a U.S. Representative from Georgia, cousin of Augustus O. Bacon.Born in Kirkwood, Georgia, Howard attended Neel's Academy.He was a page in the State house of representatives in 1888 and 1889....

 who served in the Georgia House, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives). Howard attended the University of Georgia

University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...

, where he was captain

Captain (sports)

In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...

 of the tennis team and president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...

 fraternity. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and went on to receive a law degree from the University of Georgia as well. In 1974, he married Nancy Barnes and they have two children, Christopher and Caroline.

State Senate

Howard and entered politics in 1972. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate, representing DeKalb County's 42nd district. He was re-elected in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988. He served eight years as assistant floor leader for Governor George Busbee and 16 years as chairman of the Senate Human Resources Committee.

Lieutenant governor

In 1990, Howard ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor. He was elected to a four-year term and was re-elected in 1994. Howard focused on critical issues concerning Georgia families throughout his political career (i.e. graduated licenses and zero tolerance for drinking and driving for teens). He retired from politics at the end of his second term.

Honor

The Interstate 285

Interstate 285

Interstate 285 is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for . I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. Suburban sprawl has made it one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway...

 and Interstate 20

Interstate 20

Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...

 interchange in DeKalb County, Georgia

DeKalb County, Georgia

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...

is named in his honor.