Early Life, Education and Career
Wilson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of Wray (née Graves) and Hugh deVeaux Wilson. Wilson obtained a bachelor's degree from Washington and Lee University in 1969, obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1972. From 1972 to 1975, Wilson served in the United States Army Reserve, and then as a Staff Judge Advocate in the South Carolina Army National Guard assigned to the 218th Mechanized Infantry Brigade until retiring from military service as a colonel in 2003.
Wilson was active in South Carolina Republican politics from a young age, participating in his first Republican campaign in 1962. As a teenager he joined the campaign of Congressman Floyd Spence, later working as an aide to Senator Strom Thurmond.
As a real estate attorney, Wilson co-accounted the law firm Kirkland, Wilson, Moore, Taylor & Thomas in West Columbia, where he practiced for over 25 years. Wilson was also a municipal judge in Springdale, South Carolina.
In 1981 and 1982, during the Reagan Administration, Wilson served as deputy general counsel for former Governor Jim Edwards at the U.S. Department of Energy. Wilson is also a graduate of Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia.
Read more about this topic: Joe Wilson (U.S. Politician)
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