Congressman Joe Wilson continues to lead a life dedicated to public service. Starting in 1962 with his involvement as a Teenage Republican at the High School of Charleston to his current service in Congress.

Addison (Joe) Graves Wilson was born July 31, 1947, in Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating from the High School of Charleston, he began his collegiate career at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia before completing his law degree at The University of South Carolina. A real estate attorney by trade, Joe was a founding partner of the West Columbia law firm Kirkland, Wilson, Moore, Taylor & Thomas.

One of his earliest starts in public service was on the staff of South Carolina legends Senator Strom Thurmond and Congressman Floyd Spence. As part of the visionary Ronald Reagan administration, Joe was Deputy General Counsel for the United States Department of Energy Secretary, and former South Carolina Governor, Jim Edwards.

A member of the United States Army Reserves from 1972-1975, he has since served in the South Carolina Army National Guard. Joe is currently a Colonel serving as a Staff Judge Advocate assigned to the 218th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. He has been the only active Guard member since being elected to Congress and concludes his service July 31, 2003 with 31 years of service.

Before being elected to the United States Congress in 2001, Joe served seventeen years, with perfect attendance, in the South Carolina State Senate where he was elected as the first Republican Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee since Reconstruction.

As a current member of the United States House of Representatives, Joe serves on the powerful House Armed Services Committee, the Education & the Workforce Committee, and the highly influential House Policy Committee. In addition, he is the Republican Chairman of the India and Bulgaria Caucuses. Rep. Wilson’s work in Congress allows him to carry on his goals of promoting peace through a strong national defense, ensuring that every child in America receives a high-quality education, and urging personal responsibility through a limited government.

Joe is married to Roxanne Dusenbury McCrory, who continues to offer him strength and support in his every endeavor. They are the proud parents of four sons, three of whom serve in the U.S. military. Alan, his oldest son, is a Captain in the Army National Guard; Add is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and is now an Ensign attending Uniform Services Medical School; Julian serves as a cadet of the Army ROTC at Clemson University; and Hunter is currently in school at Airport High School. Their older three sons are Eagle Scouts, Hunter is a Life Scout, and Joe is Republican Co-Chair of the House Boy Scout Caucus.

Congressman Joe Wilson considers it a great honor to serve the Second Congressional District of South Carolina.