Michael Steele takes office as Maryland's first Black Lt. Governor

Jet, Feb 3, 2003

Maryland's Lt. Gov. Michael Steele recently was sworn into office on Martin Luther King's birthday as the first Black to hold statewide office.

Steele, 44, said it was fitting that his inauguration in Maryland was on "the birthday of the man who dreamed this day would come."

"Forty years ago, Martin Luther King had a dream. How fitting today we celebrate not only the inauguration of a new era, but the birthday of a man who dreamed this day would come," Steele reflected.

Steele earned his bachelor's degree in international relations in 1981 from Johns Hopkins University, and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991. He also attended the Augustinian Friars Seminary at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, in preparation for the priesthood.

Active in politics since 1978, Steele was elected the first Black Chair of the Maryland State Republican Party in 2000, a first in the nation.

Chief Judge Robert Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals administered the oath of office for both Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Steele. Bell, who was the first Black to rise to the leading position on the state's highest court, said he recognized "the importance of sharing the stage with Steele."

"It shows a real opportunity has opened up in Maryland," he said.

In Maryland, the lieutenant governor has no authority or responsibilities except those given him by the governor. But Gov. Ehrlich has pledged to make Steele a full partner in his administration, assigning him responsibility for economic development, education and a plan to put more state money into faith-based programs.

"He is a man of steel and conviction and class and integrity," Ehrlich said.