Glenn Richardson

speaker of the house, Georgia legislature

Glenn Richardson was born in Douglas County, Georgia, where he graduated from Douglas County High School in 1978. In 1981, Glenn earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Georgia State University and was a member of Georgia State University's first law school class earning his Juris Doctor in 1984. In 1985, Glenn joined the firm of Vinson & Osborne in Dallas, GA and made partner two years later. Now known as Talley, Richardson & Cable, Glenn continues to practice with the same firm. In 1989, he was appointed to serve as County Attorney for Paulding County and served in that position for 16 years. In 1996, Glenn became the first Republican from Paulding County elected to the Georgia House of Representatives since Reconstruction. In 2003, Governor Sonny Perdue hand-picked Glenn to serve as the Administration Floor Leader in the House and in November 2003, the Republican Caucus chose Glenn to serve as Minority Leader. He was elected to his seventh consecutive term in 2008 to represent House District 19. As a result of his role in securing Republican control of the House for the first time since Reconstruction, in 2005 Glenn was chosen by his colleagues to serve as the first Republican Speaker of the House in over 130 years. In 2009, he was unanimously elected to serve a third term as Speaker. Throughout his service to the state of Georgia, his colleagues, the media and many private organizations have recognized his commitment and dedication. The Republican Party of Georgia named him the 2003 Legislator of the Year. He was the recipient of the 2003 American Cancer Society Capitol Dome Award. The March of Dimes recognized him for providing extraordinary leadership in passing legislation to reduce the number of premature births in Georgia. Insider Advantage's* James Magazine* named him the 2005 Man of the Year. He was also the recipient of the prestigious 2005 Wayne Shackelford Award from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and the James A. Coffman Award by the Medical Association of Georgia.