John D. Perdue

State Treasurer John D. Perdue took the oath of office in January of 1997 to become the 24th treasurer of the State of West Virginia.  He serves the West Virginia Investment Management Board as an ex officio member and Chairman of the Personnel Committee.

Treasurer Perdue's more than a quarter century of public service began in 1973 when he joined the staff of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, where he was promoted in 1984 to assistant director of the Rural Resources Division.  There, he set in motion a plan that greatly expanded the State's Farmers' Markets.  In 1987, Mr. Perdue became Assistant Agriculture Commissioner and the department's liaison with the State Legislature.  Former Governor Gaston Caperton recognized Mr. Perdue's ability to interact effectively with the Legislature and recruited him in 1989 to work on the governor's staff, where he was senior executive assistant for eight years.  While Mr. Perdue gained a reputation for his no nonsense, professional approach to government operation, he also earned a reputation for problem solving and responsiveness.  He played a key role in winning legislative approval of programs that restored financial credibility to state government.  Known as an accessible public servant, Mr. Perdue used his experience and reputation to forge a victory in his first bid for statewide office in 1996 when he was overwhelmingly elected the State Treasurer.

Since taking office, Mr. Perdue has been elected to head the Northeast Region of the National Association of State Treasurers.  He also has been elected to the board of the College Savings Plan Network and serves as its liaison with the National Association of State Treasurers.

Among his most gratifying achievements have been his education initiatives.  He conceived and fought for passage of the West Virginia Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund Act to help parents and grandparents pay for their children's or grandchildren's future college tuition at today's prices.

Mr. Perdue is a native of Dog Fork Hollow at Manila, Boone County.   After graduating from Scott High School, Madison, He attended West Virginia University and earned a B.S. degree in 1972.  He was a member of the agriculture honorary Alpha Tau Alpha and Alpha Gamma Rho and was named a State Friend of the Extension Service.

Mr. Perdue was the chairman of the WVU College of Agriculture and Forestry Visiting Committee for 1998-1999 and he has received the Annual Service Award from the West Virginia Forestry Association.  He also serves on the West Virginia Board of Trustees of the Leukemia Society of America, and is a member of the West Virginia Technology Enterprise Investment Council.