Philip Edward Berger

Philip Edward Berger, born August 8, 1952, is an attorney and influential member of the North Carolina General Assembly. Born in New Rochelle, New York, he later moved to Danville, Virginia, where he graduated from high school. He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Averett University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1982. After law school, he established a law practice in Eden, North Carolina. Berger was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2000. He served as the Senate Minority Leader from 2005 to 2011 and was elected President Pro Tempore in 2011 after Republicans gained a majority in the chamber for the first time in over a century. He is the longest actively-serving state senate leader in the United States.