Born in Charleston, S.C. in 1943. Citadel Class of 1964. Mayor of Charleston since 1975. He has been mayor of Charleston longer than anyone else in its long history. He holds a law degree from the University of South Carolina (1967). Served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, 1968-1974. President of the U. S. Conference of Mayors, 1986-1987. President of the National Association of Democratic Mayors, 1988-1992. Recipient of the Outstanding Mayors Award of the National Urban Coalition. In 2000, Riley was the first recipient of the Urban Land Institute J. C. Nichols Prize for Visionary Urban Development. He is a founder of the Mayors' Institute for City Design. Joseph P. Riley Baseball Park, near The Citadel campus, is named for him. (Source: "Joseph P.Riley, Jr., Mayor of Charleston," Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Institute for Urban Affairs and Policy Studies, College of Charleston)
