Hugh Kenneth Leatherman Sr. (April 14, 1931 – November 12, 2021) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate from 1981 until his death in 2021. The 31st District, which he represented, is anchored in Florence, South Carolina. From 2001 until his death, Leatherman effectively controlled South Carolina's budget as the Senate Finance Chairman and was considered one of the most powerful people in South Carolina politics. He negotiated the deal to bring Boeing to South Carolina in 2009 and secured funding for the deepening of the Charleston Harbor in 2011. At the time of his death, Leatherman served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. He served as President Pro Tempore of the South Carolina Senate for all but one day from June 18, 2014, to January 8, 2019. The position was abolished and replaced with the President of the Senate. Prior to this change, Leatherman was capable of being both President of the Senate and Senate Finance Chairman. He was also a member of the State Budget and Control Board until it was abolished in 2014. Leatherman orchestrated the Republican takeover of the South Carolina Senate in 2001. Prior to 1996, Leatherman was a member of the Democratic Party and switched parties during the Republican Revolution. Leatherman was often criticized by fellow Republicans for his willingness to work with Democratic lawmakers. Personal life Hugh Kenneth Leatherman was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, the son of John Bingham Leatherman and Ada Annis Gantt. He studied at North Carolina State University where he obtained a degree in civil engineering. After graduation in 1953, Leatherman started working at a concrete plant in Charlotte. In 1955, he formed his own concrete company called Florence Concrete Products with a business partner in Florence, South Carolina. Leatherman continued to own around 16 percent of the company and to receive a salary from it despite stepping aside as its president in 1991. Critics of Hugh Leatherman raised concerns about his continued relationship with his concrete business and his position overseeing the state budget and Transportation Department. Since 2001, the Florence Concrete Company has received at least $28 million in transportation contracts from the state. Leatherman was married twice, first to Joyce Jerline Smith in 1952; with whom he had four children, three daughters and a son. After his divorce in 1977, he married Jean Helms Allen