Nora Cherie Killian Berry (born December 21, 1946) is an American politician who served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Labor from 2001 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she was the first woman to hold the office. Early life Nora Cherie Killian was born in Newton, North Carolina, United States on December 21, 1946, to Earl and Lena Carrigan Killian. Her father gave her the name Cherie after the French phrase "mon chérie" (English: my darling) which he had heard in France on his way home following his release as a prisoner-of-war of World War II. Killian graduated from Maiden High School in 1965 and moved to Boone where she worked wrapping Christmas presents at a department store and selling advertisements for, writing for, and delivering newspapers. She attended Lenoir Rhyne College, ending her studies there in 1967. She also studied at Gaston College in 1969 and Oakland Community College in 1977. She married Norman H. Berry Jr. and took his last name. In 1985 Berry and her husband founded LGM Ltd., a company based in a former billiard hall that manufactured spark-plug wires for cars. After initial financial uncertainty, the venture became very profitable. Norman H. Berry Jr. died in 2006. Political career State House Berry served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000, where she chaired the welfare reform committee and co-chaired the commerce committee. State Labor Commissioner In November 2000, she was elected state labor commissioner, the first woman to hold the post and the first Republican elected to the post. Berry was sworn in as North Carolina Commissioner of Labor on January 6, 2001. She was the only Republican on the Council of State between 2001 and 2005, and defeated Democrat Wayne Goodwin to win a second term in the 2004 statewide elections. Berry narrowly defeated Mary Fant Donnan to keep her seat in the 2008 election. Berry won a fourth four-year term in November 2012, defeating former Labor Commissioner John C. Brooks by more than 280,000 votes. Berry won a fifth four-year term in November 2016 , defeating former Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker by more than 476,000 votes, her largest percentage margin of victory. On April 2, 2019, she announced at a Council of State meeting that she would not seek reelection. She endorsed Pearl Burris Floyd to succeed her. Berry was criticized in a newspaper report on