Bert Lance

Thomas Bertram "Bert" Lance (June 3, 1931 – August 15, 2013) was an American businessman who served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter in 1977. He is known mainly for his resignation from Carter's administration due to a scandal during his first year in office; he was cleared of all charges.

Early life

Lance was born in Gainesville, Georgia. His father, Thomas Jackson Lance, had served as president of Young Harris College in northeast Georgia, and in 1941 the family relocated to Calhoun, in Gordon County, when Lance's father became superintendent of that city's schools. Lance graduated from the University of Georgia in 1951. While a student at Georgia, he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He attended graduate school at LSU in Baton Rouge and Rutgers University. While attending college he married LaBelle David, whose family owned the Calhoun First National Bank; they had four sons. After graduation Lance became a clerk at the bank, and within a decade became its president. He later served as president of the National Bank of Georgia in Atlanta from 1975 to 1977.