Josephus L. Mavretic

Josephus Lyman "Joe" Mavretic (born July 29, 1934) is a former Democratic public official and military veteran from North Carolina. Born in Currituck County,[1] he made his career as a Marine, graduating from the Naval War College and becoming a Marine fighter pilot, retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel.[1][2][3] Mavretic had served 300 combat missions in Vietnam and recorded 3,000 hours of flight time.[4]

Josephus Mavretic
Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives
In office January 1, 1989 – January 1, 1991
Preceded by	Liston Ramsey
Succeeded by	Dan Blue
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
In office January 1, 1981 – January 1, 1995
Preceded by	Jim Ezzell
Succeeded by	Edward Norris Tolson
Constituency	7th District (1981-1983) 8th District (1983-1993) 71st District (1993-1995)
Personal details
Born	(1934-07-29) July 29, 1934 Powells Point, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Laura Kranifeld
Children	1
Alma mater	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (AB) George Washington University (MS) Naval War College
Occupation	Soldier (lieutenant colonel, USMC, Ret.)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1956–1977
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel

He retired from the Marines and returned to his home state. He came from a Democratic family and community, and he ran successfully for the North Carolina House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1980. He succeeded Jim Ezzell.[5] In spite of his party label, he admired President Ronald Reagan and was willing to buck his party on several issues.

Mavretic became nationally known when he led a bipartisan coalition to remove Liston Ramsey from the position of Speaker of the House.[2][6] He then served in that position from 1989 to 1990.[1][2][7]

He left the legislature in 1995 and retired to private life. He is now a panelist on the television news talk show NC Spin.[1][2][8]