Charles Kirbo was a lawyer from Atlanta, Georgia. He was a partner with the Atlanta law
firm King and Spalding, practicing primarily as a trial lawyer. He served as
advisor to
President Carter in his gubernatorial and presidential campaigns as well as during his terms
in office as Governor and President. He was often referred to by the press as President
Carter's one man kitchen cabinet. He was offered an appointment to the US Senate in
1971 upon the death of Richard Russell and declined the appointment as well as offers to be
Carter's Chief of Staff and Attorney General.
He graduated from University of Georgia Law School with an LL.B. degree in 1939. He
served five years in the US Army during World War II, first as Company Commander of
an Airborne Signal Corps and later as Commander of a Heavy Weapons Infantry in the
European Theater, attaining the rank of Major.
He was a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was a trustee of the Carter
Center and a Trustee of the T. M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust. He was a board
member of the Christian Church Foundation and the Atlanta Union Mission. He received a
Friend of the Friendless Award by the Union Mission. He was also quietly but actively involved in the preservation of
the natural environment. Congressman John Linder said
regarding Kirbo's many contributions, "The world may never know the many great
contributions he has made because of his great modesty."