Editing Ray Mabus (section)

==Early life and education==
Mabus was born on October 11, 1948, in [[Ackerman, Mississippi|Ackerman]], [[Choctaw County, Mississippi|Choctaw County]], [[Mississippi]]. He was the only child of Raymond Mabus Sr. (1901–1986),<ref>{{Cite news |date=1986-06-12 |title=Obituary for Raymond E. Mabus |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-greenwood-commonwealth-obituary-for/138070550/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |work=The Greenwood Commonwealth |pages=2 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105032509/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-greenwood-commonwealth-obituary-for/138070550/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a successful timber farmer,{{sfn|Mullaney|1994|p=205}} and Lucille (née Curtis) Mabus (1909–2000), a teacher.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2000-06-09 |title=Obituary for Lucille Curtis Mabus |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/clarion-ledger-obituary-for-lucille-curt/138070671/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |work=Clarion-Ledger |pages=18}}</ref> His paternal uncle, merchant [[Leslie E. Mabus]] (1896–1992),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leslie E Mabus in US, Social Security Death Index |url=https://www.fold3.com/record/53489101/leslie-e-mabus-us-social-security-death-index |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=Fold3 |language=en |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105032508/https://www.fold3.com/record/53489101/leslie-e-mabus-us-social-security-death-index |url-status=live }}</ref> was a member of the [[Mississippi State Senate]] from 1932 to 1936.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1992-10-03 |title=Obituary for Leslie E. Mabus |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/clarion-ledger-obituary-for-leslie-e-ma/133314096/ |access-date=2024-01-05 |work=Clarion-Ledger |pages=16 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105032508/https://www.newspapers.com/article/clarion-ledger-obituary-for-leslie-e-ma/133314096/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mabus graduated from Ackermann High School in 1966 as class valedictorian.{{sfn|Sansing|2016|p=229}} He graduated ''[[summa cum laude]]'' from the [[University of Mississippi]], where he was a member of [[Beta Theta Pi]], with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[English Literature|English]] and [[political science]]. He earned a [[Master of Arts]] in political science from [[Johns Hopkins University]] and a [[Juris Doctor]], ''[[magna cum laude]]'', from [[Harvard Law School]]. He had been offered a Fulbright Scholarship, had held a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and had traveled widely throughout Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Latin America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/265/index.php?s=extra&id=157|title=Mississippi History Now {{!}} Ray Mabus: Sixtieth Governor of Mississippi: 1988-1992|website=www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov|access-date=May 31, 2018|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025144213/http://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/articles/265/index.php?s=extra&id=157|url-status=dead}}</ref> Prior to attending law school, he also served two years in the Navy as a [[Surface Warfare Officer|surface warfare officer]] from 1970 to 1972 aboard the cruiser {{USS|Little Rock|CLG-4}}, achieving the rank of [[lieutenant junior grade]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usslittlerock.org/famouscrew.html |title=USSLittleRock.org |access-date=April 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813113616/http://www.usslittlerock.org/famouscrew.html |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He worked as a [[Law clerk (United States)|law clerk]] in the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] and as a legal counsel to a subcommittee of the [[United States House Committee on Agriculture]].{{sfn|Sansing|2016|p=229}}