Senator Phil Berger: North Carolina Senate President Pro Term.

• Position: THE FINAL WORD - Interview

Senator Phil Berger is the president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate, and the first Republican Senate leader in more than a century. An attorney by trade. Senator Berger came to the General Assembly in 2000 and was elected minority leader in 2004. Following the historic turnover in the 2010 election, putting Republicans in charge of the legislature for the first time since the 19th century, Senator Berger was elected president pro tern by his peers for the 2011 session.

What would surprise people most about you? I think it would be that I'm a big Star Wars fan.

What is your proudest accomplishment? I'm proud of the transition we were able to make after the 2010 election. We were coming in with the state facing a $2.5 billion shortfall. We had real problems, as far as the budget was concerned, with recurring obligations being supported by non-recurring dollars. We were able to turn the state--from a policy standpoint--in a different direction in 2011.

What keeps you up at night? Actually, I sleep pretty well. Just ask my wife. She probably says I keep her up.

What book is on your nightstand? I'm one of those people who start multiple books, before finishing any, so I actually have three that I'm working on now. One is the "Guns at Last Light." It's the third in a trilogy on World War II by Rick Atkinson. Another is a book I first read 20 to 25 years ago, called "Men At Work" by George Will. I'm rereading that. The third one I have just started is "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley.

What specific policies or goals are you focused on this session? What I'm focusing on this session is a continuation of the reforms that we've already initiated. Obviously, the budget is important, but we'd like to continue with our tax policy and education reforms in particular.

How would you describe your leadership style? What I do is try...