SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549


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                                    FORM 8-K

                                 Current Report
                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 3, 2003
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                           Dollar General Corporation
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               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)



       Tennessee                         001-11421                61-0502302
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(State or Other Jurisdiction      (Commission File Number)     (I.R.S. Employer
    of Incorporation)                                        Identification No.)


            100 Mission Ridge
        Goodlettsville, Tennessee                                    37072
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                          (Zip Code)


       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (615) 855-4000
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ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS

          (a)  Financial Statements. None.
          (b)  Pro Forma Financial Information. None.
          (c)  Exhibits.  See Exhibit Index immediately  following the signature
               page hereto.

ITEM 9.  REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE

On April 3, 2003,  Dollar General  Corporation  issued the news release attached
hereto as Exhibit 99 and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.










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                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                                DOLLAR GENERAL CORPORATION


Date:  April 3, 2003                            By:  /S/ Susan S. Lanigan
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                                                Susan S. Lanigan
                                                Vice President, General Counsel
                                                and Corporate Secretary












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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.                Description
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     99                    News release dated April 3, 2003










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Investor Contact:                                            Media Contact:
Emma Jo Kauffman                                             Andrea Ewin Turner
(615) 855-5525                                               (615) 855-5209



            DOLLAR GENERAL CORPORATION NAMES DAVID A. PERDUE, JR. CEO

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. (April 3, 2003) - The board of directors of Dollar General
Corporation announced that former Reebok Brand president and CEO David A.
Perdue, Jr., has been named chief executive officer and a member of the board of
directors effective April 2, 2003. Perdue was formerly chairman and chief
executive officer of Pillowtex Corporation whose consumer brands include
Cannon(R), Charisma(R), Fieldcrest(R) and Royal Velvet(R). Acting CEO Donald S.
Shaffer, who was named to that position in November 2002, will continue in his
role as president and chief operating officer.

Cal Turner, current chairman of the board, also announced that he will not seek
re-election to the board of directors at the Company's annual shareholders'
meeting in June and that Perdue will assume the chairmanship duties at that
time. Turner will continue to serve as a consultant to Perdue and as an advisor
to the board.

In making the announcement, Turner said, "I place my full support and confidence
in the board and our company under David's leadership, and I look forward to
assisting with the transition. The search committee and the entire board were
impressed with David's diverse background. David Perdue is a multi-dimensional
executive with a proven record of making things happen. He understands strategic
planning, finance, sourcing, retail, supply-side logistics, distribution and
brand building. He has been successful with some of the most well-known consumer
brands in America - Reebok, Sara Lee and Haggar."

Dennis Bottorff, chairman of the Dollar General board search committee, stated,
"Dollar General represents one of the choice CEO positions in the country. We
were able to consider a number of highly qualified candidates and our unanimous
choice was David Perdue. His strategic leadership, combined with great
discipline, is what we were looking for in this position."

In accepting the Dollar General CEO position, Perdue said, "Dollar General is a
great company with clear mission and purpose - making life better for its
customers. I look forward to working with the board and management in building
on the previous success of this great company."






David A. Perdue, Jr.
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Prior to joining Pillowtex in July 2002, Perdue was executive vice president of
Reebok International, Inc., and president and CEO of Reebok Brand. In this role,
Perdue was credited with making significant contributions to Reebok during a
critical time, resulting in increased profitability and market share for the
brand. Perdue first joined Reebok International in 1998 as senior vice president
of global operations. He was involved in all aspects of the Reebok brand,
including marketing, product development, sales, manufacturing, sourcing, supply
chain and operations. Prior to Reebok, his career spanned 26 years of experience
in the consumer products and financial services industries.

Perdue began his career in management consulting with 12 years at KSA (Kurt
Salmon Associates), an international consulting firm. His clients included
numerous major U.S. consumer products companies, many with international
operations. He joined Sara Lee Corporation in 1992 as senior vice president and
managing director of Asia operations. Perdue joined Haggar Corporation as senior
vice president of operations in 1994.

Perdue earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a master's
degree in operations research from Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a
director of Alliant Energy Corporation and is on the Georgia Tech Advisory
Board.


About Dollar General Corporation
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Dollar General is a Fortune 500(R) discount retailer with 6,192 neighborhood
stores in 27 states as of February 28, 2003. Dollar General stores offer
convenience and value to its customers, by offering consumable basics, items
that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and
beauty aids and cleaning supplies, as well as an appealing selection of basic
apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices. The typical
Dollar General store has 6,700 square feet of selling space and is located
within three to five miles of its target customers.


This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The Company believes
the assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable;
however, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, actual
results may differ materially from those projected by, or implied in, the
forward-looking statements. Please refer to "Forward Looking Statements/Risk
Factors" under Item 7 of our Form 10-K filed on March 19, 2003, for further
discussion. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The
Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances
occurring after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.