**Exhibit 31.1**

 

**CERTIFICATION OFPRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER**

**PURSUANTTO RULES 13a-14(a) AND 15d-14(a)**

**UNDERTHE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,**

**ASADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302**

**OFTHE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002**

 

 

**I, HowardR. Levine, certify that:**

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**1.**                                       I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of FamilyDollar Stores, Inc.;

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2.                                       Based on myknowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material factor omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.                                       Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.                                       The registrant’sother certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing andmaintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

 

a)                                      Designed suchdisclosure controls and procedures or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the registrant, including its consolidatedsubsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularlyduring the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b)                                     Evaluated theeffectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures andpresented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of thedisclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by thisreport based on such evaluation; and

 

**c)**                                      Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internalcontrol over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s mostrecent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of anannual report) that has materially affected, or it reasonably likely tomaterially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting;and

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**5.**                                       The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financialreporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of theregistrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalentfunctions):

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**(a)**                                  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design oroperation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonablylikely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process,summarize and report financial information; and

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**(b) Anyfraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees whohave a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financialreporting.**

 

 
| Date: April 7, 2005              |                                               |
|---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
|                                  |                                               |
|                                  |                                               |
| /s/   Howard R. Levine |                                               |   |
|                                  | Howard R. Levine                                   |   |
|                                  | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive  Officer |   |
|                                  | (Principal Executive Officer)                      |   |
|                                       |                                                    |  |  |

 

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