Jim Gilmore was elected Virginia's 68th Governor in November 1997 on a philosophy of cutting taxes and providing all children in Virginia with quality education. Since taking office, Governor Gilmore has provided steady, conservative leadership that has resulted in the largest tax cut in Virginia history, implementation of Virginia's nationally acclaimed Standards of Learning, and a safer, more prosperous Commonwealth, leading to the creation of 175,000 new jobs.

A native Virginian, Jim Gilmore was born in Richmond on October 6, 1949. The son of working class parents, he grew up in Richmond's historic Fan District. He attended J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County and worked as a grocery store cashier to help pay for his college education at the University of Virginia.

Governor Gilmore graduated from the University of Virginia in 1971 with a degree in Foreign Policy. He then volunteered for the U.S. Army. Upon graduating with honors from the Army Intelligence School and completing the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, where he learned to speak fluent German, he joined the 650th Military Intelligence Group. Stationed in Mannheim, West Germany, Governor Gilmore served his country in counterintelligence and was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for service to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

After his Army tour was completed, Gilmore returned to Virginia and entered the University of Virginia Law School. He graduated from UVA Law School in 1977. After a decade of civic and community involvement as an attorney and small businessman, Jim Gilmore was elected in 1987 as Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County. He was overwhelmingly reelected in 1991.

After earning a solid reputation for fighting crime, he was elected Virginia's Attorney General in 1993, receiving 56 percent of the vote in what was supposed to be a close election. He served Virginians well as Attorney General and achieved real accomplishments in the areas of education, consumer protection, public safety, and the environment. As Attorney General, he led a nationwide effort to stop arson against African-American churches.

Governor Gilmore is married to Roxane Gatling Gilmore of Suffolk. Roxane is a teacher who has taught in public schools and currently teaches at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland. The Gilmore's are the parents of two boys, 13-year-old Ashton, and Jay, who is 17. They are members of River Road Methodist Church, located in Richmond.