Gerald L. Baliles

Gerald L. Baliles ( born July 8, 1940 at Patrick County, Virginia) is an American politician. He was from 1986 to 1990 Governor of Virginia.

Early years

Gerald Baliles attended Fishburne Military School. Later he studied at Wesleyan University. After a subsequent law studies at the Law Faculty of the University of Virginia and his admission as a lawyer, he started for the Department of Justice from Virginia to work as a lawyer. There, he specialized in environmental law. Then he began to practice as a private lawyer.

Political Rise and Governor of Virginia

Gerald Baliles was a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to the House of Representatives from Virginia and was then attorney general of his state. In 1985 he was elected as a candidate of his party for the new governor. After this victory Gerald Baliles was able to exercise his office between 18 January 1986 to 14 January 1990. Since the constitution of Virginia prohibits a direct re-election of a governor, he could not run again in 1989. As governor he appointed with Elizabeth B. Lacy, the first woman as a judge to the Supreme Court of his State.

One focus of his governorship was to improve the infrastructure in the state of Virginia. In this context, roads, expanded ports and airports. To ensure that the transport of goods has been simplified and cheaper. Baliles also led a campaign against illiteracy and his team to design educational programs that should counteract this. Baliles also strove to protect the environment and this particularly against the water pollution of the Chesapeake Bay. The governor was a member of numerous organizations and associations governor. At the end of his tenure, he was very popular in Virginia. Its popularity he used to support his lieutenant governor Douglas Wilder, who successfully ran in 1989 for Baliles ' successor.

Further CV

After the end of his governorship he became a partner in the law firm Hunton & Williams in Richmond. He is a member of many bar associations. He is currently director of the Miller Center was founded in 1975 of Public Affairs, an Institute for Policy Research at the University of Virginia. With his wife, Jeannie P. Baliles he has two children. The couple lives in Charlottesville.