James S. Gilmore III was born on October 6, 1949 and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He received an undergraduate degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1971. After a three-year tour as a U.S. Army counterintelligence agent in West Germany, he entered the University of Virginia Law School, graduating in 1977. After working for a decade in community service and as a lawyer in private practice, he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney in his home county of Henrico in 1987 and 1991.

He was elected Virginia Attorney General in 1993 and Governor in 1997. As Governor, he established a record of success in improving education in Virginia and providing tax relief to Virginia's working families. Governor Gilmore had a solid record of cutting taxes. In the first two years of his administration, he enacted more than a dozen tax cuts, led by the virtual elimination of Virginia's personal property tax on cars and trucks - the largest tax cut in the state's history. He also cut income taxes for military personnel living in Virginia, lowered college tuition by 20 percent, and eliminated Virginia's tax on prescription drugs.

Former Governor Gilmore created the nation's first secretariat of technology, established a statewide technology commission, and signed into law the nation's first comprehensive state Internet policy. During his term as Governor of Virginia, he chaired the national Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, which was charged with making recommendations to Congress on Internet taxation, an issue of global significance.

Currently, former Governor Gilmore chairs the Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, a national panel established by Congress in 1999 to assess federal, state and local governments' capability to respond to the consequences of a terrorist attack.