Jim Gibbons was born and raised in Sparks, Nevada, and attended Nevada public schools and universities.   Jim earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a Master's degree in Mining/Geology from the University of Nevada’s Mackay School of Mines.  Jim went on to earn his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law and completed his post-graduate work at the University of Southern California.  He was named the Mackay School of Mines Alumnus of the Year in 1999, and remains an active supporter of Nevada’s university and community college system.  

Jim Gibbons served three terms in the Nevada State Legislature and was named “Outstanding Freshman Legislator” his first year in 1988.  By 1993, Gibbons rose through the ranks to become Republican Whip of the State Assembly.

In 1994, Gibbons co-authored the Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative with his wife Dawn.  As private citizens, they collected 85,000 signatures from residents across Nevada to place a ballot question before the voters to amend the State Constitution.  An overwhelming majority of Nevada voters (78% in 1994 and 71% in 1996) supported the amendment to the Nevada Constitution which requires a 2/3 super-majority to increase any state tax or implement new taxes.

Jim Gibbons was first elected to represent Nevada's 2nd District in the House of Representatives in 1996. He was re-elected to a fifth term in November 2004. 

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Jim Gibbons has also taken a leading role in securing America’s homeland.  Just one month after the horrific attacks of 9-11, Jim authored and introduced bi-partisan legislation which would become the basis for the Homeland Security Act which created the Department of Homeland Security.

Jim is a former combat pilot and decorated veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars.  He served in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971 and graduated from the USAF Air Command and Staff College as well as the Air War College.  Gibbons joined the Air Guard in 1975, attaining the rank of Colonel, and served as the group's Vice Commander from 1990 through 1996. Jim transferred from the Nevada Air Guard to the Air Force Reserves, where he served until 1998. 

Throughout his military service, Gibbons received 19 service medals, including the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters, Aerial Achievement Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his extraordinary achievement while participating as an RF-4C Flight Leader in the Gulf War.

His experience in the military makes him a knowledgeable and effective advocate for Nevada's premier military training bases, NAS Fallon in Churchill County and Nellis AFB just outside Las Vegas in Clark County.

Jim also spent many years working in the private section as a commercial airline pilot, as a hydrologist for the Federal Water Master, as a mining and exploration geologist, and as a mining and water rights attorney in Nevada.

Jim Gibbons has received many awards during his years of public life, and counts among his supporters taxpayer advocacy groups, senior groups, outdoor/recreation groups, and numerous business associations.   

Gibbons also introduced the Education First Initiative, which was passed by the voters in 2004 and will be on the ballot again in 2006.  This Amendment requires that education be funded before any other budgets for the ensuing biennium.  Education First will protect our schools from the harm caused by last-minute funding and will also protect the Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative from another assault to our state’s constitution like the one handed down by the Nevada Supreme Court during the 2003 special legislative session.

Governor Jim Gibbons and his wife Dawn have three children, Christopher, Jennifer and Jimmy, as well as four grandchildren. Their youngest son, Jimmy, is attending the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York.