Gov. Jim Doyle

Gov. Jim Doyle was elected Wisconsin’s governor in 2002 and reelected in 2006 with more votes than any candidate for governor in Wisconsin history. In 1976, Doyle was elected Dane County district attorney and served three terms from 1977-1982. When he left that office, he spent eight years building his own private law practice until he was elected Wisconsin attorney general in 1990. Doyle was reelected as attorney general in 1994 and 1998.

Born on Nov. 23, 1945, to James E. Doyle Sr. and Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, Doyle and his three sisters grew up in Madison. Doyle is married to Jessica Laird Doyle and they have two adult sons, Gus and Gabe.

Doyle attended Stanford University for three years, then finished his senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a 1972 graduate of Harvard Law School. Inspired by John F. Kennedy’s call to public service, after college the governor and first lady worked for two years as teachers in Tunisia, Africa, in the Peace Corps. After he graduated from law school, the governor and first lady moved to the Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Ariz., to work as an attorney and teacher, respectively.