Gerald Lee Baliles (July 8, 1940 – October 29, 2019) was a Virginia lawyer and Democratic politician whose career spanned great social and technological changes in his native state. The 65th Governor of Virginia (from 1986 to 1990), the native of Patrick County previously served as the Commonwealth's attorney general (1982–85), and represented Richmond and Henrico County in the Virginia House of Delegates (1972-1982). After another stint in private legal practice, with Hunton & Williams (1991-2005), Baliles directed the nonpartisan Miller Center of Public Affairs associated with his alma mater, the University of Virginia (2006-2014). Early life and education Born on July 8, 1940 in rural Patrick County, near Stuart, when their parents divorced, Baliles and his brother Larry were raised by their grandparents, and an aunt and uncle raised their brother Stuart. During Virginia's Massive Resistance (which included school closings in many counties), Baliles attended Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. He then earned a bachelor's degree in Government from Wesleyan University in Connecticut (1963). In 1967, Baliles received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. Career Following his admission to the Virginia bar, Baliles accepted an entry-level position as an assistant attorney general in the state capital, Richmond, where he gained expertise in environmental law. He received a promotion to Deputy Attorney General of Virginia during his final three years on that office's staff (1972-1975). As the Byrd Organization crumbled, Baliles left the office and set up a private legal practice. He had become the secretary of Richmond's Democratic committee in 1971, and ran for office on his own behalf in 1975, and become one of the delegates representing Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly (a part-time position), Re-elected as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates thru 1981 (when he successfully ran for Attorney General, as discussed below). In the legislature, Baliles served on the Corporations, Insurance and Banking, and Agriculture committees. He was also active in the American Bar Association, the Virginia Bar Association, and the Richmond Bar Association, and chaired the Virginia Model Judiciary Program from 1975–1977. He was also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Attorney General of Virginia Baliles ran for statewide office as attorney general in 1981 on a ticket led by Chuck Robb, who