Jim Justice
| Jim Justice | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 36th Governor of West Virginia | |
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Assumed office January 16, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Earl Ray Tomblin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Conley Justice Jr. April 27, 1951 Raleigh County, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (2014–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Republican (Before 2014) |
| Spouse(s) | Cathy Comer |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Education |
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Marshall University (BA, MBA) |
| Website | Government website |
James Conley "Jim" Justice Jr. (born April 27, 1951) is an American coal mining and agriculture businessman and politician who is the 36th and current Governor of West Virginia since January 2017. Owner of over 50 companies, including The Greenbrier, a luxury resort, Justice is one of the few billionaires from the state of West Virginia. A Democrat, Justice ran for Governor in the 2016 general election as the Democratic nominee, defeating the Republican nominee, Bill Cole.
James Conley Justice II was born in Charleston, the son of James Conley Justice and Edna Ruth (née Perry) Justice. Justice grew up in Raleigh County, West Virginia. He enrolled at the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship for golf, but transferred to Marshall University. At Marshall, he was a two-year captain on the Thundering Herd golf team. He earned his bachelor's degree and Master in Business Administration from Marshall.
After college, Justice went into the family agriculture business. Justice founded Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of farmland, and is the leading producer of grain on the East Coast of the United States. During that time, he also developed Stoney Brook Plantation, a 15,000-acre hunting and fishing preserve in Monroe County. Justice is a seven time national corn growing champion.
After the death of his father in 1993, Justice became the president of Bluestone Industries and Bluestone Coal Corporation. Justice inherited Bluestone Coal Corp. from his father in 1993, and sold some of his coal business to Mechel in 2009, which he bought back in 2015. Since buying back the mine from Mechel, Justice re-opened several of the coal mines and put over 200 coal miners back to work.
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Wikipedia