Jim Donelon is an American politician. He is the Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, a role he has served in since 2006. He previously served as member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 rep ...

from 1981 to 2001.

Early life and education

Donelon grew up

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

and attended Jesuit High School. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a private law school in New Orleans, Louisiana affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola's law school opened in 1914 and is now located on the Broadway Campus of the university in the hi ...

Political career

Donelon began his career in public office serving on the Jefferson Parish Council from 1978 to 1980. From 1982 to 2001, he served as a Republican member of the

. As a state lawmaker, he chaired the House Committee on Insurance and co-chaired the Republican Legislative Delegation. He ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican. The lieutenant governor is also the commiss ...

in 1979 and for

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, but he lost both races. In 2001, he was appointed deputy commissioner of the

Louisiana Department of Insurance Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

by then-Insurance Commissioner

J. Robert Wooley James Robert Wooley, known as J. Robert Wooley (born December 7, 1953), is an attorney in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat as his state's insurance commissioner from 2003 to 2006. He was also the acting insurance commissione ...

. In February 2006, Wooley resigned to take a legal position with the firm Adams and Reese in Baton Rouge, and Donelon succeeded him to the position of Insurance Commissioner. Donelon subsequently won the office in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held in the fall of 2006 by defeating Republican

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

James David Cain James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Beauregard Parish Beauregard Parish (french: Paroisse de Beauregard) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,654. The parish seat is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913. Beauregard Pari ...

Personal life

Donelon and his wife, Merilynn, have four daughters.https://www.wafb.com/2019/10/14/jim-donelon-elected-commissioner-insurance-louisiana-primary-election/

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Donelon, Jim 1944 births Jesuit High School (New Orleans) alumni Lawyers from New Orleans Living people Louisiana Democrats Louisiana insurance commissioners Louisiana Republicans Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from Metairie, Louisiana Politicians from New Orleans United States Army officers University of New Orleans alumni