Jeb Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, was elected governor of Florida in 1998.

Born on February 11, 1953, in Midland, TX, Jeb Bush earned a bachelor's degree in Latin American Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974. A Catholic, he is married to Columba, and they have three children.

Bush came to Florida from Texas in 1980 and helped start a Miami-based real estate development company called the Codina Group in which he served as president and chief operating officer.

His first position in public service was as Florida's secretary of Commerce between 1987 and 1988 under Florida governor Bob Martinez. Bush ran for governor in 1994 and lost but won the seat in 1998 with 55 percent of the vote. Between those two campaigns, Bush founded a think tank, the Foundation for Florida's Future; helped launch the state's first charter school in Liberty City; and authored Profiles in Character, a book profiling 14 of Florida's civic heroes. He also served as chair of the Finance Committee of the United Negro College Fund of South Florida.

As governor, Bush has authored an "A+ Plan for Education" program, which was enacted by the state legislature in 1999, advocated a $1 billion tax cut package, and launched the "One Florida Initiative" to eliminate public policies that discriminate or that pit one racial group against another. Jeb Bush is up for reelection in 2002.