For other individuals with the same or similar names go to Thomas Gallagher (disambiguation)

Tom Gallagher (born February 3, 1944) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. Gallagher, a three-time candidate for Governor of Florida, holds the distinction of having served more years as an elected state official than any other individual in Florida history.

Early life and family

Gallagher was raised in Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

 where he participated on the high school swim team. In 1961, he entered the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

 with a partial athletic scholarship. After graduating, Gallagher enlisted in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. Gallagher was honorably discharged and returned to Miami to start a business career.

Gallagher married his second wife, Laura Wilson, in 1998. Wilson comes from a sixth-generation Florida family and is chairman and CEO of the North Florida Ladies Prayer Brunch. The Gallaghers have a son, Charlie, born in 2000.

Political career

Gallagher began his political career when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives

Florida House of Representatives

The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...

 in 1974, where he served until 1987. In 1984, he proposed a 10-year freeze on state taxes and spending and served for some time as Republican Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

. He gave up his seat in the House to enter the Republican primary for Governor of Florida in 1986. He came in third to Tampa Mayor Bob Martinez

Bob Martinez

Robert Martinez was the 40th Governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986.- Education and early career :...

 and former Congressman Louis Frey, Jr.

Louis Frey, Jr.

Louis Frey, Jr. is an American+ politician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 until 1979...

, but after Martinez won the runoff and general election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

s, Gallagher was appointed Secretary of the Department of Professional Regulation

Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is the agency of the government of Florida responsible for business and professional regulation.-Organization:*Professional Regulation...

 which he took office as in 1987. In 1988, he won a special election for the office of Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal of Florida to fill the last two years of the term of Bill Gunter

Bill Gunter

William Dawson "Bill" Gunter, Jr. was an American politician from the state of Florida.-Early life and education:Gunter was born in Jacksonville in 1934. He attended public schools in Live Oak and received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Florida in 1956...

 who resigned to run for the U.S. Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. He was later elected to a full four-year-term in 1990.

In 1994, Gallagher announced his second run for Governor of Florida. In the Republican primary, he faced former state Commerce Secretary (and future Governor) Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...

, state Secretary of State Jim Smith

James C. Smith

James Cloudis Smith is an American lawyer. He served as Florida Attorney General, Florida Secretary of State, and is current the Chairman of the Florida State University Board of Trustees.-Early years:Smith received his B.S...

, and state Senate President Ander Crenshaw

Ander Crenshaw

Ander Crenshaw is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:...

. Gallagher came third to Bush and Smith; Smith dropped out of the runoff and Bush went on to narrowly lose to incumbent Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles

Lawton Chiles

Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...

. Out of office for four years, Gallagher was elected Commissioner of Education

Florida Department of Education

The Florida Department of Education is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies . It is headquartered in the Turlington Building in Tallahassee.The Florida Commissioner of Education manages the day-to-day...

 in 1998. Two years into his term, Gallagher was once again elected Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal in a special election to fill the last two years of the term of Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...

 who resigned to run for the U.S. Senate. Following reforms made to the Florida Cabinet

Florida Cabinet

The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida that engages in the collective governance of the state.Created following Reconstruction, when there had been a widespread distrust of the governors appointed by the federal government, the cabinet was designed to decentralize authority from...

, certified to the Florida Constitution

Florida Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state....

 in 1998 and enacted in 2003, the offices of Treasurer and Comptroller

Florida Comptroller

The Florida Comptroller was the state comptroller of Florida from 1845 to 2003...

 were merged, forming the Department of Financial Services

Florida Department of Financial Services

Florida Department of Financial Services is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are in Tallahassee. In 2002 the Florida Legislature merged the Department of Insurance, Treasury and State Fire Marshal and the Department of Banking and Finance into one department, the Florida Department of...

 controlled by the Chief Financial Officer of Florida

Chief Financial Officer of Florida

The Chief Financial Officer of Florida is a statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet....

. Gallagher was elected to the new office in 2003 without opposition.

In 2006, Gallagher made his third run for Governor, facing state Attorney General

Florida Attorney General

The Florida Attorney General is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state....

 Charlie Crist

Charlie Crist

Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...

 in the Republican primary. Crist was the favorite to win the nomination and in the end got double the vote of underdog Gallagher. Crist went on to win the general election and took office in 2007 and Gallagher was succeeded as CFO by Democrat Alex Sink

Alex Sink

Adelaide "Alex" Sink is an American politician of the Democratic Party. Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State Board of Administration...

. Afterwards, Gallagher became involved in charitable and business activities including founding and serving as chairman of Tom Gallagher Insurance Agency and serving on the board of advisors of The TRIAM Consulting Group, Inc.