Douglas, James H. (James Holley), 1951-

James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Secretary of State of Vermont from 1981 to 1993, as Treasurer of Vermont from 1995 to 2003, and as Governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, he graduated from East Longmeadow High School in the town of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts before earning a B.A. from Middlebury College. In November 1972, Douglas was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives, where he became the House Majority Leader during his third two-year term at the age of 25. He left the Vermont General Assembly in 1979, afterwards serving as a top aide to Governor Richard A. Snelling. Douglas was elected Secretary of State in November 1980, a post which he held until 1992. That year he sought election to the U.S. Senate, but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Patrick Leahy.

Douglas was elected State Treasurer in 1994. During his eight years as Treasurer, Vermont’s bond rating became the best in New England and among the highest in the nation. In the 2002 election to succeed Governor Howard Dean, Douglas achieved a plurality over Democratic Lieutenant Governor Doug Racine and was elected by the Vermont General Assembly. He was re-elected in 2004, 2006 and 2008. During his tenure, he focused on strengthening the state’s economy, reducing the cost of living in Vermont and protecting the state’s natural environment. He advanced groundbreaking health reforms and worked to strengthen the relationship between Vermont and Quebec and the other Canadian provinces. While governor, Douglas served as the chairman of the National Governors Association and in February 2010 was appointed by President Obama as co-chair of the Council of Governors.

On August 27, 2009, Douglas announced that he would not seek re-election for a fifth term in 2010. He left the office in January 2011. After leaving office Douglas became an Executive in Residence at Middlebury College and authored a memoir, which was published in late 2012. On July 29, 2015, Douglas was named the interim director of the Vermont Historical Society. Douglas currently serves on the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC.