Somehow I left Nevada governor Jim Gibbons off my list of geologists who have been prominent in politics. Gibbons got his BS in Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Master's in Mining/Geology from University of Nevada's Mackay School of Mines.
Gibbons worked as a commercial airline pilot, hydrologist, mining and exploration geologist and as mining and water rights attorney in Nevada. He served 10 years in Congress before being elected governor in 1996.