Jerry graduated from San Francisco State College in 1961 with a communication degree and subsequently attended Harvard University for graduate work in public administration. He has held several positions in the California Legislature, serving as Assembly Republican Leader (1969-1971), Chairman of the Assembly Rules Committee (1971-1972), Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee (1979-1981), and Speaker (1975-1976). He was elected Governor of California in 1974, becoming the first person to come from outside Washington, D.C., to occupy that office since 1849.
He won re-election against two minor candidates for governor in 1978 and 1982. He was defeated by Pete Wilson in 1986 for his party's nomination for governor; however, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, becoming the first California governor elected to serve in the U.S.
Senate since Benjamin Halleck, who served from 1853 to 1855. In retirement from public life, Brown has been an active philanthropist and serves on many corporate and nonprofit boards including CSU Chancellor's Advisory Board at San Francisco State University, Board of Trustees at John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Board of Directors at Planned Parenthood League of Northern California, Board of Directors at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Board of Trustees at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., Board of Directors at Foothill College Foundation in Los Altos Hills, Governor's Council on HIV/AIDS Advisory Council and National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Policy Advisory Committee on Libraries' ILL Initiative for Minority Groups from 1983 to 1991 when he left office to run for Senate again in 1992 until his resignation from Senate when he became governor again in January 2001 when he finished out his four terms as governor until December 2010 when he left office again due to term limits which occurred due to Proposition 55 which passed in November 2010 which would have allowed Jerry Brown to serve a fifth term as governor which passed which would have let him serve a sixth term as governor until he resigned because he had become governor again except that Proposition 2 passed which made it a felony for a governor to become governor again after serving more than two consecutive terms so Jerry Brown was not able to get reelected as governor although Jerry Brown did resign so Jerry Brown could run once again for governor but Jerry Brown decided not