King was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved with his family to Florida in 1945, where he became the first member of his family to graduate high school He attended Florida State University where he earned bachelor"s and master"s degrees.
Bachelor of Arts, 1961, Bachelor of Surgery, 1961, Master of Business Administration, 1962
Saint St. Petersburg Junior College, Associate of Arts, 1959.
He served as President of the Florida Senate from 2002 to 2004 and served as the Majority Leader of from 2000 to 2002. King had a rocky start in business, nearly going bankrupt twice before he mortgaged his home in 1969 to start an employment service agency, which was successful. In 1997, he sold the company for $15 million and focused on his political career, which began in 1986.
King was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1986.
He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1999. In 2006, he was opposed in the Republican primary election by Randall Terry, a prominent pro-life activist who had opposed him on the Schiavo matter.
In May 2009, King was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but the following month, announced that he was cancer-free. In mid-July, his family announced that the disease had spread and he entered a hospice program
Jim King died on Sunday, July 26, 2009.
Saint In 2008 The King Life Sciences Building was opened on the Florida State University campus. At the dedication ceremony then university president T. K. Wetherall had this to say about Senator King:.
A Republican, he was a member of Florida House of Representatives from 1986 through 1999, and subsequently represented the 8th District of the Florida Senate from 1999 until his death.
