Tommy Irvin served as Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture from 1969 until January 2011. He was elected to his 10th and final four-year term in November 2006.[1] Irvin did not seek re-election in 2010.[2] Gary Black (R) succeeded Irvin as Commissioner of Agriculture after winning the 2010 election.
Irvin holds a record as the longest-serving Commissioner of Agriculture in the United States, and the longest-serving statewide official in Georgia.[1] A Hall County, Georgia native, Irvin was elected to his first public office as a member of the Habersham County Board of Education in 1956.[1] He later served as school board chairman and president of the Georgia School Boards Association.[1]
A Democrat, Irvin was elected to four terms in the Georgia General Assembly as a Representative from Habersham County, where he served on the House Agriculture, Education, and Appropriations Committees and chaired the House Industrial Relations Committee and the Governor's Conference on Education.[1] He was the Governor’s Floor Leader and later served as Executive Secretary to the Governor.[1]
In 1998, a portion of Georgia Highway 365 was named Tommy Irvin Parkway in his honor.[3]
He was a delegate to the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Democratic National Conventions.[4]