Jerris Leonard, Wisconsin Republican leader and lawyer, was born in Chicago on January 17, 1931, the son of Jerris G. and Jean Marie Reville Leonard. After his father died when young Leonard was two years old, the family moved to Milwaukee where he attended Rufus King High School and received a B.S. in business administration (1952) and a law degree (1955) from Marquette University. After graduation he began practicing law in Milwaukee. In 1964 Leonard joined the firm of Michael, Best & Friedrich.
In 1956 Leonard was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly. He was reelected without opposition in 1958 and during his second term served as assistant minority leader in the lower house as well as serving on the GOP Policy Committee, the Joint Finance Committee, and the State Building Commission. Leonard was elected to the State Senate from the 4th District in 1960 and reelected in 1964. An acknowledged Republican leader in the legislature despite his relative youth, Leonard made a reputation for his fiscal conservatism, devotion to civil rights, and concern for family issues. In the Senate, Leonard served as assistant majority leader from 1961 through 1966, moving up to majority leader for two years in 1967. In 1963 he was chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and a member of the three-man Committee on Committees. He also served as president of the Wisconsin Agencies Building Corporation from 1963 until 1969. In 1965 the Wisconsin Jaycees named him one of the five outstanding young men in the state. In 1968 Leonard chose not to run for reelection in order to run for election to the U.S. Senate against incumbent Gaylord Nelson. He was defeated, but accepted a position in the Nixon administration as assistant attorney general for civil rights. Leonard remained in that position until 1971 when he became administrator for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. In 1973 he returned to private practice in Washington, D.C., as a partner in Leonard & Ralston. He remained active in the Republican Party, serving as a member of the Reagan transition team in 1980 and the Bush transition team in 1988.
