Gus R. Douglass was elected to his seventh four-year term as Commissioner in 1996.

He was elected to previous terms in 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, and 1992, and was a gubernatorial candidate in 1988. He was named Assistant Commissioner in 1957 and prior to that, operated a farm equipment and motor truck dealership. In addition, he and his son, Tom, operate a 400-acre farm specializing in beef cattle, hay, and grain production.

Douglass grew up amidst agriculture in Grimms Landing in Mason County, West Virginia. He served as state and national president of the Future Farmers of America, was chosen West Virginia Star Farmer and later helped to organize, and served as first president of, the National FFA Alumni Association. He holds a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University.

Douglass serves on the West Virginia Rural Development Council, of which he is past chairman, and also chairs the State Soil Conservation Committee. Currently, he is a member of the West Virginia Housing Development Fund, director for Bank One of Point Pleasant and Banc One Holding Company and trustee for Pleasant Valley Hospital. Douglass is a member of the board of the State Farm Museum and sits on the board of the directors for the State Fair of West Virginia. He was reappointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the Advisory Committee on International Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases, representing state departments of agriculture. In addition, he serves on three NASDA committees, including the International Marketing and Trade, Food Regulation and Nutrition, and chairman of the Animal and Plant Industries.

Commissioner Douglass has received a variety of honors, including Gamma Sigma Delta award for Distinguished Service to West Virginia agriculture, and Progressive Farmer Magazine's "Man of the Year" in West Virginia agriculture. In August of 1997, Douglass was awarded membership into the Alpha Zeta Fraternity Honor Roll. In June, USDA Assistant Secretary Mike Dunn recognized Douglass' efforts to keep the state of West Virginia disease-free by presenting him with the Pseudorabies-Free Award. In February of 1997, the International Environmental Management Control Committee presented Douglass with the 1996 Environmental Technology Advancement Award. In addition to receiving this award, he gave the keynote speech at the International Environmental Conference at Exeter University in England. In 1990, he was enshrined in the Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame.

Douglass served two years as president of the Southern United States Trade Association. He also served as vice-president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture, president of the Southern and National Associations of State Departments of Agriculture and was chairman of the Southern Regional Committee for Food and Agriculture under President Jimmy Carter. He also served on several national agriculture committees and task forces and has been frequently called upon to give testimony before congressional committees on national agricultural policy. Douglass has served on more than 25 boards, commissions, and committees including chairman of the West Virginia Air Pollution Control Commission and State Forestry Commission.

He and his wife, Anna Lee, have four children and belong to the Leon Baptist Church. Douglass is a Mason and a Shriner.