Governor of Colorado facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of Colorado |
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Seal of the Executive Office
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Style | The Honorable |
Residence | Colorado Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, renewable once consecutively |
Inaugural holder | John Long Routt |
Formation | August 1, 1876 |
Deputy | Dianne Primavera |
Salary | $123,193 (2019) |
Website | www.colorado.gov/governor |
The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.
Seven people served as governor of Colorado Territory over eight terms, appointed by the president of the United States. Since statehood, there have been 38 governors, serving 43 distinct terms. One governor Alva Adams served three non-consecutive terms, while John Long Routt, James Hamilton Peabody, and Edwin C. Johnson each served during two non-consecutive periods. The longest-serving governors were Richard "Dick" Lamm (1975–1987) and Roy Romer (1987–1999), who each served 12 years over three terms. The shortest term occurred on March 16 and 17, 1905, when the state had three governors in the span of 24 hours: Alva Adams won the election, but soon after he took office, the legislature declared his opponent, James Hamilton Peabody, governor, but on the condition that he immediately resign, so that his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, could be governor. Thus, Peabody served less than a day as governor.
The current governor is Democrat Jared Polis, who took office on January 8, 2019.
Contents
Governors
Governor of the Territory of Jefferson
The self-proclaimed Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on November 7, 1859. Jefferson Territory included all of present-day Colorado, but extended about 3 miles (5 km) farther east, 138 miles (222 km) farther north, and about 50 miles (80 km) farther west. The territory was never recognized by the federal government in the tumultuous days before the American Civil War. The Jefferson Territory had only one governor, Robert Williamson Steele, a pro-union Democrat elected by popular vote. He proclaimed the territory dissolved on June 6, 1861, several months after the official formation of the Colorado Territory, but only days after the arrival of its first governor.
Governors of the Territory of Colorado
The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, from parts of the territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Nebraska, and the unorganized territory that was previously the western portion of Kansas Territory.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | |
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1 | William Gilpin October 4, 1813 – January 20, 1894 (aged 80) |
March 25, 1861 – March 26, 1862 |
Abraham Lincoln | |
2 | John Evans March 9, 1814 – July 2, 1897 (aged 83) |
March 26, 1862 – October 17, 1865 |
Abraham Lincoln | |
3 | Alexander Cummings November 17, 1810 – 1879 (aged 68 or 69) |
October 17, 1865 – April 24, 1867 |
Andrew Johnson | |
4 | Alexander Cameron Hunt December 23, 1825 – May 14, 1894 (aged 68) |
April 24, 1867 – June 14, 1869 |
Andrew Johnson | |
5 | Edward M. McCook June 15, 1833 – September 9, 1909 (aged 76) |
June 14, 1869 – Sometime in 1873 |
Ulysses S. Grant | |
6 | Samuel Hitt Elbert April 3, 1833 – November 27, 1899 (aged 66) |
April 4, 1873 – Sometime in 1874 |
Ulysses S. Grant | |
7 | Edward M. McCook June 15, 1833 – September 9, 1909 (aged 76) |
June 19, 1874 – March 29, 1875 |
Ulysses S. Grant | |
8 | John Long Routt April 25, 1826 – August 13, 1907 (aged 81) |
March 29, 1875 – November 3, 1876 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
Governors of the State of Colorado
The State of Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876.
To serve as governor, one must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years prior to election. The state constitution of 1876 originally called for election of the governor every two years, with their term beginning on the second Tuesday of the January following the election. An amendment passed in 1956, taking effect in 1959, increased terms to four years. Originally, there was no term limit applied to the governor; a 1990 amendment allowed governors to succeed themselves only once. There is however no limit on the total number of terms one may serve as long as one who has served the two term limit is out of office for four years.
Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. If both the offices governor and lieutenant governor are vacant, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. The lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor until a 1968 amendment to the constitution made it so that they are elected on the same ticket.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor | |||
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1 | John Long Routt April 25, 1826 – August 13, 1907 (aged 81) |
November 3, 1876 – January 14, 1879 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1876 | Lafayette Head | |||
2 | Frederick Walker Pitkin August 31, 1837 – December 18, 1886 (aged 49) |
January 14, 1879 – January 9, 1883 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1878 | Horace Tabor | |||
1880 | ||||||||
3 | James Benton Grant January 2, 1848 – November 1, 1911 (aged 63) |
January 9, 1883 – January 13, 1885 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1882 | William H. Meyer | |||
4 | Benjamin Harrison Eaton December 15, 1833 – October 29, 1904 (aged 70) |
January 13, 1885 – January 11, 1887 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1884 | Peter W. Breene | |||
5 | Alva Adams May 14, 1850 – November 1, 1922 (aged 72) |
January 11, 1887 – January 8, 1889 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1886 | Norman H. Meldrum | |||
6 | Job Adams Cooper November 6, 1843 – January 20, 1899 (aged 55) |
January 8, 1889 – January 13, 1891 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1888 | William Grover Smith | |||
7 | John Long Routt April 25, 1826 – August 13, 1907 (aged 81) |
January 13, 1891 – January 10, 1893 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1890 | William Story | |||
8 | Davis Hanson Waite April 9, 1825 – November 27, 1901 (aged 76) |
January 10, 1893 – January 8, 1895 (lost election) |
Populist | 1892 | David H. Nichols | |||
9 | Albert McIntire January 15, 1853 – January 31, 1935 (aged 82) |
January 8, 1895 – January 12, 1897 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1894 | Jared L. Brush | |||
10 | Alva Adams May 14, 1850 – November 1, 1922 (aged 72) |
January 12, 1897 – January 10, 1899 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1896 | ||||
11 | Charles S. Thomas December 6, 1849 – June 24, 1934 (aged 84) |
January 10, 1899 – January 8, 1901 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1898 | Francis Patrick Carney | |||
12 | James Bradley Orman November 4, 1849 – July 21, 1919 (aged 69) |
January 8, 1901 – January 13, 1903 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1900 | David C. Coates | |||
13 | James Hamilton Peabody August 21, 1852 – November 23, 1917 (aged 65) |
January 13, 1903 – January 10, 1905 (lost election) |
Republican | 1902 | Warren A. Haggott | |||
14 | Alva Adams May 14, 1850 – November 1, 1922 (aged 72) |
January 10, 1905 – March 16, 1905 (declared loser in election) |
Democratic | 1904 | Arthur Cornforth | |||
15 | James Hamilton Peabody August 21, 1852 – November 23, 1917 (aged 65) |
March 16, 1905 – March 17, 1905 (resigned) |
Republican | Jesse Fuller McDonald | ||||
16 | Jesse Fuller McDonald June 30, 1858 – February 25, 1942 (aged 83) |
March 17, 1905 – January 8, 1907 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Arthur Cornforth (removed July 5, 1905) |
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Fred W. Parks | ||||||||
17 | Henry Augustus Buchtel September 30, 1847 – October 22, 1924 (aged 77) |
January 8, 1907 – January 12, 1909 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1906 | Erastus Harper | |||
18 | John F. Shafroth June 9, 1854 – February 20, 1922 (aged 67) |
January 12, 1909 – January 14, 1913 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1908 | Stephen R. Fitzgarrald | |||
1910 | ||||||||
19 | Elias M. Ammons July 28, 1860 – May 20, 1925 (aged 64) |
January 14, 1913 – January 12, 1915 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1912 | ||||
20 | George Alfred Carlson October 23, 1876 – December 6, 1926 (aged 50) |
January 12, 1915 – January 9, 1917 (lost election) |
Republican | 1914 | Moses E. Lewis | |||
21 | Julius Caldeen Gunter October 31, 1858 – October 26, 1940 (aged 81) |
January 9, 1917 – January 14, 1919 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1916 | James Pulliam | |||
22 | Oliver Henry Shoup December 13, 1869 – September 30, 1940 (aged 70) |
January 14, 1919 – January 9, 1923 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1918 | George Stephan | |||
1920 | Earl Cooley | |||||||
23 | William Ellery Sweet January 27, 1869 – May 9, 1942 (aged 73) |
January 9, 1923 – January 13, 1925 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1922 | Robert F. Rockwell | |||
24 | Clarence Morley February 9, 1869 – November 15, 1948 (aged 79) |
January 13, 1925 – January 11, 1927 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1924 | Sterling Byrd Lacy | |||
25 | Billy Adams February 15, 1861 – February 4, 1954 (aged 92) |
January 11, 1927 – January 10, 1933 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1926 | George Milton Corlett | |||
1928 | ||||||||
1930 | Edwin C. Johnson | |||||||
26 | Edwin C. Johnson January 1, 1884 – May 30, 1970 (aged 86) |
January 10, 1933 – January 1, 1937 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1932 | Ray Herbert Talbot | |||
1934 | ||||||||
27 | Ray Herbert Talbot August 19, 1896 – January 30, 1955 (aged 58) |
January 1, 1937 – January 12, 1937 (successor took office) |
Democratic | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | |||
28 | Teller Ammons December 3, 1895 – January 16, 1972 (aged 76) |
January 12, 1937 – January 10, 1939 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1936 | Frank Hayes | |||
29 | Ralph Lawrence Carr December 11, 1887 – September 22, 1950 (aged 62) |
January 10, 1939 – January 12, 1943 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1938 | John Charles Vivian | |||
1940 | ||||||||
30 | John Charles Vivian June 30, 1887 – February 10, 1964 (aged 76) |
January 12, 1943 – January 14, 1947 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1942 | William Eugene Higby | |||
1944 | ||||||||
31 | William Lee Knous February 2, 1889 – December 12, 1959 (aged 70) |
January 14, 1947 – April 15, 1950 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1946 | Homer L. Pearson | |||
1948 | Walter Walford Johnson | |||||||
32 | Walter Walford Johnson April 16, 1904 – March 23, 1987 (aged 82) |
April 15, 1950 – January 9, 1951 (lost election) |
Democratic | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Charles P. Murphy | |||
33 | Daniel I. J. Thornton January 31, 1911 – January 18, 1976 (aged 64) |
January 9, 1951 – January 11, 1955 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1950 | Gordon Allott | |||
1952 | ||||||||
34 | Edwin C. Johnson January 1, 1884 – May 30, 1970 (aged 86) |
January 11, 1955 – January 8, 1957 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1954 | Stephen McNichols | |||
35 | Stephen McNichols March 7, 1914 – November 25, 1997 (aged 83) |
January 8, 1957 – January 8, 1963 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1956 | Frank L. Hays | |||
1958 | Robert Lee Knous | |||||||
36 | John Arthur Love November 29, 1916 – January 21, 2002 (aged 83) |
January 8, 1963 – July 16, 1973 (resigned) |
Republican | 1962 | ||||
1966 | Mark Anthony Hogan | |||||||
1970 | John D. Vanderhoof | |||||||
37 | John D. Vanderhoof May 27, 1922 – September 19, 2013 (aged 91) |
July 16, 1973 – January 14, 1975 (lost election) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Ted L. Strickland | |||
38 | Richard Lamm August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021 (aged 85) |
January 14, 1975 – January 13, 1987 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1974 | George L. Brown | |||
1978 | Nancy E. Dick | |||||||
1982 | ||||||||
39 | Roy Romer October 31, 1928 |
January 13, 1987 – January 12, 1999 (term limited) |
Democratic | 1986 | Mike Callihan (resigned May 10, 1994) |
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1990 | ||||||||
Vacant | ||||||||
Samuel H. Cassidy (took office May 11, 1994) |
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1994 | Gail Schoettler | |||||||
40 | Bill Owens October 22, 1950 |
January 12, 1999 – January 9, 2007 (term limited) |
Republican | 1998 | Joe Rogers | |||
2002 | Jane E. Norton | |||||||
41 | Bill Ritter September 6, 1956 |
January 9, 2007 – January 11, 2011 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 2006 | Barbara O'Brien | |||
42 | John Hickenlooper February 7, 1952 |
January 11, 2011 – January 8, 2019 (term limited) |
Democratic | 2010 | Joseph García (resigned May 12, 2016) |
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2014 | ||||||||
Donna Lynne | ||||||||
43 | Jared Polis May 12, 1975 |
January 8, 2019 – Incumbent |
Democratic | 2018 | Dianne Primavera | |||
2022 |
See also
- Index of Colorado-related articles
- List of Colorado state legislatures
- Outline of Colorado
- State of Colorado
- Government of Colorado
- Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Colorado
- Lieutenant Governor of Colorado