List of governors of Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of Florida |
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Flag of the State of Florida
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Seal of the State of Florida
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| Government of Florida | |
| Style |
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| Member of | Florida Executive Branch Florida Cabinet |
| Residence | Florida Governor's Mansion |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | Four years, renewable once consecutively |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Florida |
| Precursor | Governor of the Florida Territory |
| Inaugural holder | William Dunn Moseley |
| Formation | June 25, 1845 |
| Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Florida |
| Salary | $130,273 (2013) |
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The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.
When Florida was first acquired by the United States, future president Andrew Jackson served as its military governor. Florida Territory was established in 1822 and five people served as governor over 6 distinct terms. The first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, served 12 years, the longest of any Florida governor to date.
Since statehood in 1845, there have been 45 people who have served as governor, one of whom served two distinct terms. Four state governors have served two full four-year terms: William D. Bloxham, in two stints, as well as Reubin Askew, Jeb Bush and Rick Scott who each served their terms consecutively. Bob Graham almost served two full terms but resigned with three days left in his term in order to take a seat in the United States Senate. The shortest term in office belongs to Wayne Mixson, who served three days following Graham's resignation.
The current officeholder is Ron DeSantis, a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 8, 2019.
Contents
List of governors
Federal military commissioner
Spanish Florida was acquired from Spain in the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect July 10, 1821. Parts of West Florida had already been assigned to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi; the remainder and East Florida were governed by a military commissioner with the powers of governor until the territory was organized and incorporated.
| No. | Commissioner | Term in office | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) |
March 10, 1821 – December 31, 1821 (resigned) |
James Monroe |
Territory of Florida
Florida Territory was organized on March 30, 1822, combining East and West Florida.
| No. | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
William Pope Duval (1784–1854) |
April 17, 1822 – April 17, 1834 (successor appointed) |
James Monroe |
| John Quincy Adams | ||||
| Andrew Jackson | ||||
| 2 |  |
John Eaton (1790–1856) |
April 24, 1834 – March 16, 1836 (successor appointed) |
Andrew Jackson |
| 3 |  |
Richard K. Call (1792–1862) |
March 16, 1836 – December 2, 1839 (successor appointed) |
Andrew Jackson |
| Martin Van Buren | ||||
| 4 |  |
Robert R. Reid (1789–1841) |
December 12, 1839 – March 19, 1841 (successor appointed) |
Martin Van Buren |
| 5 | |
Richard K. Call (1792–1862) |
March 19, 1841 – August 11, 1844 (successor appointed) |
William Henry Harrison |
| John Tyler | ||||
| 6 |  |
John Branch (1782–1863) |
August 11, 1844 – June 25, 1845 (statehood) |
John Tyler |
State of Florida
The State of Florida was admitted to the Union on March 3, 1845. It seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861, as a founding member. Following the end of the American Civil War, it was part of the Third Military District. Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868.
The Florida Constitution of 1838 provided that a governor be elected every 4 years, who was not allowed to serve consecutive terms. The secessionist constitution of 1861 would have reduced this to two years and removed the term limit, but the state fell to the Union before the first election under that constitution. The rejected constitution of 1865 and the ratified constitution of 1868 maintained the four-year term, though without the earlier term limit, which was reintroduced in the 1885 constitution. The current constitution of 1968 states that should the governor serve, or would have served had he not resigned, more than six years in two consecutive terms, he cannot be elected to the succeeding term. The start of a term was set in 1885 at the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following the election, where it has remained.
Originally, the president of the state senate acted as governor should that office be vacant. The 1865 and 1868 constitutions created the office of lieutenant governor, who would similarly act as governor. This office was abolished in 1885, with the president of the senate again taking on that duty. The 1968 constitution recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who now becomes governor in the absence of the governor. The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.
Florida was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only one candidate from the Whig Party (the Democrats' chief opposition at the time). It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 90 years passed before voters chose another Republican.
| No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
William Dunn Moseley (1795–1863) |
June 25, 1845 – October 1, 1849 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1845 | Office did not exist | ||
| 2 |  |
Thomas Brown (1785–1867) |
October 1, 1849 – October 3, 1853 (term-limited) |
Whig | 1848 | |||
| 3 |  |
James E. Broome (1808–1883) |
October 3, 1853 – October 5, 1857 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1852 | |||
| 4 |  |
Madison S. Perry (1814–1865) |
October 5, 1857 – October 7, 1861 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1856 | |||
| 5 |  |
John Milton (1807–1865) |
October 7, 1861 – April 1, 1865 (died in office) |
Democratic | 1860 | |||
| 6 |  |
Abraham K. Allison (1810–1893) |
April 1, 1865 – May 19, 1865 (resigned) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting |
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| — | Vacant | May 19, 1865 – July 13, 1865 |
Office vacated after civil war |
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| 7 |  |
William Marvin (1808–1902) |
July 13, 1865 – December 20, 1865 (provisional term ended) |
Provisional governor appointed by President |
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| 8 |  |
David S. Walker (1815–1891) |
December 20, 1865 – July 4, 1868 (did not run) |
Conservative | 1865 | William W. J. Kelly | ||
| 9 |  |
Harrison Reed (1813–1899) |
July 4, 1868 – January 7, 1873 (did not run) |
Republican | 1868 | William Henry Gleason (removed December 14, 1868) |
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| Vacant | ||||||||
| Edmund C. Weeks (appointed January 24, 1870) (term ended December 27, 1870) |
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| Samuel T. Day (took office December 27, 1870) |
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| 10 |  |
Ossian B. Hart (1821–1874) |
January 7, 1873 – March 18, 1874 (died in office) |
Republican | 1872 | Marcellus Stearns | ||
| 11 |  |
Marcellus Stearns (1839–1891) |
March 18, 1874 – January 2, 1877 (lost election) |
Republican | Lieutenant governor acting |
Acting as governor | ||
| 12 |  |
George Franklin Drew (1827–1900) |
January 2, 1877 – January 4, 1881 (did not run) |
Democratic | 1876 | Noble A. Hull (resigned March 3, 1879) |
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| Vacant | ||||||||
| 13 |  |
William D. Bloxham (1835–1911) |
January 4, 1881 – January 6, 1885 (lost nomination) |
Democratic | 1880 | Livingston W. Bethel | ||
| 14 |  |
Edward A. Perry (1831–1889) |
January 6, 1885 – January 8, 1889 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1884 | Milton H. Mabry | ||
| 15 |  |
Francis P. Fleming (1841–1908) |
January 8, 1889 – January 3, 1893 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1888 | Office did not exist | ||
| 16 |  |
Henry L. Mitchell (1831–1903) |
January 3, 1893 – January 5, 1897 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1892 | |||
| 17 | |
William D. Bloxham (1835–1911) |
January 5, 1897 – January 8, 1901 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1896 | |||
| 18 |  |
William Sherman Jennings (1863–1920) |
January 8, 1901 – January 3, 1905 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1900 | |||
| 19 |  |
Napoleon B. Broward (1857–1910) |
January 3, 1905 – January 5, 1909 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1904 | |||
| 20 |  |
Albert W. Gilchrist (1858–1926) |
January 5, 1909 – January 7, 1913 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1908 | |||
| 21 |  |
Park Trammell (1876–1936) |
January 7, 1913 – January 2, 1917 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1912 | |||
| 22 | .jpg) |
Sidney Johnston Catts (1863–1936) |
January 2, 1917 – January 4, 1921 (term-limited) |
Prohibition | 1916 | |||
| 23 |  |
Cary A. Hardee (1876–1957) |
January 4, 1921 – January 6, 1925 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1920 | |||
| 24 |  |
John W. Martin (1884–1958) |
January 6, 1925 – January 8, 1929 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1924 | |||
| 25 |  |
Doyle E. Carlton (1885–1972) |
January 8, 1929 – January 3, 1933 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1928 | |||
| 26 |  |
David Sholtz (1891–1953) |
January 3, 1933 – January 5, 1937 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1932 | |||
| 27 |  |
Fred P. Cone (1871–1948) |
January 5, 1937 – January 7, 1941 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1936 | |||
| 28 |  |
Spessard Holland (1892–1971) |
January 7, 1941 – January 2, 1945 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1940 | |||
| 29 |  |
Millard Caldwell (1897–1984) |
January 2, 1945 – January 4, 1949 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1944 | |||
| 30 |  |
Fuller Warren (1905–1973) |
January 4, 1949 – January 6, 1953 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1948 | |||
| 31 |  |
Daniel T. McCarty (1912–1953) |
January 6, 1953 – September 28, 1953 (died in office) |
Democratic | 1952 | |||
| 32 |  |
Charley Eugene Johns (1905–1990) |
September 28, 1953 – January 4, 1955 (lost nomination) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting |
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| 33 |  |
LeRoy Collins (1909–1991) |
January 4, 1955 – January 3, 1961 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1954 (special) |
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| 1956 | ||||||||
| 34 |  |
C. Farris Bryant (1914–2002) |
January 3, 1961 – January 5, 1965 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1960 | |||
| 35 |  |
W. Haydon Burns (1912–1987) |
January 5, 1965 – January 3, 1967 (lost nomination) |
Democratic | 1964 | |||
| 36 |  |
Claude R. Kirk Jr. (1926–2011) |
January 3, 1967 – January 5, 1971 (lost election) |
Republican | 1966 | |||
| Ray C. Osborne (office created January 7, 1969) |
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| 37 | .jpg) |
Reubin Askew (1928–2014) |
January 5, 1971 – January 2, 1979 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1970 | Thomas Burton Adams Jr. | ||
| 1974 | Jim Williams | |||||||
| 38 | .jpg) |
Bob Graham (1936–2024) |
January 2, 1979 – January 3, 1987 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1978 | Wayne Mixson | ||
| 1982 | ||||||||
| 39 | .jpg) |
Wayne Mixson (1922–2020) |
January 3, 1987 – January 6, 1987 (successor took office) |
Democratic | Succeeded from lieutenant governor |
Vacant | ||
| 40 |  |
Bob Martinez (b. 1934) |
January 6, 1987 – January 8, 1991 (lost election) |
Republican | 1986 | Bobby Brantley | ||
| 41 |  |
Lawton Chiles (1930–1998) |
January 8, 1991 – December 12, 1998 (died in office) |
Democratic | 1990 | Buddy MacKay | ||
| 1994 | ||||||||
| 42 | .jpg) |
Buddy MacKay (b. 1933) |
December 12, 1998 – January 5, 1999 (successor took office) |
Democratic | Succeeded from lieutenant governor |
Vacant | ||
| 43 |  |
Jeb Bush (b. 1953) |
January 5, 1999 – January 2, 2007 (term-limited) |
Republican | 1998 | Frank Brogan (resigned March 3, 2003) |
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| 2002 | ||||||||
| Toni Jennings | ||||||||
| 44 |  |
Charlie Crist (b. 1956) |
January 2, 2007 – January 4, 2011 (did not run) |
Republican | 2006 | Jeff Kottkamp | ||
| 45 | .jpg) |
Rick Scott (b. 1952) |
January 4, 2011 – January 7, 2019 (term-limited) |
Republican | 2010 | Jennifer Carroll (resigned March 12, 2013) |
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| Vacant | ||||||||
| Carlos Lopez-Cantera (appointed February 3, 2014) |
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| 2014 | ||||||||
| 46 |  |
Ron DeSantis (b. 1978) |
January 8, 2019 – Incumbent |
Republican | 2018 | Jeanette Núñez | ||
| 2022 | ||||||||
Acting governor
Florida has had a number of people serve as acting governor. The state's first three constitutions provided that the succession in office became operative whenever the governor was out of the state. Thus, in 1853 when Governor Thomas Brown attended an event in Boston—the Senate president who would normally succeed the governor at the time was also out of state. Therefore, the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, A.K. Allison, became acting governor on September 16, 1853. He served for 17 days.
Article IV Section 3 (b) of the Florida Constitution now calls for the lieutenant governor to "act as Governor" during the governor's physical or mental incapacity. This provision has been invoked one time. On June 18, 2008, Governor Charlie Crist filed a proclamation with the secretary of state transferring power of governor to Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp pursuant to the constitutional provision while he underwent knee surgery.
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernadores de Florida para niños
