List of governors of Arkansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Governor of Arkansas |
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Residence | Arkansas Governor's Mansion |
Seat | State Capitol, Little Rock, Arkansas |
Term length | Four years, renewable once |
Constituting instrument | Constitution of Arkansas |
Precursor | Governor of Arkansas Territory |
Inaugural holder | James Sevier Conway |
Formation | September 13, 1836 |
Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas |
Salary | US$141,000 per annum (2016) |
The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arkansas government and is charged with enforcing state laws. They have the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Arkansas General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.
The state has had 46 elected governors, as well as 11 acting governors who assumed powers and duties following the resignation or death of the governor. Before becoming a state, Arkansas Territory had four governors appointed to it by the president of the United States. Orval Faubus (1955–1967) served the longest term as governor, being elected six times to serve 12 years. Bill Clinton (1979-1981; 1983-1992), elected five times over two distinct terms, fell only one month short of 12 years, and Mike Huckabee (1996-2007) served 10 years for two full four-year terms. The shortest term for an elected governor was the 38 days served by John Sebastian Little before his nervous breakdown; one of the acting successors to his term, Jesse M. Martin, took office only three days before the end of the term, the shortest term overall.
The current governor of Arkansas is Republican Asa Hutchinson, who was sworn in on January 13, 2015.
Territorial (1819–1836)
Arkansaw Territory (renamed Arkansas Territory, circa 1822) was split from the Missouri Territory on July 4, 1819. As territorial secretary from 1819 to 1829, Robert Crittenden served as acting governor whenever the appointed governor was not in the state. This meant that Crittenden was the first person to perform the duties of governor, since James Miller did not arrive in the territory until nine months after his appointment.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | Notes | |
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1 | ![]() |
James Miller | March 3, 1819 – December 27, 1824 |
James Monroe | |
2 | ![]() |
George Izard | March 4, 1825 – November 22, 1828 |
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John Quincy Adams | |||||
3 | ![]() |
John Pope | March 9, 1829 – March 9, 1835 |
Andrew Jackson | |
4 | ![]() |
William S. Fulton | March 9, 1835 – September 13, 1836 |
State (from 1836)
Arkansas was admitted to the Union on June 15, 1836. The state seceded on May 6, 1861, and was admitted to the Confederacy on May 18, 1861. When Little Rock, the state capital, was captured on September 10, 1863, the state government relocated to Washington, Arkansas, and a Union government was installed in its place, causing an overlap in the terms of Confederate governor Harris Flanagin and Union governor Isaac Murphy. During the post-war Reconstruction period, it was part of the Fourth Military District. Arkansas was readmitted to the Union on June 22, 1868.
The Arkansas Constitution of 1836 established four-year terms for governors, which was lowered to two years in the 1874, and current, constitution. An amendment in 1984 increased the terms of both governor and lieutenant governor to four years. Governors were originally limited only to serving no more than eight out of every twelve years, but the 1874 constitution removed any term limit. A referendum in 1992 limited governors to two terms.
Until 1864, the constitutions provided that, should the office of governor be rendered vacant, the president of the senate would serve as acting governor until such time as a new governor were elected or the disability removed, or the acting governor's senate term expired. This led to some situations where the governorship changed hands in quick succession, due to senate terms ending or new senate presidents being elected. For example, after John Sebastian Little resigned in 1907, 3 senate presidents acted as governor before the next elected governor took office. Should the president of the senate be similarly incapacitated, the next in line for the governorship was the speaker of the state house of representatives.
The 1864 constitution created the office of lieutenant governor who would also act as president of the senate, and who would serve as acting governor in case of vacancy. The 1868 constitution maintained the position, but the 1874 constitution removed it and returned to the original line of succession. An amendment to the constitution, passed in 1914 but not recognized until 1925, recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who becomes governor in case of vacancy of the governor's office. The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.
Arkansas was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic party. It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 92 years passed before voters chose another Republican. Arkansas has 7 Republican governors, 39 Democratic and 3 independent.
No. | Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lieutenant Governor | |||
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1 | ![]() |
James Sevier Conway December 9, 1796 – March 3, 1855 |
September 13, 1836 – November 4, 1840 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1836 | Office did not exist | ||
2 | ![]() |
Archibald Yell August 9, 1797 – February 23, 1847 |
November 4, 1840 – April 29, 1844 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1840 | |||
— | ![]() |
Samuel Adams June 5, 1805 – February 27, 1850 |
April 29, 1844 – November 9, 1844 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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3 | ![]() |
Thomas Stevenson Drew August 25, 1802 – January 1879 |
November 9, 1844 – January 10, 1849 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1844 | |||
1848 | ||||||||
— | Richard C. Byrd ca. 1805 – June 1, 1854 |
January 10, 1849 – April 19, 1849 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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4 | ![]() |
John Selden Roane January 8, 1817 – April 7, 1867 |
April 19, 1849 – November 15, 1852 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1849 (special) |
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5 | ![]() |
Elias Nelson Conway May 17, 1812 – February 28, 1892 |
November 15, 1852 – November 16, 1860 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 1852 | |||
1856 | ||||||||
6 | ![]() |
Henry M. Rector May 1, 1816 – August 12, 1899 |
November 16, 1860 – November 4, 1862 (resigned) |
Independent Democratic | 1860 | |||
— | Thomas Fletcher April 8, 1817 – February 26, 1880 |
November 4, 1862 – November 15, 1862 (successor took office) |
Independent | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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7 | ![]() |
Harris Flanagin November 3, 1817 – October 23, 1874 |
November 15, 1862 – June 1, 1865 (government in exile disestablished) |
Independent | 1862 | |||
8 | ![]() |
Isaac Murphy October 16, 1799 or 1802 – September 8, 1882 |
January 20, 1864 – July 2, 1868 (not candidate for election) |
Independent | Appointed Provisional Governor by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln |
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1864 (Union) |
Calvin C. Bliss | |||||||
9 | ![]() |
Powell Clayton August 7, 1833 – August 25, 1914 |
July 2, 1868 – March 17, 1871 (resigned) |
Republican | 1868 | James M. Johnson (resigned March 14, 1871) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
— | ![]() |
Ozra Amander Hadley June 30, 1826 – July 18, 1915 |
March 17, 1871 – January 6, 1873 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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10 | ![]() |
Elisha Baxter September 1, 1827 – May 31, 1899 |
January 6, 1873 – November 12, 1874 (not candidate for election) |
Republican | 1872 | Volney V. Smith | ||
11 | ![]() |
Augustus Hill Garland June 11, 1832 – January 26, 1899 |
November 12, 1874 – January 11, 1877 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1874 | Office did not exist | ||
12 | ![]() |
William Read Miller November 23, 1823 – November 29, 1887 |
January 11, 1877 – January 13, 1881 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1876 | |||
1878 | ||||||||
13 | ![]() |
Thomas James Churchill March 10, 1824 – May 14, 1905 |
January 13, 1881 – January 13, 1883 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1880 | |||
14 | ![]() |
James Henderson Berry May 15, 1841 – January 30, 1913 |
January 13, 1883 – January 15, 1885 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1882 | |||
15 | ![]() |
Simon Pollard Hughes Jr. April 14, 1830 – June 29, 1906 |
January 15, 1885 – January 17, 1889 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1884 | |||
1886 | ||||||||
16 | ![]() |
James Philip Eagle August 10, 1837 – December 20, 1904 |
January 17, 1889 – January 14, 1893 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1888 | |||
1890 | ||||||||
17 | ![]() |
William Meade Fishback November 5, 1831 – February 9, 1903 |
January 14, 1893 – January 18, 1895 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1892 | |||
18 | ![]() |
James Paul Clarke August 18, 1854 – October 1, 1916 |
January 18, 1895 – January 18, 1897 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1894 | |||
19 | ![]() |
Daniel Webster Jones December 15, 1839 – December 25, 1918 |
January 18, 1897 – January 18, 1901 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1896 | |||
1898 | ||||||||
20 | ![]() |
Jeff Davis May 6, 1862 – January 3, 1913 |
January 18, 1901 – January 18, 1907 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1900 | |||
1902 | ||||||||
1904 | ||||||||
21 | ![]() |
John Sebastian Little March 15, 1851 – October 29, 1916 |
January 18, 1907 – February 11, 1907 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1906 | |||
— | ![]() |
John Isaac Moore February 7, 1856 – March 18, 1937 |
February 11, 1907 – May 14, 1907 (legislature adjourned) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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— | ![]() |
Xenophon Overton Pindall August 21, 1873 – January 2, 1935 |
May 14, 1907 – January 11, 1909 (senate term expired) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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— | Jesse M. Martin March 1, 1877 – January 22, 1915 |
January 11, 1909 – January 14, 1909 (successor took office) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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22 | ![]() |
George Washington Donaghey July 1, 1856 – December 15, 1937 |
January 14, 1909 – January 16, 1913 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1908 | |||
1910 | ||||||||
23 | ![]() |
Joseph Taylor Robinson August 26, 1872 – July 14, 1937 |
January 16, 1913 – March 8, 1913 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1912 | |||
— | William Kavanaugh Oldham May 20, 1865 – May 6, 1938 |
March 8, 1913 – March 13, 1913 (new president of the senate elected) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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— | ![]() |
Junius M. Futrell August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955 |
March 13, 1913 – August 6, 1913 (successor took office) |
Democratic | President of the Senate acting as Governor |
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24 | ![]() |
George Washington Hays September 23, 1863 – September 15, 1927 |
August 6, 1913 – January 10, 1917 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1913 (special) |
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1914 | ||||||||
25 | ![]() |
Charles Hillman Brough July 9, 1876 – December 26, 1935 |
January 10, 1917 – January 11, 1921 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1916 | |||
1918 | ||||||||
26 | ![]() |
Thomas Chipman McRae December 21, 1851 – June 2, 1929 |
January 11, 1921 – January 13, 1925 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1920 | |||
1922 | ||||||||
27 | ![]() |
Tom Terral December 21, 1882 – March 9, 1946 |
January 13, 1925 – January 11, 1927 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1924 | |||
28 | ![]() |
John Ellis Martineau December 2, 1873 – March 6, 1937 |
January 11, 1927 – March 14, 1928 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1926 | Harvey Parnell | ||
29 | ![]() |
Harvey Parnell February 28, 1880 – January 16, 1936 |
March 14, 1928 – January 10, 1933 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | ||
1928 | Lee Cazort | |||||||
1930 | Lawrence Elery Wilson | |||||||
30 | ![]() |
Junius Marion Futrell August 14, 1870 – June 20, 1955 |
January 10, 1933 – January 12, 1937 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1932 | Lee Cazort | ||
1934 | ||||||||
31 | ![]() |
Carl E. Bailey October 8, 1894 – October 23, 1948 |
January 12, 1937 – January 14, 1941 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1936 | Robert L. Bailey | ||
1938 | ||||||||
32 | ![]() |
Homer Martin Adkins October 15, 1890 – February 26, 1964 |
January 14, 1941 – January 9, 1945 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1940 | |||
1942 | James L. Shaver | |||||||
33 | ![]() |
Benjamin Travis Laney November 25, 1896 – January 21, 1977 |
January 9, 1945 – January 11, 1949 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1944 | |||
1946 | Nathan Green Gordon | |||||||
34 | Sid McMath June 14, 1912 – October 4, 2003 |
January 11, 1949 – January 13, 1953 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1948 | ||||
1950 | ||||||||
35 | ![]() |
Francis Cherry September 5, 1908 – July 15, 1965 |
January 13, 1953 – January 11, 1955 (lost renomination) |
Democratic | 1952 | |||
36 | ![]() |
Orval Faubus January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994 |
January 11, 1955 – January 10, 1967 (not candidate for election) |
Democratic | 1954 | |||
1956 | ||||||||
1958 | ||||||||
1960 | ||||||||
1962 | ||||||||
1964 | ||||||||
37 | ![]() |
Winthrop Rockefeller May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973 |
January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971 (lost election) |
Republican | 1966 | Maurice Britt | ||
1968 | ||||||||
38 | ![]() |
Dale Bumpers August 12, 1925 – January 1, 2016 |
January 12, 1971 – January 3, 1975 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1970 | Bob C. Riley | ||
1972 | ||||||||
— | Bob C. Riley September 18, 1924 – February 16, 1994 |
January 3, 1975 – January 14, 1975 (successor took office) |
Democratic | Lieutenant Governor acting as Governor |
Acting as Governor | |||
39 | ![]() |
David Pryor August 29, 1934 |
January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1979 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1974 | Joe Purcell | ||
1976 | ||||||||
— | ![]() |
Joe Purcell July 29, 1923 – March 5, 1987 |
January 3, 1979 – January 9, 1979 (successor took office) |
Democratic | Lieutenant Governor acting as Governor |
Acting as Governor | ||
40
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Bill Clinton August 19, 1946 |
January 9, 1979 – January 19, 1981 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1978 | Joe Purcell | ||
41 | ![]() |
Frank D. White June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003 |
January 19, 1981 – January 11, 1983 (lost election) |
Republican | 1980 | Winston Bryant | ||
42
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Bill Clinton August 19, 1946 |
January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992 (resigned) |
Democratic | 1982 | |||
1984 | ||||||||
1986 | ||||||||
1990 | Jim Guy Tucker | |||||||
43 | ![]() |
Jim Guy Tucker June 13, 1943 |
December 12, 1992 – July 15, 1996 (resigned) |
Democratic | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | ||
Mike Huckabee (elected November 20, 1993) |
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1994 | ||||||||
44
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Mike Huckabee August 24, 1955 |
July 15, 1996 – January 9, 2007 (term-limited) |
Republican | Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor |
Vacant | ||
Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (elected November 19, 1996) (died July 16, 2006) |
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1998 | ||||||||
2002 | ||||||||
Vacant | ||||||||
45 | ![]() |
Mike Beebe December 28, 1946 |
January 9, 2007 – January 13, 2015 (term-limited) |
Democratic | 2006 | Bill Halter | ||
2010 | Mark Darr (resigned February 1, 2014) |
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Vacant | ||||||||
46 | ![]() |
Asa Hutchinson December 3, 1950 |
January 13, 2015 – Incumbent |
Republican | 2014 | Tim Griffin | ||
2018 | ||||||||
47 | ![]() |
Sarah Huckabee Sanders (elect) August 13, 1982 |
Taking office January 10, 2023 |
Republican | 2022 | Leslie Rutledge (elect) |