List of governors of Arkansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Arkansas
Flag of Arkansas
Great Seal of Arkansas
Incumbent Sarah Huckabee Sanders since January 10, 2023 (2023-01-10)
Government of Arkansas
Style	Governor (informal) The Honorable (formal)
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 (188 years ago) (1836-09-13)
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
Salary	$158,739 (2022)

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 Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was sworn in on January 10, 2023.

List of governors

Arkansas Territory

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.

Governors of Arkansas Territory

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointed by
1		James Miller (1776–1851)	March 3, 1819 – December 27, 1824 (resigned)	Monroe, JamesJames Monroe
2		George Izard (1776–1828)	March 3, 1825 – November 22, 1828 (died in office)	Monroe, JamesJames Monroe
				Adams, John QuincyJohn Quincy Adams
3		John Pope (1770–1845)	March 9, 1829 – March 9, 1835 (successor appointed)	Jackson, AndrewAndrew Jackson
4		William S. Fulton (1795–1844)	March 9, 1835 – September 13, 1836 (statehood)	Jackson, AndrewAndrew Jackson

State of Arkansas

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 was 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 governors 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 the lieutenant governor are not officially 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.

Governors of Arkansas

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1			James Sevier Conway (1796–1855)	September 13, 1836 – November 4, 1840 (did not run)	Democratic	1836	Office did not exist
2			Archibald Yell (1797–1847)	November 4, 1840 – April 29, 1844 (resigned)	Democratic	1840
—			Samuel Adams (1805–1850)	April 29, 1844 – November 9, 1844 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
3			Thomas Stevenson Drew (1802–1879)	November 9, 1844 – January 10, 1849 (resigned)	Democratic	1844
						1848
—			Richard C. Byrd (1805–1854)	January 10, 1849 – April 19, 1849 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
4			John Selden Roane (1817–1867)	April 19, 1849 – November 15, 1852 (did not run)	Democratic	1849 (special)
5			Elias Nelson Conway (1812–1892)	November 15, 1852 – November 15, 1860 (term-limited)	Democratic	1852
						1856
6			Henry Massey Rector (1816–1899)	November 15, 1860 – November 3, 1862 (resigned)	Independent Democratic	1860
—			Thomas Fletcher (1817–1880)	November 3, 1862 – November 15, 1862 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
7			Harris Flanagin (1817–1874)	November 15, 1862 – June 1, 1865 (government in exile disestablished)	Independent	1862
8			Isaac Murphy (d. 1882)	January 20, 1864 – July 2, 1868 (did not run)	Independent	Provisional governor appointed by constitutional convention
						1864		Bliss, Calvin C.Calvin C. Bliss
9			Powell Clayton (1833–1914)	July 2, 1868 – March 17, 1871 (resigned)	Republican	1868		Johnson, James M.James M. Johnson (resigned March 14, 1871)
							Vacant
—			Ozra Amander Hadley (1826–1915)	March 17, 1871 – January 6, 1873 (successor took office)	Republican	President of the Senate acting
10			Elisha Baxter (1827–1899)	January 6, 1873 – November 12, 1874 (did not run)	Republican	1872		Smith, Volney V.Volney V. Smith
11			Augustus Hill Garland (1832–1899)	November 12, 1874 – January 11, 1877 (did not run)	Democratic	1874	Office did not exist
12			William Read Miller (1823–1887)	January 11, 1877 – January 13, 1881 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1876
						1878
13			Thomas James Churchill (1824–1905)	January 13, 1881 – January 13, 1883 (did not run)	Democratic	1880
14			James Henderson Berry (1841–1913)	January 13, 1883 – January 15, 1885 (did not run)	Democratic	1882
15			Simon Pollard Hughes Jr. (1830–1906)	January 15, 1885 – January 17, 1889 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1884
						1886
16			James Philip Eagle (1837–1904)	January 17, 1889 – January 14, 1893 (did not run)	Democratic	1888
						1890
17			William Meade Fishback (1831–1903)	January 14, 1893 – January 18, 1895 (did not run)	Democratic	1892
18			James Paul Clarke (1854–1916)	January 18, 1895 – January 18, 1897 (did not run)	Democratic	1894
19			Daniel Webster Jones (1839–1918)	January 18, 1897 – January 18, 1901 (did not run)	Democratic	1896
						1898
20			Jeff Davis (1862–1913)	January 18, 1901 – January 18, 1907 (did not run)	Democratic	1900
						1902
						1904
21			John Sebastian Little (1851–1916)	January 18, 1907 – February 11, 1907 (resigned)	Democratic	1906
—			John Isaac Moore (1856–1937)	February 11, 1907 – May 14, 1907 (legislature adjourned)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
—			Xenophon Overton Pindall (1873–1935)	May 14, 1907 – January 11, 1909 (senate term expired)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
—			Jesse M. Martin (1877–1915)	January 11, 1909 – January 14, 1909 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
22			George Washington Donaghey (1856–1937)	January 14, 1909 – January 16, 1913 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1908
						1910
23			Joseph Taylor Robinson (1872–1937)	January 16, 1913 – March 8, 1913 (resigned)	Democratic	1912
—			William Kavanaugh Oldham (1865–1938)	March 8, 1913 – March 13, 1913 (new president of the senate elected)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
—			Junius Marion Futrell (1870–1955)	March 13, 1913 – August 6, 1913 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
24			George Washington Hays (1863–1927)	August 6, 1913 – January 10, 1917 (did not run)	Democratic	1913 (special)
						1914
25			Charles Hillman Brough (1876–1935)	January 10, 1917 – January 12, 1921 (did not run)	Democratic	1916
						1918
26			Thomas Chipman McRae (1851–1929)	January 12, 1921 – January 14, 1925 (did not run)	Democratic	1920
						1922
27			Tom Terral (1882–1946)	January 14, 1925 – January 11, 1927 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1924
28			John Ellis Martineau (1873–1937)	January 11, 1927 – March 14, 1928 (resigned)	Democratic	1926		Parnell, HarveyHarvey Parnell
29			Harvey Parnell (1880–1936)	March 14, 1928 – January 10, 1933 (did not run)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
						1928		Cazort, LeeLee Cazort
						1930		Wilson, Lawrence EleryLawrence Elery Wilson
30			Junius Marion Futrell (1870–1955)	January 10, 1933 – January 12, 1937 (did not run)	Democratic	1932		Cazort, LeeLee Cazort
						1934
31			Carl E. Bailey (1894–1948)	January 12, 1937 – January 14, 1941 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1936		Bailey, Robert L.Robert L. Bailey
						1938
32			Homer Martin Adkins (1890–1964)	January 14, 1941 – January 9, 1945 (did not run)	Democratic	1940
						1942		Shaver, James L.James L. Shaver
33			Benjamin T. Laney (1896–1977)	January 9, 1945 – January 11, 1949 (did not run)	Democratic	1944
						1946		Gordon, Nathan GreenNathan Green Gordon
34			Sid McMath (1912–2003)	January 11, 1949 – January 13, 1953 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1948
						1950
35			Francis Cherry (1908–1965)	January 13, 1953 – January 11, 1955 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1952
36			Orval Faubus (1910–1994)	January 11, 1955 – January 10, 1967 (did not run)	Democratic	1954
						1956
						1958
						1960
						1962
						1964
37			Winthrop Rockefeller (1912–1973)	January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971 (lost election)	Republican	1966		Britt, MauriceMaurice Britt
						1968
38			Dale Bumpers (1925–2016)	January 12, 1971 – January 3, 1975 (resigned)	Democratic	1970		Riley, Bob C.Bob C. Riley
						1972
—			Bob C. Riley (1924–1994)	January 3, 1975 – January 14, 1975 (successor took office)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
39			David Pryor (1934–2024)	January 14, 1975 – January 3, 1979 (resigned)	Democratic	1974		Purcell, JoeJoe Purcell
						1976
—			Joe Purcell (1923–1987)	January 3, 1979 – January 9, 1979 (successor took office)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
40			Bill Clinton (b. 1946)	January 9, 1979 – January 13, 1981 (lost election)	Democratic	1978		Purcell, JoeJoe Purcell
41			Frank D. White (1933–2003)	January 13, 1981 – January 11, 1983 (lost election)	Republican	1980		Bryant, WinstonWinston Bryant
42			Bill Clinton (b. 1946)	January 11, 1983 – December 12, 1992 (resigned)	Democratic	1982
						1984
						1986
						1990		Tucker, Jim GuyJim Guy Tucker
43			Jim Guy Tucker (b. 1943)	December 12, 1992 – July 15, 1996 (resigned)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
								Huckabee, MikeMike Huckabee (elected November 20, 1993)
						1994
44			Mike Huckabee (b. 1955)	July 15, 1996 – January 9, 2007 (term-limited)	Republican	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
								Rockefeller, Winthrop PaulWinthrop Paul Rockefeller (elected November 19, 1996) (died July 16, 2006)
						1998
						2002
							Vacant
45			Mike Beebe (b. 1946)	January 9, 2007 – January 13, 2015 (term-limited)	Democratic	2006		Halter, BillBill Halter
						2010		Darr, MarkMark Darr (resigned February 1, 2014)
							Vacant
46			Asa Hutchinson (b. 1950)	January 13, 2015 – January 10, 2023 (term-limited)	Republican	2014		Griffin, TimTim Griffin
						2018
47			Sarah Huckabee Sanders (b. 1982)	January 10, 2023 – Incumbent	Republican	2022		Rutledge, LeslieLeslie Rutledge

See also

• List of Arkansas General Assemblies