List of governors of Virginia facts for kids
The following is a list of the governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The governor of Virginia is the state's head of government and commander-in-chief of the state's official national guard. The governor has the duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.
The first Constitution of 1776 created the office of governor, to be elected annually by the Virginia State Legislature. The governor could serve up to three years at a time, and once out of office, could not serve again for four years. The 1830 constitution changed the thrice renewable one-year term length to a non-renewable three-year term, and set the start date at the first day in January following an election. This constitution also prevented governors from succeeding themselves, a prohibition that exists to the present day. The 1851 Constitution increased terms to four years and made the office elected by the people, rather than the legislature. The commencement of the Governor's term was moved to the first day in February by the 1902 Constitution, and then to the Saturday after the second Wednesday in January by the 1971 and current Constitution.
If the office of governor is vacant due to disqualification, death, or resignation, the lieutenant governor of Virginia becomes governor. The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1851. Prior to that a Council of State existed; it chose from among its members a president who would be "lieutenant-governor" and would act as governor when there was a vacancy in that office.
Officially, there have been 74 governors of Virginia; the acting governors are not counted.
Contents
Colonial governors
President of the Committee for Public Safety
Parties: No party
# | Picture | President | Took office | Left office | Party |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Edmund Pendleton | August 16, 1775 | July 5, 1776 | None |
List of governors (1776–1852)
- Political party
- Democratic-Republican (14)
- Democratic (40)
- Federalist (2)
- Whig (1)
- Republican (7)
- Re-adjuster (1)
- Independent (8)
# | Picture | Governor | Took office | Left office | Lieutenant Governor | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Patrick Henry | July 6, 1776 | June 1, 1779 | Office vacant
1776-1852 |
None | First under 1776 Constitution (limit of 3 one-year terms) |
|
2 | ![]() |
Thomas Jefferson | June 2, 1779 | June 3, 1781 | None | 3rd President of the United States | |
3 | ![]() |
William Fleming | June 4, 1781 | June 12, 1781 | None | ||
4 | ![]() |
Thomas Nelson Jr. | June 12, 1781 | November 22, 1781 | None | ||
– | ![]() |
David Jameson | November 22, 1781 | November 30, 1781 | None | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
5 | Benjamin Harrison V | December 1, 1781 | November 30, 1784 | None | |||
6 | Patrick Henry | November 30, 1784 | November 30, 1786 | None | Re-elected after 5-year hiatus (1 more than constitutional minimum) |
||
7 | ![]() |
Edmund Randolph | November 30, 1786 | November 12, 1788 | None | First under U.S. constitution | |
8 | ![]() |
Beverley Randolph | November 12, 1788 | December 1, 1791 | None | ||
9 | ![]() |
Henry Lee III | December 1, 1791 | December 1, 1794 | Federalist | ||
10 | ![]() |
Robert Brooke | December 1, 1794 | November 30, 1796 | Democratic-Republican | ||
11 | ![]() |
James Wood | November 30, 1796 | December 6, 1799 | Federalist | ||
– | ![]() |
Hardin Burnley | December 7, 1799 | December 9, 1799 | |||
– | ![]() |
John Pendleton Jr. | December 11, 1799 | December 19, 1799 | |||
12 | ![]() |
James Monroe | December 19, 1799 | December 24, 1802 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1790–1794, fifth President of the United States | |
13 | ![]() |
John Page | December 24, 1802 | December 11, 1805 | Democratic-Republican | ||
14 | ![]() |
William H. Cabell | December 11, 1805 | December 12, 1808 | Democratic-Republican | ||
15 | ![]() |
John Tyler Sr. | December 12, 1808 | January 15, 1811 | Democratic-Republican | ||
— | ![]() |
George William Smith | January 15, 1811 | January 19, 1811 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
16 | ![]() |
James Monroe | January 19, 1811 | April 3, 1811 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1790–94, Fifth President of the United States | |
17 | ![]() |
George William Smith | April 3, 1811 | December 26, 1811 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) Later elected in his own right Died in office |
|
N/A | ![]() |
Peyton Randolph | December 27, 1811 | January 4, 1812 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
18 | ![]() |
James Barbour | January 4, 1812 | December 11, 1814 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1815–1825 | |
19 | ![]() |
Wilson Cary Nicholas | December 11, 1814 | December 11, 1816 | Democratic-Republican | ||
20 | ![]() |
James Patton Preston | December 11, 1816 | December 11, 1819 | Democratic-Republican | ||
21 | ![]() |
Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. | December 11, 1819 | December 11, 1822 | Democratic-Republican | ||
22 | ![]() |
James Pleasants | December 11, 1822 | December 11, 1825 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned U.S. Senate to assume Governorship | |
23 | ![]() |
John Tyler | December 11, 1825 | March 4, 1827 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned to enter U.S. Senate 1827–1836, 10th United States President | |
24 | ![]() |
William Branch Giles | March 4, 1827 | March 4, 1830 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1804–1815 | |
25 | ![]() |
John Floyd | March 4, 1830 | March 31, 1834 | Democratic | First under 1830 constitution (limit of 1 four-year term) |
|
26 | ![]() |
Littleton Waller Tazewell | March 31, 1834 | March 30, 1836 | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1824–1832 | |
— | ![]() |
Wyndham Robertson | March 30, 1836 | March 31, 1837 | Whig | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
27 | ![]() |
David Campbell | March 31, 1837 | March 31, 1840 | Democratic | ||
28 | ![]() |
Thomas Walker Gilmer | March 31, 1840 | March 20, 1841 | Whig | ||
— | ![]() |
John M. Patton | March 20, 1841 | March 31, 1841 | Whig | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
— | ![]() |
John Rutherfoord | March 31, 1841 | March 31, 1842 | Democratic | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
— | ![]() |
John Munford Gregory | March 31, 1842 | January 5, 1843 | Whig | Acting Governor (member of Council of State) |
|
29 | ![]() |
James McDowell | January 5, 1843 | January 1, 1846 | Democratic | ||
30 | ![]() |
William Smith | January 1, 1846 | January 1, 1849 | Democratic | ||
31 | ![]() |
John B. Floyd | January 1, 1849 | January 1, 1852 | Democratic | U.S. Secretary of War 1857–60 |
Governors under the constitution of 1851
Governors are elected to one term of four years, which cannot be renewed.
No. | Governor | Party | Term in office | Time in Office | Election | Lieutenant Governor | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
32 | ![]() |
Joseph Johnson | Democratic | January 1, 1852 – January 1, 1856 (term limited) |
4 years | 1851 | Shelton Leake | First popularly elected | ||
33 | ![]() |
Henry A. Wise | Democratic | January 1, 1856 – January 1, 1860 (term limited) |
4 years | 1855 | Elisha W. McComas | |||
William Lowther Jackson | ||||||||||
34 | ![]() |
John Letcher | Democratic | January 1, 1860 – May 15, 1861 (Overthrown) |
1 year, 5 months | 1859 | Robert Latane Montague | |||
State government dissolved | ||||||||||
35 | ![]() |
Francis Harrison Pierpont | Republican | May 15, 1861 – April 4, 1868 |
7 years | Elected by Wheeling Convention | Daniel Polsley | |||
Leopold Copeland Parker Cowper | ||||||||||
— | ![]() |
Henry H. Wells | Republican | April 4, 1868 – September 21, 1869 (Acting) |
1.5 years | Appointed by |
||||
36 | ![]() |
Gilbert Carlton Walker | Republican | September 21, 1869 – January 1, 1870 |
1 year, 3 months | Appointed by |
John F. Lewis | |||
State government reestablished with popular elections | ||||||||||
![]() |
Gilbert Carlton Walker | Democratic | January 1, 1870 – January 1, 1874 (term limited) |
4 years | 1869 | John Lawrence Marye Jr. | Switched from Republican to Democratic Party | |||
37 | ![]() |
James L. Kemper | Democratic | January 1, 1874 – January 1, 1878 (term limited) |
4 years | 1873 | Robert E. Withers | |||
Henry Wirtz Thomas | ||||||||||
38 | ![]() |
Frederick Holiday | Democratic | January 1, 1878 – January 1, 1882 (term limited) |
4 years | 1877 | James A. Walker | |||
39 | ![]() |
William E. Cameron | Readjuster | January 1, 1882 – January 1, 1886 (term limited) |
4 years | 1881 | John F. Lewis | |||
40 | ![]() |
Fitzhugh Lee | Democratic | January 1, 1886 – January 1, 1890 (term limited) |
4 years | 1885 | John E. Massey | |||
41 | ![]() |
Philip W. McKinney | Democratic | January 1, 1890 – January 1, 1894 (term limited) |
4 years | 1889 | James H. Tyler | |||
42 | ![]() |
Charles Triplett O'Ferrall | Democratic | January 1, 1894 – January 1, 1898 (term limited) |
4 years | 1893 | Robert C. Kent | |||
43 | ![]() |
James Hoge Tyler | Democratic | January 1, 1898 – January 1, 1902 (term limited) |
4 years | 1897 | Edward Echols | |||
44 | ![]() |
Andrew Jackson Montague | Democratic | January 1, 1902 – February 1, 1906 (term limited) |
4 years, 1 month | 1901 | Joseph Edward Willard | |||
45 | ![]() |
Claude A. Swanson | Democratic | February 1, 1906 – February 1, 1910 (term limited) |
4 years | 1905 | James Taylor Ellyson | |||
46 | ![]() |
William Hodges Mann | Democratic | February 1, 1910 – February 1, 1914 (term limited) |
4 years | 1909 | ||||
47 | ![]() |
Henry Carter Stuart | Democratic | February 1, 1914 – February 1, 1918 (term limited) |
4 years | 1913 | ||||
48 | ![]() |
Westmoreland Davis | Democratic | February 1, 1918 – February 1, 1922 (term limited) |
4 years | 1917 | Benjamin Franklin Buchanan | |||
49 | ![]() |
Elbert Lee Trinkle | Democratic | February 1, 1922 – February 1, 1926 (term limited) |
4 years | 1921 | Junius Edgar West | |||
50 | ![]() |
Harry F. Byrd | Democratic | February 1, 1926 – January 15, 1930 (term limited) |
4 years | 1925 | ||||
51 | ![]() |
John Garland Pollard | Democratic | January 15, 1930 – January 16, 1934 (term limited) |
4 years | 1929 | James Hubert Price | |||
52 | ![]() |
George C. Peery | Democratic | January 17, 1934 – January 18, 1938 (term limited) |
4 years | 1933 | ||||
53 | ![]() |
James Hubert Price | Democratic | January 19, 1938 – January 20, 1942 (term limited) |
4 years | 1937 | Saxon W. Holt (Died) |
|||
Vacant | ||||||||||
54 | ![]() |
Colgate Darden | Democratic | January 21, 1942 – January 15, 1946 (term limited) |
4 years | 1941 | William M. Tuck | |||
55 | ![]() |
William M. Tuck | Democratic | January 16, 1946 – January 17, 1950 (term limited) |
4 years | 1945 | Lewis Preston Collins II (Died) |
|||
56 | ![]() |
John S. Battle | Democratic | January 18, 1950 – January 19, 1954 (term limited) |
4 years | 1949 | ||||
Vacant | ||||||||||
Allie Edward Stakes Stephens | ||||||||||
57 | ![]() |
Thomas B. Stanley | Democratic | January 20, 1954 – January 11, 1958 (term limited) |
4 years | 1953 | ||||
58 | ![]() |
J. Lindsay Almond | Democratic | January 11, 1958 – January 13, 1962 (term limited) |
4 years | 1957 | ||||
59 | ![]() |
Albertis Harrison | Democratic | January 13, 1962 – January 15, 1966 (term limited) |
4 years | 1961 | Mills Godwin | |||
60 | ![]() |
Mills Godwin | Democratic | January 15, 1966 – January 17, 1970 (term limited) |
4 years | 1965 | Fred G. Pollard | |||
61 | ![]() |
Linwood Holton | Republican | January 17, 1970 – January 12, 1974 (term limited) |
4 years | 1969 | J. Sargeant Reynolds (Died) |
|||
Vacant | ||||||||||
Henry Howell | ||||||||||
62 | ![]() |
Mills Godwin | Republican | January 12, 1974 – January 14, 1978 (term limited) |
4 years | 1973 | John N. Dalton | 2nd time Changed parties |
||
63 | ![]() |
John N. Dalton | Republican | January 14, 1978 – January 16, 1982 (term limited) |
4 years | 1977 | Chuck Robb | |||
64 | ![]() |
Chuck Robb | Democratic | January 16, 1982 – January 11, 1986 (term limited) |
4 years | 1981 | Gerald L. Baliles | |||
65 | ![]() |
Gerald Baliles | Democratic | January 11, 1986 – January 13, 1990 (term limited) |
4 years | 1985 | Douglas Wilder | |||
66 | ![]() |
Douglas Wilder | Democratic | January 13, 1990 – January 15, 1994 (term limited) |
4 years | 1989 | Don Beyer | First African American elected governor in U.S. history | ||
67 | ![]() |
George Allen | Republican | January 15, 1994 – January 17, 1998 (term limited) |
4 years | 1993 | ||||
68 | ![]() |
Jim Gilmore | Republican | January 17, 1998 – January 12, 2002 (term limited) |
4 years | 1997 | John H. Hager | |||
69 | ![]() |
Mark Warner | Democratic | January 12, 2002 – January 14, 2006 (term limited) |
4 years | 2001 | Tim Kaine | |||
70 | ![]() |
Tim Kaine | Democratic | January 14, 2006 – January 16, 2010 (term limited) |
4 years | 2005 | Bill Bolling | |||
71 | ![]() |
Bob McDonnell | Republican | January 16, 2010 – January 11, 2014 (term limited) |
4 years | 2009 | ||||
72 | ![]() |
Terry McAuliffe | Democratic | January 11, 2014 – January 13, 2018 (term limited) |
4 years | 2013 | Ralph Northam | |||
73 | ![]() |
Ralph Northam | Democratic | January 13, 2018 – January 15, 2022 (term limited) |
4 years | 2017 | Justin Fairfax | |||
74 | ![]() |
Glenn Youngkin | Republican | January 15, 2022 – Incumbent |
1 year, 262 days | 2021 | Winsome Sears |
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernadores de Virginia para niños
- List of Virginia state legislatures
![]() | Gilbert Arenas |
![]() | Pau Gasol |
![]() | Rolando Blackman |
![]() | Charlie Villanueva |