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List of governors of Georgia

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Not to be confused with the state commissioners (informally referred to as "Governor"), the chief executives of the Regions of Georgia (country).

The governor of Georgia is the head of government of the U.S. state of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. Republican Brian Kemp assumed office on January 14, 2019.

There have officially been 83 governors of the State of Georgia, including 11 who served more than one distinct term (John Houstoun, George Walton, Edward Telfair, George Mathews, Jared Irwin, David Brydie Mitchell, George Rockingham Gilmer, M. Hoke Smith, Joseph Mackey Brown, John M. Slaton and Eugene Talmadge, with Herman Talmadge serving two de facto distinct terms).

The longest-serving governors are George Busbee, Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, each of whom served two full four-year terms; Joseph E. Brown, governor during the Civil War, was elected four times, serving seven and a half years. The shortest term of the post-revolutionary period is that of Matthew Talbot, who served 13 days after succeeding his predecessor, who died in office. Eugene Talmadge died in December 1946 before taking office in his second distinct term, leading to a dispute in which three people claimed the office.

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Governors

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For the period before independence, see List of colonial governors of Georgia.

Georgia was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and was admitted as a state on January 2, 1788.[1] Before it declared its independence, Georgia was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861,[2] and was a founding member of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861.[3] Following the end of the American Civil War, Georgia during Reconstruction was part of the Third Military District, which exerted some control over governor appointments and elections. Georgia was readmitted to the Union on July 25, 1868;[4] again expelled from Congress on March 3, 1869;[5] and again readmitted on July 15, 1870.[6]

The Rules and Regulations of the Colony, drafted in 1776, provided for a president to serve a term of 6 months.[7] A formal constitution was drafted in 1777, providing for a governor to serve a term of one year, but no more than one year out of every three.[8] The term was lengthened to two years in 1789, but with no term limit.[9] The 1865 constitution required governors to take four years off after serving two terms,[10] but that was quickly changed in the 1868 constitution, which allowed four-year terms with no limits.[11] The term length was returned to the two-year term and limit of the 1865 constitution in 1877.[12]

The 1945 constitution changed the length of terms to four years, with governors required to take four years off before running again, and it created the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, who would exercise the powers of the governor should the office become vacant.[13] This was changed in 1983 so that the lieutenant governor fully becomes governor in that circumstance.[14] Before the creation of the office of lieutenant governor, the president of the senate (or, before 1789, the president of the executive council[15]) would exercise the powers of governor.[16] The 1983 constitution also allows governors to succeed themselves once, before having to wait four years to run again.[14] The governor and the lieutenant governor are not officially elected on the same ticket.

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Notes

  1. The state says Brian Kemp is the 83rd governor; this number is derived from the Official and Statistical Register of Georgia, last published by the Office of Secretary of State in 1978. It continues the numbering from the colonial governors and omits repeat governors, thus marking Archibald Bulloch as 7th and George Busbee as 77th.[17]
  2. The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1945, first being filled in 1947.
  3. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
  4. The revolutionary government did not necessarily follow any schedule or term lengths, so the election year is omitted until 1781, when it becomes easier to determine.
  5. No sources specify if the governor stood for election to the following term.
  6. As speaker of the provincial Congress, Gwinnett was elected by the Council of Safety to succeed Bulloch.[21]
  7. The date given is the capture of Savannah, where the New Georgia Encyclopedia says his last official act as governor was to flee.[26]
  8. The capture of Savannah threw the government into disarray and exile, and records are scarce as to dates and leadership. William Glascock (elected January 21, 1779)[27] and Seth John Cuthbert (elected July 24, 1779), while often included in lists of governors, are omitted from the official state register. A school pamphlet from 1977 notes, "This confusing situation resulted in a number of radical Whigs, mainly from Wilkes County, organizing a second government with George Walton as governor and Glascock as speaker of the assembly. ... As a result of this makeshift election, there were two Whig governments plus the restored loyalist government."[28]
  9. Howly had also been elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and the Council voted on February 5 that he must take that seat.[35]
  10. George Wells succeeded Howly, but was killed in a duel on February 16, 1780; he is omitted from nearly every list of governors, including the official register.[35]
  11. Some sources say Myrick Davies served as governor in August 1780,[36] but he is omitted from the official state register and it is unknown if this was in an acting fashion.
  12. The official register says Heard took office on February 18, 1870;[20] an article from 1967 says Humphrey Wells was elected governor on February 16, but declined two days later.[38] Other sources, including the New Georgia Encyclopedia, say Heard did not take office until May 24.[36][37]
  13. Under the 1777 constitution, governors were ineligible for office for more than one year out of three.[41]
  14. James Jackson was elected in 1788, but declined the position, citing inexperience.[56]
  15. Sobel notes that Walton was term-limited under the 1777 constitution;[31] it is unclear if the provisions of that, or the 1789 constitution, would have applied to Walton.
  16. First term under the 1789 constitution, which lengthened terms to two years.[57]
  17. Jackson resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.[62]
  18. Tattnall resigned due to declining health.[68]
  19. Milledge resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.[71]
  20. Special election for the remainder of Josiah Tattnall's term[73]
  21. Mitchell resigned to be appointed agent to the Creek Indians.[75]
  22. Forsyth was instead elected to the United States Senate.
  23. Not to be confused with Constitutional Union Party of 1860, the Constitutional Union Party of Georgia was a brief merger of the Democratic and Whig state parties.[121]
  24. Brown was arrested by Union forces on May 9, 1865, and resigned after he was released.[129]
  25. Johnson left office on December 19, five days after his successor was sworn in.[131][132][133]
  26. Johnson was appointed provisional governor by the Union occupation.[132]
  27. Jenkins was removed from office by the military because he refused to allow state funds to be used for a racially integrated state constitutional convention; the state was still under military occupation during Reconstruction.[136]
  28. Provisional governor appointed by General George Meade[139]
  29. Bullock was appointed governor on July 4 by General George Meade to replace Ruger, who was being removed;[143] however, Bullock had already won the election, and would be formally inaugurated into the post on July 21.[140][141]
  30. Bullock resigned and fled the state to avoid impeachment; he was arrested in 1876 and found not guilty of embezzlement.[141] Some sources state Bullock resigned on October 23, but that is when he secretly submitted his resignation; it did not take effect until October 30.[144]
  31. First term under the 1868 constitution, which lengthened terms to four years.[11]
  32. Special election for the remainder of Rufus Bullock's term[149]
  33. First term under the 1877 constitution, which shortened terms to two years.[155]
  34. Stephens died on March 4, and Boynton was sworn in on March 5.[162]
  35. McDaniel's first term was shortened, so it is not known if he can be considered term-limited.
  36. Special election for the remainder of Alexander Stephens' term[164]
  37. Under the 1877 constitution, governors were ineligible for re-election until four years after the expiration of their second term.[171]
  38. The start of a gubernatorial term has always been set by the legislature, rather than the constitution; it appears the start of this term changed from the last Saturday in October to the last Saturday in June, lengthening it by eight months.
  39. Brown lost the Democratic nomination to M. Hoke Smith, and ran as an independent.[194]
  40. Smith resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.[189]
  41. Smith resigned on November 15, and Slaton was sworn in on November 16; at least one contemporary news source regarded this as a vacancy rather than an automatic succession.[200]
  42. Special election for the remainder of Hoke Smith's term[193]
  43. Russell was instead elected to the United States Senate.
  44. The start of the term changed from the last Saturday in June to the second Tuesday in January, shortening this term by five months.[224]
  45. Under the 1945 constitution, governors were ineligible for re-election until the expiration of four years from the end of their term.[240]
  46. First term under a 1941 amendment to the constitution which lengthened terms to four years.[20]
  47. Eugene Talmadge was elected to a third term in 1946, but died before taking office. Ellis Arnall, governor at the time, claimed the office, as did Lieutenant Governor Melvin Thompson. The state legislature chose Eugene Talmadge's son, Herman Talmadge, to be governor, but during what came to be called the three governors controversy, the state supreme court declared this unconstitutional and declared Thompson rightful governor, and Talmadge stepped down after 67 days. Talmadge later defeated Thompson in a special election.[241]
  48. Under the 1976 constitution, governors were ineligible to succeed themselves, or to hold the office until the expiration of four years from the end of their term.[275]
  49. Under the 1982 constitution, those governors who have succeeded themselves were ineligible to be elected to the office four years after the end of their term.[279]
  50. Represented the Democratic Party
  51. Kemp's second term began on January 12, 2023,[294] and will expire on January 11, 2027; he will be term-limited
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