Governor of Mississippi | |
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Style |
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Status | |
Residence | Mississippi Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | David Holmes |
Formation | Constitution of Mississippi |
Succession | Every four years, unless reelected |
Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi |
Salary | $122,160 (2013)[1] |
Website | Official website |
The governor of Mississippi is the head of the executive branch of Mississippi's state government[2] and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.[2] The Governor has a duty to enforce state laws,[3] and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Mississippi Legislature,[4] to convene the legislature at any time,[5] and, except in cases of treason or impeachment, to grant pardons and reprieves.[6]
To be elected governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of the United States for twenty years and a resident of Mississippi for at least five years at the time of inauguration.[7] The Constitution of Mississippi, ratified in 1890, calls for a four-year term for the governor, elected since via the two-round system since a 2020 referendum. Prior to this, the governor was elected by an electoral college composed of the districts represented in the Mississippi House of Representatives, with a contingent election held in the House in the event no candidate received a majority of district electors. He or she may be reelected once (prior to a 1987 amendment to the state Constitution, governors were limited to one term).[2][8] The original Constitution of 1817 had only a two-year term for governor; this was expanded to four years in the 1868 Constitution.[9] The lieutenant governor is elected at the same time as the governor and serves as president of the Mississippi Senate.[10] When the office of governor becomes vacant for any reason, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term.[11]
The governor of Mississippi also appoints the members of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees.
Since Mississippi became a U.S. state, it has had 64 governors, including 50 Democrats, 7 Republicans and 7 from other parties. Democrats dominated after retaking control of the state legislature; they passed a Constitution in 1890 that disfranchised most African Americans, excluding them from the political system for nearly 70 years, effectively making it a one-party state. The state's longest-serving governor was John M. Stone, who served two terms over ten years (his second term was extended to six years by a transitional provision in the 1890 Constitution).[12] The shortest-serving governor was James Whitfield, who served months from 1851 to 1852. 10 governors (David Holmes, Gerard Brandon, Charles Lynch, John A. Quitman, John J. Pettus, Adelbert Ames, John Marshall Stone, Theodore G. Bilbo, Dennis Murphree, and Hugh L. White) have served non-consecutive terms. The current governor is Republican Tate Reeves, who took office January 14, 2020.
Democratic-Republican Federalist
# | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Winthrop Sargent | May 7, 1798 | May 25, 1801 | Federalist | |
2 | ![]() |
William C. C. Claiborne | May 25, 1801 | March 1, 1805 | Democratic-Republican | |
3 | ![]() |
Robert Williams | March 1, 1805 | March 7, 1809 | Democratic-Republican | |
4 | ![]() |
David Holmes | March 7, 1809 | December 10, 1817 | Democratic-Republican |
No party/Provisional Democratic-Republican Democratic Republican Union Democratic Whig
# | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Lt. Governor | Term | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
David Holmes | December 10, 1817 | January 5, 1820 | Democratic-Republican | Duncan Stewart | 1 | [N 1] | ||
2 | ![]() |
George Poindexter | January 5, 1820 | January 7, 1822 | Democratic-Republican | James Patton | 2 | |||
3 | ![]() |
Walter Leake | January 7, 1822 | November 17, 1825 | Democratic-Republican | David Dickson | 3 | [N 2] | ||
Gerard Brandon | 4 | |||||||||
4 | ![]() |
Gerard Brandon | November 17, 1825 | January 7, 1826 | Democratic | -- | [N 3] | |||
5 | ![]() |
David Holmes | January 7, 1826 | July 25, 1826 | Democratic | Gerard Brandon | 5 | [N 4] | ||
6 | ![]() |
Gerard Brandon | July 25, 1826 | January 9, 1832 | Democratic | -- | ||||
Abram M. Scott | 6 | |||||||||
7 | ||||||||||
7 | ![]() |
Abram M. Scott | January 9, 1832 | July 12, 1833 | National Republican | Fountain Winston[N 5] | 8 | [N 2] | ||
-- | ||||||||||
8 | ![]() |
Charles Lynch | July 12, 1833 | November 20, 1833 | National Republican | -- | [N 6] | |||
9 | ![]() |
Hiram Runnels | November 20, 1833 | November 20, 1835 | Democratic | -- | 9 | |||
10 | ![]() |
John A. Quitman | December 3, 1835 | January 7, 1836 | Whig | -- | [N 6] | |||
11 | ![]() |
Charles Lynch | January 7, 1836 | January 8, 1838 | Whig | -- | 10 | |||
12 | ![]() |
Alexander G. McNutt | January 8, 1838 | January 10, 1842 | Democratic | -- | 11 | |||
12 | ||||||||||
13 | ![]() |
Tilghman Tucker | January 10, 1842 | January 10, 1844 | Democratic | -- | 13 | |||
14 | ![]() |
Albert G. Brown | January 10, 1844 | January 10, 1848 | Democratic | -- | 14 | |||
15 | ||||||||||
15 | ![]() |
Joseph W. Matthews | January 10, 1848 | January 10, 1850 | Democratic | -- | 16 | |||
16 | ![]() |
John A. Quitman | January 10, 1850 | February 3, 1851 | Democratic | -- | 17 | [N 7] | ||
17 | ![]() |
John Isaac Guion | February 3, 1851 | November 4, 1851 | Democratic | -- | [N 8] | |||
18 | ![]() |
James Whitfield | November 24, 1851 | January 10, 1852 | Democratic | -- | [N 9] | |||
19 | ![]() |
Henry S. Foote | January 10, 1852 | January 5, 1854 | Union Democratic | -- | 18 | [N 10] | ||
20 | ![]() |
John J. Pettus | January 5, 1854 | January 10, 1854 | Democratic | -- | [N 9] | |||
21 | ![]() |
John J. McRae | January 10, 1854 | November 16, 1857 | Democratic | -- | 19 | [N 11] | ||
20 | ||||||||||
22 | ![]() |
William McWillie | November 16, 1857 | November 21, 1859 | Democratic | -- | 21 | |||
23 | ![]() |
John J. Pettus | November 21, 1859 | November 16, 1863 | Democratic | -- | 22 | |||
23 | ||||||||||
24 | ![]() |
Charles Clark | November 16, 1863 | May 22, 1865 | Democratic | -- | 24 | [N 12] | ||
25 | ![]() |
William L. Sharkey | June 13, 1865 | October 16, 1865 | Provisional | -- | [N 13][N 14] | |||
26 | ![]() |
Benjamin G. Humphreys | October 16, 1865 | June 15, 1868 | Democratic | -- | [N 15] | |||
25 | ||||||||||
27 | ![]() |
Adelbert Ames | June 15, 1868 | March 10, 1870 | Military | -- | [N 13][N 16] | |||
28 | ![]() |
James L. Alcorn | March 10, 1870 | November 30, 1871 | Republican | Ridgley C. Powers | 26 | [N 17] | ||
29 | ![]() |
Ridgley C. Powers | November 30, 1871 | January 4, 1874 | Republican | Alexander K. Davis[N 18] | [N 19] | |||
30 | ![]() |
Adelbert Ames | January 4, 1874 | March 29, 1876 | Republican | 27 | [N 20] | |||
31 | ![]() |
John M. Stone | March 29, 1876 | January 29, 1882 | Democratic | -- | [N 21] | |||
William H. Sims | 28 | |||||||||
32 | ![]() |
Robert Lowry | January 2, 1882 | January 13, 1890 | Democratic | G. D. Shands | 29 | |||
30 | ||||||||||
33 | ![]() |
John M. Stone | January 13, 1890 | January 20, 1896 | Democratic | M. M. Evans | 31 | [N 22] | ||
34 | ![]() |
Anselm J. McLaurin | January 20, 1896 | January 16, 1900 | Democratic | J. H. Jones | 32 | |||
35 | ![]() |
Andrew H. Longino | January 16, 1900 | January 19, 1904 | Democratic | James T. Harrison | 33 | |||
36 | ![]() |
James K. Vardaman | January 19, 1904 | January 21, 1908 | Democratic | John Prentiss Carter | 34 | |||
37 | ![]() |
Edmond Noel | January 21, 1908 | January 16, 1912 | Democratic | Luther Manship | 35 | |||
38 | ![]() |
Earl L. Brewer | January 16, 1912 | January 18, 1916 | Democratic | Theodore G. Bilbo | 36 | |||
39 | ![]() |
Theodore G. Bilbo | January 18, 1916 | January 18, 1920 | Democratic | Lee M. Russell | 37 | |||
40 | ![]() |
Lee M. Russell | January 18, 1920 | January 18, 1924 | Democratic | Homer H. Casteel | 38 | |||
41 | ![]() |
Henry L. Whitfield | January 22, 1924 | March 18, 1927 | Democratic | Dennis Murphree | 39 | [N 2] | ||
42 | ![]() |
Dennis Murphree | March 18, 1927 | January 16, 1928 | Democratic | -- | [N 19] | |||
43 | ![]() |
Theodore G. Bilbo | January 16, 1928 | January 19, 1932 | Democratic | Cayton B. Adam | 40 | |||
44 | ![]() |
Martin Sennet Conner | January 19, 1932 | January 21, 1936 | Democratic | Dennis Murphree | 41 | |||
45 | ![]() |
Hugh L. White | January 21, 1936 | January 16, 1940 | Democratic | Jacob Buehler Snider | 42 | |||
46 | ![]() |
Paul B. Johnson Sr. | January 16, 1940 | December 26, 1943 | Democratic | Dennis Murphree | 43 | [N 2] | ||
47 | ![]() |
Dennis Murphree | December 26, 1943 | January 18, 1944 | Democratic | -- | [N 19] | |||
48 | ![]() |
Thomas L. Bailey | January 18, 1944 | November 2, 1946 | Democratic | Fielding L. Wright | 44 | [N 2] | ||
49/50[N 23] | ![]() |
Fielding L. Wright | November 2, 1946 | January 22, 1952 | Democratic | -- | [N 24] | |||
Sam Lumpkin | 45 | |||||||||
51 | ![]() |
Hugh L. White | January 22, 1952 | January 17, 1956 | Democratic | Carroll Gartin | 46 | |||
52 | ![]() |
James P. Coleman | January 17, 1956 | January 19, 1960 | Democratic | 47 | ||||
53 | ![]() |
Ross Barnett | January 19, 1960 | January 21, 1964 | Democratic | Paul B. Johnson, Jr. | 48 | |||
54 | ![]() |
Paul B. Johnson Jr. | January 21, 1964 | January 16, 1968 | Democratic | Carroll Gartin | 49 | |||
-- | ||||||||||
55 | ![]() |
John Bell Williams | January 16, 1968 | January 18, 1972 | Democratic | Charles L. Sullivan | 50 | |||
56 | ![]() |
William Waller | January 18, 1972 | January 20, 1976 | Democratic | William F. Winter | 51 | |||
57 | ![]() |
Cliff Finch | January 20, 1976 | January 22, 1980 | Democratic | Evelyn Gandy | 52 | |||
58 | ![]() |
William Winter | January 22, 1980 | January 10, 1984 | Democratic | Brad Dye | 53 | |||
59 | ![]() |
William Allain | January 10, 1984 | January 12, 1988 | Democratic | 54 | ||||
60 | ![]() |
Ray Mabus | January 12, 1988 | January 14, 1992 | Democratic | 55 | ||||
61 | ![]() |
Kirk Fordice | January 14, 1992 | January 11, 2000 | Republican | Eddie Briggs | 56 | |||
Ronnie Musgrove | 57 | |||||||||
62 | ![]() |
Ronnie Musgrove | January 11, 2000 | January 13, 2004 | Democratic | Amy Tuck[N 25] | 58 | |||
63 | ![]() |
Haley Barbour | January 13, 2004 | January 10, 2012 | Republican | 59 | ||||
Phil Bryant | 60 | |||||||||
64 | ![]() |
Phil Bryant | January 10, 2012 | January 14, 2020 | Republican | Tate Reeves | 61 | |||
62 | ||||||||||
65 | ![]() |
Tate Reeves | January 14, 2020 | Incumbent | Republican | Delbert Hosemann | 63 |
This is a table of congressional, confederate, other governorships, and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Mississippi except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.
As of December 2020Haley Barbour (served 2004-2012, born 1947). The most recent Governor of Mississippi to die was William Winter (served 1980-1984, born 1923) on December 18, 2020. The most recently serving governor of Mississippi to die was Kirk Fordice (served 1992-2000) on September 7, 2004.
, there are four living former Mississippi governors, the oldest Governor of Mississippi beingGovernor | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth (and age) |
---|---|---|
Ray Mabus | 1988-1992 | October 11, 1948 |
Ronnie Musgrove | 2000-2004 | July 29, 1956 |
Haley Barbour | 2004-2012 | October 22, 1947 |
Phil Bryant | 2012-2020 | December 9, 1954 |