List of United States Presidents by political occupation

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This is a list of U.S. Presidents by political occupation; that is, a list of various other political offices held by Presidents of the United States.

= indicates order of sorting. ↑* = indicates sorted by his order as President.

Contents

[edit] U.S. Vice Presidents

Vice-President President served under Year(s) served ↑
John Adams George Washington 1789 - 1797
Thomas Jefferson John Adams 1797 - 1801
Martin Van Buren Andrew Jackson 1833 - 1837
John Tyler William Harrison 1841
Millard Fillmore Zachary Taylor 1849 - 1850
Andrew Johnson Abraham Lincoln 1865
Chester A. Arthur James A. Garfield 1881
Theodore Roosevelt William McKinley 1901
Calvin Coolidge Warren Harding 1921 - 1923
Harry Truman Franklin D. Roosevelt 1945
Richard Nixon Dwight Eisenhower 1953 - 1961
Lyndon Johnson John Kennedy 1961 - 1963
Gerald Ford Richard Nixon 1973 - 1974
George H.W. Bush Ronald Reagan 1981 - 1989

[edit] U.S. Cabinet

[edit] Department of State

President ↑* Position President served under Year(s) served
John Adams Minister to Britain (Continental Congress) 1785 - 1788
Thomas Jefferson Minister Plenipotentiary to France (Continental Congress) 1785 - 1789
Secretary of State George Washington 1790 - 1793
John Q. Adams Minister to Germany John Adams 1797 - 1801
Minister to Russia James Madison 1809 - 1814
Minister to Britain James Madison 1815 - 1817
Secretary of State James Monroe 1817 - 1825
James Madison Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson 1801 - 1809
James Monroe Minister Plenipotentiary to France George Washington 1794 - 1796
Minister to Britain Thomas Jefferson 1803-1807
Secretary of State James Madison 1811 - 1814, 1815 - 1817
Martin Van Buren Secretary of State Andrew Jackson 1829 - 1831
Minister to Britain Andrew Jackson 1831 - 1832
William H. Harrison Minister to Colombia John Q. Adams 1828 - 1829
James Buchanan Secretary of State James Polk 1845 - 1849
Minister to Britain Franklin Pierce 1853 - 1856

[edit] Departments of War and Navy

President ↑* Position President served under Year(s) served
James Monroe Secretary of War James Madison 1814 - 1815
Theodore Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy William McKinley 1897 - 1898
William Taft Secretary of War Theodore Roosevelt 1904 - 1908
Franklin Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy Woodrow Wilson 1913 - 1917

[edit] Department of Commerce

President ↑* Position President served under Year(s) served
Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce Warren Harding,
Calvin Coolidge
1921 - 1928

[edit] Delegates to the Continental Congresses

President ↑* State Year(s) served ↑
George Washington Virginia 1774-1775
John Adams Massachusetts 1774-1778
Thomas Jefferson Virginia 1775-1776, 1783-1785
James Madison Virginia 1780-1783
James Monroe Virginia 1783-1786

[edit] United States Congress

[edit] Senators

State ↑ President Year(s) served Notes
California Richard Nixon 1951 - 1953
Indiana Benjamin Harrison 1881 - 1887
Massachusetts John Q. Adams 1803 - 1808
Massachusetts John Kennedy 1953 - 1960
Missouri Harry Truman 1935 - 1945
New Hampshire Franklin Pierce 1837 - 1842
New York Martin Van Buren 1821 - 1828
Ohio William Harrison 1825 - 1828
Ohio Warren Harding 1915 - 1921
Pennsylvania James Buchanan 1834 - 1845
Tennessee Andrew Jackson 1797 - 1798, 1823 - 1825
Tennessee Andrew Johnson 1857 - 1862, 1875 Only former President in the Senate
Texas Lyndon Johnson 1949 - 1960 Minority Leader 1953-1955, Majority Leader 1955-1960
Virginia James Monroe 1790 - 1794
Virginia John Tyler 1827 - 1836

[edit] Members of the House of Representatives

State ↑ President Year(s) served Notes
California Richard Nixon 1947 - 1950 Later ran for Senate
Illinois Abraham Lincoln 1847 - 1849 Only political occupation ever held before becoming President
Massachusetts John Q. Adams 1831 - 1848 Only former President in the House of Representatives
John F. Kennedy 1947 - 1953 Later ran for Senate
Michigan Gerald Ford 1949 - 1973 Minority Leader 1965-1973
New Hampshire Franklin Pierce 1833 - 1837 Later ran for Senate
New York Millard Fillmore 1833 - 1835, 1837 - 1843
Northwest Territory William Harrison 1799 - 1800 (delegate)
Ohio William Harrison 1816 - 1819
Rutherford Hayes 1865 - 1867
James Garfield 1863 - 1880 Republican Floor Leader
William McKinley 1877 - 1883, 1885 - 1891
Pennsylvania James Buchanan 1821 - 1831
Tennessee Andrew Jackson 1796 - 1797
James Polk 1825 - 1839 Only former Speaker to become President
Andrew Johnson 1843 - 1853 Later ran for Senate
Texas Lyndon Johnson 1937 - 1949 Later ran for Senate
George H. W. Bush 1967 - 1971 Later ran for Senate
Virginia James Madison 1789 - 1797
John Tyler 1816 - 1821

[edit] Governors

[edit] States

State ↑ President Year(s) served Notes
Arkansas Bill Clinton 1979-1981, 1983-1992
California Ronald Reagan 1967-1975
Georgia Jimmy Carter 1971-1975
Massachusetts Calvin Coolidge 1919-1921 In 1919, Coolidge gained national attention when he ordered the Massachusetts National Guard to forcefully end the Boston Police Department strike.
New Jersey Woodrow Wilson 1911-1913
New York Martin Van Buren 1829
Grover Cleveland 1883-1885
Theodore Roosevelt 1899-1901
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1929-1933 Many policies Roosevelt enacted as governor later were used in the New Deal
Ohio Rutherford Hayes 1868-1872, 1876-1877
William McKinley 1892-1896
Tennessee James Polk 1839-1841
Andrew Johnson 1853-1857
1862-1864 military governor
Texas George W. Bush 1995-2000
Virginia Thomas Jefferson 1779-1781
James Monroe 1799-1802, 1811
John Tyler 1825-1827

[edit] Territories and foreign possessions

President ↑ Location Year(s) served
Andrew Jackson Military Governor of Florida Territory 1821
William Harrison Occasional Acting Governor of the Northwest Territory 1798-1799
Governor of Indiana Territory 1801-1813
Interim authority of the District of Louisiana 1804-1805
William Taft Governor-General of the Philippines 1901-1904

[edit] Other statewide offices

President ↑* Office and Jurisdiction Year(s) served
Martin Van Buren Attorney General of New York 1815 - 1819
Warren G. Harding Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1903 - 1905
Calvin Coolidge Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1916 - 1918
Bill Clinton Attorney General of Arkansas 1977 - 1979

[edit] Municipal offices

President ↑* Office and jurisdiction Year(s) served
Andrew Johnson Alderman, Greeneville, Tennessee 1828-1830
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee 1830-1833
Grover Cleveland Mayor of Buffalo, New York 1881-1883
Theodore Roosevelt President of the New York Board of Police Commissioners 1895 - 1897
Calvin Coolidge Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts 1910-1911

[edit] Lost races

Other than re-election to the Presidency

President Office and jurisdiction Year ↑ Notes
Thomas Jefferson President of the United States 1796 Won in 1800, 1804
Andrew Jackson President of the United States 1824 Won in 1828, 1832
William H. Harrison President of the United States 1836 Won in 1840
Abraham Lincoln Senator of Illinois 1858 Won U.S. presidential election, 1860
Theodore Roosevelt Mayor of New York City 1886 Placed in distant third behind Abram S. Hewitt.
Franklin Roosevelt Vice President of the United States 1920 Later became Governor of New York (1929-33)
Richard Nixon President of the United States 1960 Won in 1968, 1972
Governor of California 1962 Lost to Pat Brown by nearly 300,000 votes; Nixon's concession speech was his "last press conference. … You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more."
Jimmy Carter Governor of Georgia 1966 Later won the office in 1970
Ronald Reagan Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1968, 1976 Later won in 1980, 1984
George H.W. Bush United States Senator 1964, 1970 Lost to Ralph Yarborough in 1964 and Lloyd Bentsen in 1970
Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1980 Won presidency in 1988 but lost re-election in 1992
Bill Clinton Governor of Arkansas (re-election) 1980 Won in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990
George W. Bush Congressman 1978 Lost to Kent Hance in 1978

William H. Taft is only President to become a supreme court Justice.