List of Governors of Texas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image:Texasflaginstate.PNG
History of Texas
French Texas
Spanish Texas
Mexican Texas
Republic of Texas
Texas in the Civil War
State of Texas
Number of Governors of Texas by party affiliation
Party Governors
Democratic 39
Republican 6
Unionist 1
Independent 1

In politics, Governor of Texas is the title given to the chief executive of the state of Texas. As in many Southern states, Louisiana excepted, the Governor's power is quite limited. When the office was created by the Texas Constitution of 1876, the authors dispersed much of the power traditionally given to the office of the governor to independently elected officials, creating what some refer to as a "plural executive." [1] With the exception of the Secretary of State, the remaining members of the Governor's cabinet are also elected by popular vote. In addition, because the Lieutenant Governor runs on a separate ticket, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor can be (and have been) from different political parties.

In Texas, gubernatorial elections are held in the same year as mid-term elections (when Congressional, but not Presidential, elections are held, i.e. 2002, 2006, 2010,...). As is the case in most states, Texas governors are elected to four-year terms (prior to 1974 they were elected to two-year terms). There are no term limits on the office; current Governor Rick Perry was re-elected to a second full term in 2006 and has declared he will run again in 2010 (at the end of his current term, he will be Texas' longest-serving governor, with roughly ten consecutive years in office).

A significant limitation on gubernatorial power involves the commutation of prisoner sentences, an issue which arises whenever a death penalty sentence is to be carried out. The Governor can only overturn a death sentence upon the positive recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, the Governor can choose to ignore the Board's clemency recommendation and carry out the execution, but the opposite is not true—the Governor cannot commute or overturn a sentence if the Board does not recommend such. The only unilateral option the Governor has is to issue one 30-day stay of execution.

The governor does have one key power that the Texas Legislature does not have—the governor can call the Legislature into special session for 30 days, as many times as the governor desires (the Legislature cannot call itself into session). These special sessions can only address issues located on the governor's "call", which can be changed at any time by the governor.

Contents

[edit] Leaders before being part of the United States

Governors of the Republic of Texas
Name Term
Henry Smith 14 November 1835 - 11 January 1836
James W. Robinson (acting) 11 January 1836 - 1 March 1836
Presidents of the Republic of Texas
Name Vice-President Term
David G. Burnet[2] (interim) Lorenzo de Zavala[2] (interim) 16 March - 22 October 1836
Sam Houston (1st time) Mirabeau B. Lamar 22 October 1836 - 10 December 1838
Mirabeau B. Lamar David G. Burnet 10 December 1838 - 13 December 1841
Sam Houston (2nd time) Edward Burleson 13 December 1841 - 9 December 1844
Anson Jones Kenneth Anderson 9 December 1844 - 29 December 1846

[edit] Governors of the State of Texas

No. Governor Picture Took office Left office Party Notes
1 James Pinckney Henderson February 19, 1846 December 21, 1847 Democratic
2 George T. Wood December 21, 1847 December 21, 1849 Democratic
3 Peter Hansborough Bell December 21, 1849 November 23, 1853 Democratic [3]
4 James W. Henderson November 23, 1853 December 21, 1853 Democratic
5 Elisha M. Pease December 21, 1853 December 21, 1857 Unionist
6 Hardin R. Runnels December 21, 1857 December 21, 1859 Democratic
7 Sam Houston December 12, 1859 March 16, 1861 Independent [4]
8 Edward Clark March 16, 1861 November 7, 1861 Democratic
9 Francis R. Lubbock November 7, 1861 November 5, 1863 Democratic [5]
10 Pendleton Murrah November 5, 1863 June 17, 1865 Democratic
11 Andrew J. Hamilton June 17, 1865 August 9, 1866 Democratic
12 James W. Throckmorton August 9, 1866 August 8, 1867 Democratic
13 Elisha M. Pease June 8, 1867 September 30, 1869 Republican [6]
14 Edmund J. Davis January 8, 1870 January 15, 1874 Republican
15 Richard Coke January 15, 1874 December 21, 1876 Democratic [7]
16 Richard B. Hubbard December 21, 1876 January 21, 1879 Democratic
17 Oran M. Roberts January 21, 1879 January 16, 1883 Democratic
18 John Ireland January 16, 1883 January 20, 1887 Democratic
19 Lawrence Sullivan Ross January 18, 1887 January 20, 1891 Democratic
20 James Stephen Hogg January 20, 1891 January 15, 1895 Democratic
21 Charles A. Culberson January 15, 1895 January 17, 1899 Democratic
22 Joseph D. Sayers January 17, 1899 January 20, 1903 Democratic
23 S. W. T. Lanham January 20, 1903 January 15, 1907 Democratic
24 Thomas Mitchell Campbell January 15, 1907 January 17, 1911 Democratic
25 Oscar Branch Colquitt January 17, 1911 January 19, 1915 Democratic
26 James E. "Pa" Ferguson January 19, 1915 August 25, 1917 Democratic [8]
27 William P. Hobby August 25, 1917 January 18, 1921 Democratic
28 Pat Morris Neff January 18, 1921 January 20, 1925 Democratic
29 Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson January 20, 1925 January 17, 1927 Democratic
30 Dan Moody January 17, 1927 January 20, 1931 Democratic
31 Ross S. Sterling January 20, 1931 January 17, 1933 Democratic
32 Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson January 17, 1933 January 15, 1935 Democratic
33 James V. Allred January 15, 1935 January 17, 1939 Democratic
34 W. Lee O'Daniel January 17, 1939 August 4, 1941 Democratic [9]
35 Coke R. Stevenson August 4, 1941 January 21, 1947 Democratic
36 Beauford H. Jester January 21, 1947 July 11, 1949 Democratic [10]
37 Allan Shivers July 11, 1949 January 15, 1957 Democratic [11]
38 Price Daniel January 15, 1957 January 21, 1963 Democratic
39 John Connally January 15, 1963 January 21, 1969 Democratic
40 Preston Smith January 21, 1969 January 16, 1973 Democratic
41 Dolph Briscoe January 16, 1973 January 16, 1979 Democratic
42 Bill Clements January 16, 1979 January 18, 1983 Republican
43 Mark White January 18, 1983 January 20, 1987 Democratic
44 Bill Clements January 20, 1987 January 15, 1991 Republican
45 Ann Richards January 15, 1991 January 17, 1995 Democratic
46 George W. Bush January 17, 1995 December 21, 2000 Republican [12]
47 Rick Perry December 21, 2000 Present Republican [13]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b Elected by Convention of 1836 delegates
  3. ^ Resigned to occupy vacant U.S. Congress seat.
  4. ^ Resigned due to state's secession from Union.
  5. ^ Resigned to serve in Confederate Army.
  6. ^ Resigned.
  7. ^ Resigned to enter U.S. Senate.
  8. ^ Impeached.
  9. ^ Resigned to become U.S. Senator.
  10. ^ Died in office, the only sitting Texas Governor to do so.
  11. ^ Succeeded upon Jester's death. Elected in 1950, re-elected in 1952 and 1954.
  12. ^ Re-elected in 1998. Resigned 12/21/2000.
  13. ^ Sworn in after Bush resignation. Elected in 2002, re-elected in 2006.

[edit] Living former governors

As of November 2007, four former governors were alive, the oldest being Bill Clements (1979–1983, 1987–1991, born 1917). The most recent governor to die was Ann Richards (1991–1995), on September 13, 2006.

Name Gubernatorial term Date of birth
Dolph Briscoe 1973–1979 April 23, 1923
Bill Clements 1979–1983, 1987–1991 April 17, 1917
Mark White 1983–1987 March 17, 1940
George W. Bush 1995–2000 July 6, 1946

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Lists of chief executives of the United States
President
State governors
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Territorial executives
Defunct