Governor of Pennsylvania |
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Standard of the Governor of Pennsylvania |
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Residence | Governor's Mansion |
Term length | four years |
Inaugural holder | Thomas Mifflin |
Formation | December 21, 1790 |
Deputy | Joe Scarnati |
Salary | $174,914 (2010)[1] |
Website | governor.state.pa.us |
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of the executive branch of Pennsylvania's government[2] and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.[3] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature.[4] and to convene the legislature.[5] The governor may grant pardons except in cases of impeachment, but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons.[6]
There have been seven presidents and 45 governors of Pennsylvania, with two governors serving non-consecutive terms, totalling 54 terms in both offices. The longest term was that of the first governor, Thomas Mifflin, who served three full terms as governor in addition to two years as president. The shortest term belonged to John C. Bell, Jr., who served only 19 days as acting governor after his predecessor resigned. The current governor is Ed Rendell, whose second term began on January 16, 2007.
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Pennsylvania was one of the original thirteen colonies, and was admitted as a state on December 12, 1787. Prior to declaring its independence, Pennsylvania was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain; see the list colonial governors for the pre-statehood period.
The first constitution in 1776 created the Supreme Executive Council as the executive branch, with the President as its head.[7] The president was chosen annually by the council, though with no specific term dates.[8]
The original 1776 constitution created the position of "vice-president", though no provision was made if the office of president became vacant, which occurred four times. Contemporary sources continue to label the chief executive in such times as the vice president, without any notion of succeeding to the presidency. One acting president, George Bryan, has since been recognized as a full-fledged governor, due to his acting as president for over six months.
# | President | Took office | Left office | Vice President |
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1 | Thomas Wharton Jr. | March 5, 1777 | May 23, 1778 [note 1] |
George Bryan |
2 | George Bryan | May 23, 1778 | December 1, 1778 | acting as president [note 2] |
3 | Joseph Reed | December 1, 1778 | November 15, 1781 | George Bryan [note 3] |
Matthew Smith [note 3] |
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William Moore | ||||
4 | William Moore | November 15, 1781 | November 7, 1782 | James Potter |
5 | John Dickinson | November 7, 1782 | October 18, 1785 | James Ewing |
James Irvine [note 3] |
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Charles Biddle | ||||
6 | Benjamin Franklin | October 18, 1785 | November 5, 1788 | Charles Biddle |
Peter Muhlenberg [note 3] |
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David Redick | ||||
7 | Thomas Mifflin | November 5, 1788 | December 21, 1790 | George Ross |
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The 1790 constitution abolished the council and replaced the president with a governor,[9] and established a three-year term for governor commencing on the third Tuesday of the December following the election, with governors not allowed to serve more than nine out of any twelve years.[10] The 1838 constitution moved the start of the term to the third Tuesday of the January following the election, and allowed governors to only serve six out of any nine years.[11] The 1874 constitution lengthened the term to four years, and prohibited governors from succeeding themselves.[12] The current constitution of 1968 changed this to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms.[13] There are no limits on the number of terms a governor may serve in total as long as there is a four year break after a second term.
If the office of governor becomes vacant through death, resignation, or conviction on impeachment, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor only acts out the duties of governor.[14] Should both offices be vacant, the president pro tempore of the state senate becomes governor.[15] The position of lieutenant governor was created in the 1874 constitution; prior to then, the speaker of the senate would act as governor in cases of vacancy. Originally, the lieutenant governor could only act as governor; it was not until the 1968 constitution that the lieutenant governor could actually become governor in that fashion. The office of governor has been vacant for an extended period once, a 17-day gap in 1848 between the death of the previous governor and the swearing in of his acting successor. Governors and lieutenant governors are elected on the same ticket.[16]
Anti-Masonic (1) Democratic (12) Democratic-Republican (6) None (1) Republican (25) Whig (1)
# | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Lt. Governor [note 4] |
Terms [note 5] |
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1 | Thomas Mifflin | December 21, 1790 | December 17, 1799 | None [note 6] |
None | 3 [note 7] |
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2 | Thomas McKean | December 17, 1799 | December 20, 1808 | Democratic- Republican |
3 | |||
3 | Simon Snyder | December 20, 1808 | December 16, 1817 | Democratic- Republican |
3 | |||
4 | William Findlay | December 16, 1817 | December 19, 1820 | Democratic- Republican |
1 | |||
5 | Joseph Hiester | December 19, 1820 | December 16, 1823 | Democratic- Republican |
1 | |||
6 | John Andrew Shulze | December 16, 1823 | December 15, 1829 | Democratic- Republican |
2 | |||
7 | George Wolf | December 15, 1829 | December 15, 1835 | Democratic- Republican |
2 | |||
8 | Joseph Ritner | December 15, 1835 | January 15, 1839 | Anti-Masonic | 1 [note 8] |
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9 | David R. Porter | January 15, 1839 | January 21, 1845 | Democratic | 2 [note 9] |
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10 | Francis R. Shunk | January 21, 1845 | July 9, 1848 | Democratic | 1 1⁄2 [note 10] |
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— | Office vacant | July 9, 1848 | July 26, 1848 | — | — [note 11] |
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11 | William F. Johnston | July 26, 1848 | January 20, 1852 | Whig | 1 1⁄2 [note 12] |
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12 | William Bigler | January 20, 1852 | January 16, 1855 | Democratic | 1 | |||
13 | James Pollock | January 16, 1855 | January 19, 1858 | Whig | 1 | |||
14 | William F. Packer | January 19, 1858 | January 15, 1861 | Democratic | 1 | |||
15 | Andrew Gregg Curtin | January 15, 1861 | January 15, 1867 | Republican | 2 | |||
16 | John W. Geary | January 15, 1867 | January 21, 1873 | Republican | 2 | |||
17 | John F. Hartranft | January 21, 1873 | January 21, 1879 | Republican | None | 2 [note 13] |
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John Latta | ||||||||
18 | Henry M. Hoyt | January 21, 1879 | January 16, 1883 | Republican | Charles Warren Stone | 1 | ||
19 | Robert E. Pattison | January 16, 1883 | January 18, 1887 | Democratic | Chauncey Forward Black | 1 | ||
20 | James A. Beaver | January 18, 1887 | January 20, 1891 | Republican | William T. Davies | 1 | ||
19 | Robert E. Pattison | January 20, 1891 | January 15, 1895 | Democratic | Louis Arthur Watres | 1 | ||
21 | Daniel H. Hastings | January 15, 1895 | January 17, 1899 | Republican | Walter Lyon | 1 | ||
22 | William A. Stone | January 17, 1899 | January 20, 1903 | Republican | John P. S. Gobin | 1 | ||
23 | Samuel W. Pennypacker | January 20, 1903 | January 15, 1907 | Republican | William M. Brown | 1 | ||
24 | Edwin Sydney Stuart | January 15, 1907 | January 17, 1911 | Republican | Robert S. Murphy | 1 | ||
25 | John K. Tener | January 17, 1911 | January 19, 1915 | Republican | John Merriman Reynolds | 1 | ||
26 | Martin Grove Brumbaugh | January 19, 1915 | January 21, 1919 | Republican | Frank B. McClain | 1 | ||
27 | William Cameron Sproul | January 21, 1919 | January 16, 1923 | Republican | Edward E. Beidleman | 1 | ||
28 | Gifford Pinchot | January 16, 1923 | January 18, 1927 | Republican | David J. Davis | 1 | ||
29 | John Stuchell Fisher | January 18, 1927 | January 20, 1931 | Republican | Arthur James | 1 | ||
28 | Gifford Pinchot | January 20, 1931 | January 15, 1935 | Republican | Edward C. Shannon | 1 | ||
30 | George Howard Earle III | January 15, 1935 | January 17, 1939 | Democratic | Thomas Kennedy | 1 | ||
31 | Arthur James | January 17, 1939 | January 19, 1943 | Republican | Samuel S. Lewis | 1 | ||
32 | Edward Martin | January 19, 1943 | January 2, 1947 | Republican | John C. Bell, Jr. | 1⁄2 [note 14] |
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33 | John C. Bell, Jr. | January 2, 1947 | January 21, 1947 | Republican | vacant | 1⁄2 [note 15] |
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34 | James H. Duff | January 21, 1947 | January 16, 1951 | Republican | Daniel B. Strickler | 1 | ||
35 | John S. Fine | January 16, 1951 | January 18, 1955 | Republican | Lloyd H. Wood | 1 | ||
36 | George M. Leader | January 18, 1955 | January 20, 1959 | Democratic | Roy E. Furman | 1 | ||
37 | David L. Lawrence | January 20, 1959 | January 15, 1963 | Democratic | John Morgan Davis | 1 | ||
38 | William Scranton | January 15, 1963 | January 17, 1967 | Republican | Raymond P. Shafer | 1 | ||
39 | Raymond P. Shafer | January 17, 1967 | January 19, 1971 | Republican | Raymond J. Broderick | 1 | ||
40 | Milton Shapp | January 19, 1971 | January 16, 1979 | Democratic | Ernest P. Kline | 2 [note 16] |
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41 | Dick Thornburgh | January 16, 1979 | January 20, 1987 | Republican | William Scranton, III | 2 | ||
42 | Robert P. Casey | January 20, 1987 | January 17, 1995 | Democratic | Mark Singel | 2 [note 17] |
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43 | Tom Ridge | January 17, 1995 | October 5, 2001 | Republican | Mark S. Schweiker | 1 1⁄2 [note 18] |
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44 | Mark S. Schweiker | October 5, 2001 | January 21, 2003 | Republican | Robert Jubelirer | 1⁄2 [note 19] |
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45 | Ed Rendell | January 21, 2003 | Incumbent | Democratic | Catherine Baker Knoll | 2 [note 20] |
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Joe Scarnati |
This is a table of other governorships, congressional and other federal offices, and ranking diplomatic positions in foreign countries held by Pennsylvania governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Pennsylvania except where noted.
Name | Gubernatorial term | U.S. Congress | Other offices held | Source | |
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House | Senate | ||||
Joseph Reed | 1778–1781 | Delegate to the Continental Congress; elected to the U.S. House but declined his seat. | [20] | ||
John Dickinson | 1782–1785 | President of Delaware, Delegate to the Continental Congress from Delaware, Delegate to the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania | [21] | ||
Benjamin Franklin | 1785–1788 | Minister to France, Minister to Sweden | [22] | ||
Thomas Mifflin | 1790–1799 | President of the Continental Congress | [23] | ||
Thomas McKean | 1799–1808 | President of Delaware, President of the Continental Congress | [24] | ||
Simon Snyder | 1808–1817 | Some records say he was elected to the U.S. Senate, but some only say state senate. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress has no record of a U.S. Senate term. | [25] | ||
William Findlay | 1817–1820 | S | [26] | ||
Joseph Hiester | 1820–1823 | H† | [27] | ||
George Wolf | 1829–1835 | H† | [28] | ||
William Bigler | 1852–1855 | S | [29] | ||
James Pollock | 1855–1858 | H | [30] | ||
Andrew Gregg Curtin | 1861–1867 | H | Ambassador to Russia | [31] | |
John W. Geary | 1867–1876 | Governor of Kansas Territory | [32] | ||
William A. Stone | 1899–1903 | H† | [33] | ||
John K. Tener | 1911–1915 | H† | [34] | ||
George Howard Earle III | 1935–1939 | Ambassador to Austria† | [35] | ||
Edward Martin | 1943–1947 | S | [36] | ||
James H. Duff | 1947–1951 | S | [37] | ||
William Scranton | 1963–1967 | H | Ambassador to the United Nations | [38] | |
Dick Thornburgh | 1979–1987 | U.S. Attorney General | [39] | ||
Tom Ridge | 1995–2001 | H | U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security | [19] |
As of July 2010[update], five former governors are alive. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Raymond P. Shafer (1967–1971), on December 12, 2006.
Name | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth |
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George M. Leader | 1955–1959 | January 17, 1918 |
William Scranton | 1963–1967 | July 19, 1917 |
Dick Thornburgh | 1979–1987 | July 16, 1932 |
Tom Ridge | 1995–2001 | August 26, 1945 |
Mark S. Schweiker | 2001–2003 | January 31, 1953 |
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