List of Governors of New York

The Governor of New York is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[1] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, to convene the New York legislature,^[1] the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the legislature,^[2] and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.^[3]

Fifty-six individuals have served as governor, four of whom served non-consecutive terms, totaling 60 distinct terms; the official numbering only lists each governor once, so there have officially been fifty-six governors. This numbering includes one acting governor: the lieutenant governor who filled the vacancy after the resignation of the governor, under the 1777 State Constitution.^[4] The list does not include people who have acted as governor when the governor was out of state, such as Lt. Gov. Timothy L. Woodruff during Theodore Roosevelt's vice presidential campaign in 1900, or Acting Speaker of the New York State Assembly Moses M. Weinstein, who acted as governor for ten days in 1968 while the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the senate majority leader were out of the state, attending the Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida.^[5]

Four men have become President of the United States after serving as Governor of New York: Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and six were Vice President of the United States. (Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt held both offices.) Two governors have been Chief Justice of the United States: John Jay held that position when he was elected governor in 1795, and Charles Evans Hughes became chief justice in 1930, two decades after leaving the governorship.

The longest-serving governor was the first, George Clinton, who first took office on July 30, 1777, and served seven terms in two different periods, totaling just under 21 years in office. (As 18 of those years were consecutive, Clinton also served the longest consecutive period in office for a New York governor.) Charles Poletti had the shortest term, serving 29 days following the resignation of the previous governor in 1942. The current governor is Andrew Cuomo, who took office on January 1, 2011.

Governors

New York was one of the original thirteen colonies, and was admitted as a state on July 26, 1788. Prior to declaring its independence, New York was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain, which it in turn obtained from the Dutch as the colony of New Netherland; see the lists of colonial governors and of directors-general of New Netherland for the pre-statehood period.

The office of governor was established by the first New York State Constitution in 1777. The governor was originally for a term of three years,^[6] though the constitution did not specify when the term began. A 1787 law set the start of the term at July 1.^[7] The New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 amended the state constitution, reducing the term of office to two years,^[8] moving the election to November,^[9] and moving the beginning and the end of the term to coincide with the calendar year.^[10] An 1874 amendment extended the term of office back to three years,^[11] but the 1894 constitution again reduced it to two years.^[12] The most recent constitution of 1938 extended the term to the current four years.^[13] There is no limit to the amount of consecutive terms a governor may serve.

The state constitution has provided since 1777 for the election of a lieutenant governor, who is also ex officio president of the state senate, to the same term (keeping the same term lengths as the governor throughout all the constitutional revisions). Originally, in the event of the death, resignation or impeachment of the governor, the lieutenant governor would become acting governor until the end of the yearly legislative term, the office being filled in a special election, if there was a remainder of the term.^[14] Since the 1821 constitution, the lieutenant governor explicitly becomes governor upon such vacancy in the office and serves for the entire remainder of the term.^[15] Should the office of lieutenant governor become vacant, the president pro tempore of the state senate^{[note 1]} performs all the duties of the lieutenant governor until the vacancy is filled either at the next gubernatorial election or by appointment.^{[note 2]} Likewise, should both offices become vacant at the same time, the president pro tempore acts as governor, with the office of lieutenant governor remaining vacant. Should the presidency pro tempore be vacant too, or the incumbent unable to fulfill the duties, the speaker of the assembly is next in the line of succession.^[16] The lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor, since 1954 with a single joint vote cast for both offices, but is nominated separately.^[17]

George Clinton, first Governor of New York, and 4th Vice President of the United States John Jay, 2nd Governor of New York, and first Chief Justice of the United States Daniel D. Tompkins, 4th Governor of New York, and 6th Vice President of the United States DeWitt Clinton, 6th Governor of New York, and the Federalist nominee for the 1812 U.S. presidential election Martin Van Buren, 9th Governor of New York, 8th Vice President of the United States, and 8th President of the United States William H. Seward, 12th Governor of New York, Secretary of State, and known for acquiring Alaska for the United States Horatio Seymour, 18th Governor of New York, and the Democratic nominee for the 1868 U.S. presidential election Samuel J. Tilden, 25th Governor of New York, and the Democratic nominee for the 1876 U.S. presidential election Grover Cleveland, 28th Governor of New York, and 22nd and 24th President of the United States Levi P. Morton, 31st Governor of New York, and 22nd Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, 33rd Governor of New York, 25th Vice President of the United States, and 26th President of the United States Charles Evans Hughes, 36th Governor of New York, 11th Chief Justice of the United States, and the Republican nominee for the 1916 U.S. presidential election Al Smith, 42nd Governor of New York, and the Democratic nominee for the 1928 U.S. presidential election Franklin D. Roosevelt, 44th Governor of New York, and 32nd President of the United States Thomas E. Dewey, 47th Governor of New York, and the Republican nominee for the 1944 and 1948 U.S. presidential election Nelson Rockefeller, 49th Governor of New York, and 41st Vice President of the United States Andrew Cuomo, 56th Governor of New York (incumbent)

Parties

      Democratic (26)       Democratic-Republican (9)       Federalist (1)       Republican (18)       Whig (5)

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional and other federal offices, and ranking diplomatic positions to foreign countries held by New York governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented New York.

* Denotes those offices for which the governor resigned the governorship.

† Denotes those offices from which the governor resigned to take the governorship.

Living former governors

As of May 2015, three former governors were alive, the oldest being George Pataki (1995–2006, born 1945). The most recent governor to die was Mario Cuomo (1983–1994), on January 1, 2015; he is also the most recently serving governor to have died.

See also

• New York gubernatorial elections

Notes

References

General

Constitutions

Specific

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of New York.

• Office of the Governor of New York

Governors and Lieutenant Governors of New York Governors G. Clinton Jay G. Clinton Lewis Tompkins Tayler D. Clinton Yates D. Clinton Pitcher Van Buren Throop Marcy Seward Bouck Wright Young Fish Hunt Seymour Clark King Morgan Seymour Fenton Hoffman J. Adams Dix Tilden Robinson Cornell Cleveland Hill Flower Morton Black T. Roosevelt Odell Higgins Hughes White J. Alden Dix Sulzer Glynn Whitman Smith Miller Smith F. Roosevelt Lehman Poletti Dewey Harriman Rockefeller Wilson Carey M. Cuomo Pataki Spitzer Paterson A. Cuomo Lieutenant Governors Van Cortlandt S. Van Rensselaer J. Van Rensselaer Broome Tayler Clinton Tayler Swift Tayler Root Tallmadge Pitcher P. Livingston Dayan Throop Stebbins Oliver E. Livingston Tracy Bradish Dickinson Gardiner Lester Fish Patterson Church Raymond Selden Campbell Floyd-Jones Alvord Woodford Beach Robinson Dorsheimer Hoskins Hill McCarthy Jones Sheehan Saxton Woodruff Higgins Bruce Raines Chanler White Cobb Conway Glynn Wagner Schoeneck Walker Wood Lusk Lunn Lowman Corning Lehman Bray Poletti Hanley Wallace Hanley Moore Wicks Mahoney DeLuca Wilson Anderson Krupsak Cuomo DelBello Anderson Lundine McCaughey Donohue Paterson Bruno Skelos Smith Espada Ravitch Duffy Hochul Italics indicate acting officeholders

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