Summary

Duties

Source: Wikipedia

The governor is the head of government in Virginia. At the beginning of every regular session, they must report the state of the Commonwealth to the Virginia General Assembly (both the House of Delegates and the Senate). They must convene the legislature when two-thirds of each house calls for a special session. The governor must ensure that the laws of the Commonwealth are faithfully executed by either signing, or allowing it to come into law, or vetoing, not allowing it to become law. They are responsible for the safety of the state, as they serve as commander-in-chief of the Virginia Militia.

Powers

Source: Wikipedia

• The governor has the legislative power to submit recommendations and to call special sessions when he finds them necessary.
• The governor has veto powers. All bills must be sent to the governor before becoming law. The governor may sign the bill, let it sit unsigned for seven days, after which it becomes law, or veto the legislation. After a veto, the bill returns to its house of origin and may be overridden by two-thirds of the vote in each house.
• The governor also has the power to use a line-item veto. He may send legislation back to the legislature with recommendations and amendments. The legislature must either approve the changes by a majority in each house or override the veto with a two-thirds majority in each house.
• The governor is commander-in-chief of Virginia’s militia forces.
• The governor may also communicate with other states and foreign powers.
• The governor has the power to fill vacancies in positions unless the position is appointed by the legislature.
• The governor may commute fines or sentences and issue pardons. The governor may also restore voting rights and overturn other political penalties on individuals.

History

The position of Governor of Virginia dates back to the 1607 first permanent English settlement in America, at Jamestown on the north shore of the James River upstream from Hampton Roads harbor at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The Virginia Company of London set up a government run by a council. The president of the council basically served as a governor. The council was based in London and controlled the colony from afar. Nominally, Thomas Smith was the first president of the council, but he never left England. Edward Maria Wingfield was the first president of the council in residence in the new province, making him the first to exercise the actual authority of governing Virginia. The Virginia Company soon abandoned governance by council two years after the landing on May 23, 1609, and replacing it with a governor, the famous and dynamic leader, John Smith (1580-1631).

In 1624, the English Monarchy of King James I (1566-1625, reigned 1603-1625), in the last year of his reign, of the royal House of Stuart took control from the Virginia Company and its stockholders and made Virginia a crown colony. Governors continued to be appointed by the monarch for many years. Most often, the appointed governor would reside in England while a deputy or lieutenant governor actually exercised authority. Royal rule was interrupted during the English Civil War (1642-46 / 1648-49), after which governors were appointed by the Protectorate under Richard Cromwell (successor to Oliver Cromwell) in the interim Commonwealth of England until the English Restoration of the monarchy with King Charles II in 1660.

Commonwealth

Virginia became an independent sovereign state and Commonwealth during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), with Patrick Henry(1736-1799, served 1776-79 / 1786-89) as its first governor (and also later sixth). From the Revolution until 1851, the governor was elected by the General Assembly of Virginia (commonwealth/state legislature). After 1851, in a democratic trend spreading across the Union, the state turned to popular elections for office holders.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Francis Harrison Pierpont was the governor of the Union-controlled parts of the state, later of which emerged the new state in the northwest of West Virginia. Pierpont also served as one of the provisional governors during the post-war Reconstruction era. These governors were appointed by the Federal government of the President and U.S. Congress, both controlled by Radical Republicans for a decade. In 1874, Virginia regained its right to self-governance and elected James L. Kemper (1823-1895), a Democrat and temporary Conservative Party member and former Confederate general as governor. After the Radical Republican appointees of the post-war Reconstruction era, Virginia would not actually elect another regular Republican as governor until A. Linwood Holton Jr. in 1969. However, in 1881 William E. Cameron was elected governor under the banner of the Readjuster Party, a coalition of Republicans and populist Democrats. Douglas Wilder became the first elected and only the second African American Governor of any U.S. state. He served as governor from 1990 to 1994.

Since 1851, Virginia’s gubernatorial elections have been held in “off-years”—years in which there are no national (presidential, senatorial, or House) elections; Virginia’s gubernatorial elections are held one year after U.S. presidential elections (2001, 2005, 2009, etc.) (Most states hold gubernatorial elections either on presidential-election years or midterm-election years, when there are congressional elections.) In every Virginia gubernatorial election starting with 1977, the governor elected had been from the opposite party as the president elected by the nation in the previous year, even when Virginia had voted for the president in office, as with Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. The only exception being in 2013 with the election of Democrat Terry McAuliffe, following the re-election of President Obama in 2012.

Tim Kaine was inaugurated on January 14, 2006. Due to renovations on the Capitol in Richmond, his inauguration was held in Williamsburg, making him the first governor to be inaugurated in Williamsburg since Thomas Jefferson in 1779. The current governor of Virginia is Ralph Northam, who was inaugurated on January 13, 2018.

Living former Governors

• 

  A. Linwood Holton, Jr.
  served 1970–1974 born September 21, 1923 (age 95)

• 

  Chuck Robb
  served 1982–1986 born June 26, 1939 (age 79)

• 

  Gerald Baliles
  served 1986–1990 born July 8, 1940 (age 78)

• 

  Douglas Wilder
  served 1990–1994 born January 17, 1931 (age 87)

• 

  George Allen
  served 1994–1998 born March 8, 1952 (age 66)

• 

  Jim Gilmore
  served 1998–2002 born October 6, 1949 (age 69)

• 

  Mark Warner
  served 2002–2006 born December 15, 1954 (age 64)

• 

  Tim Kaine
  served 2006–2010 born February 26, 1958 (age 60)

• 

  Bob McDonnell
  served 2010–2014 born June 15, 1954 (age 64)

• 

  Terry McAuliffe
  served 2014–2018 born February 9, 1957 (age 61)

Former Governors

Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Lieutenant Governor	Party	Notes
1		Patrick Henry	July 5, 1776	June 1, 1779	Office vacant1776-1852	None	First under 1776 Constitution (limit of 3 one-year terms)
2		Thomas Jefferson	June 1, 1779	June 3, 1781		None	3rd President of the United States
3		William Fleming	June 3, 1781	June 12, 1781		None
4		Thomas Nelson, Jr.	June 12, 1781	November 22, 1781		None
–		David Jameson	November 22, 1781	December 1, 1781		None	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
5		Benjamin Harrison V	December 1, 1781	December 1, 1784		None
6		Patrick Henry	December 1, 1784	December 1, 1786		None	Re-elected after 5-year hiatus (1 more than constitutional minimum)
7		Edmund Randolph	December 1, 1786	December 1, 1788		None	First under U.S. statehood
8		Beverley Randolph	December 1, 1788	December 1, 1791		None
9		Henry Lee III	December 1, 1791	December 1, 1794		Federalist
10		Robert Brooke	December 1, 1794	December 1, 1796		Democratic-Republican
11		James Wood	December 1, 1796	December 1, 1799		Federalist
–		Hardin Burnley	December 7, 1799	December 11, 1799
–		John Pendleton, Jr.	December 11, 1799	December 19, 1799
12		James Monroe	December 19, 1799	December 1, 1802		Democratic-Republican	U.S. Senator 1790–1794, fifth President of the United States
13		John Page	December 1, 1802	December 7, 1805		Democratic-Republican
14		William H. Cabell	December 7, 1805	December 1, 1808		Democratic-Republican
15		John Tyler, Sr.	December 1, 1808	January 15, 1811		Democratic-Republican
—		George William Smith	January 15, 1811	January 19, 1811		Democratic-Republican	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
16		James Monroe	January 19, 1811	April 3, 1811		Democratic-Republican	U.S. Senator 1790–94, Fifth President of the United States
17		George William Smith	April 3, 1811	December 26, 1811		Democratic-Republican	Acting Governor (member of Council of State) Later elected in his own right Died in office
N/A		Peyton Randolph	December 27, 1811	January 3, 1812		Democratic-Republican	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
18		James Barbour	January 3, 1812	December 1, 1814		Democratic-Republican	U.S. Senator 1815–1825
19		Wilson Cary Nicholas	December 1, 1814	December 1, 1816		Democratic-Republican
20		James Patton Preston	December 1, 1816	December 1, 1819		Democratic-Republican
21		Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr.	December 1, 1819	December 1, 1822		Democratic-Republican
22		James Pleasants	December 1, 1822	December 10, 1825		Democratic-Republican	Resigned U.S. Senate to assume Governorship
23		John Tyler	December 10, 1825	March 4, 1827		Democratic-Republican	Resigned to enter U.S. Senate 1827–1836, 10th United States President
24		William Branch Giles	March 4, 1827	March 4, 1830		Democratic	U.S. Senator 1804–1815
25		John Floyd	March 4, 1830	March 31, 1834		Democratic	First under 1830 constitution (limit of 1 four-year term)
26		Littleton Waller Tazewell	March 31, 1834	April 30, 1836		Democratic	U.S. Senator 1824–1832
—		Wyndham Robertson	April 30, 1836	March 31, 1837		Whig	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
27		David Campbell	March 31, 1837	March 31, 1840		Democratic
28		Thomas Walker Gilmer	March 31, 1840	March 20, 1841		Whig
—		John M. Patton	March 20, 1841	March 31, 1841		Whig	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
—		John Rutherfoord	March 31, 1841	March 31, 1842		Democratic	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
—		John Munford Gregory	March 31, 1842	January 1, 1843		Whig	Acting Governor (member of Council of State)
29		James McDowell	January 1, 1843	January 1, 1846		Democratic
30		William Smith	January 1, 1846	January 1, 1849		Democratic
31		John B. Floyd	January 1, 1849	January 16, 1852		Democratic	U.S. Secretary of War 1857–60
32		Joseph Johnson	January 16, 1852	January 1, 1856	Shelton Leake	Democratic	First under 1851 constitution (limit of 1 four-year term) First popularly elected governor
33		Henry A. Wise	January 1, 1856	January 1, 1860	Elisha W. McComas William Lowther Jackson	Democratic
34		John Letcher	January 1, 1860	January 1, 1864	Robert Latane Montague	Democratic	(On June 20, 1863, the new U.S. state of West Virginia was formed)
35		William Smith	January 1, 1864	May 9, 1865	Samuel Price	Democratic
—		Francis Harrison Pierpont	May 15, 1861	April 4, 1868	None	Republican	Elected by May 1861 Wheeling Convention. Reelected by June 1861 Wheeling Convention with recognition by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Elected by Restored General Assembly (Union)
—		Henry H. Wells	April 4, 1868	September 21, 1869	None	Republican	Appointed Governor by U.S. military
36		Gilbert Carlton Walker	September 21, 1869	January 1, 1874	John F. Lewis John Lawrence Marye, Jr.	Republican	Appointed Governor by U.S. military then elected as a Republican Governor later served as a Democratic Congressman
37		James L. Kemper	January 1, 1874	January 1, 1878	Robert E. Withers Henry Wirtz Thomas	Democratic
38		Frederick W. M. Holliday	January 1, 1878	January 1, 1882	James A. Walker	Democratic
39		William E. Cameron	January 1, 1882	January 1, 1886	John F. Lewis	Re-adjuster
40		Fitzhugh Lee	January 1, 1886	January 1, 1890	John E. Massey	Democratic
41		Philip W. McKinney	January 1, 1890	January 1, 1894	James H. Tyler	Democratic
42		Charles Triplett O’Ferrall	January 1, 1894	January 1, 1898	Robert C. Kent	Democratic	Resigned U. S. House seat to assume Governorship
43		James Hoge Tyler	January 1, 1898	January 1, 1902	Edward Echols	Democratic
44		Andrew Jackson Montague	January 1, 1902	February 1, 1906	Joseph Edward Willard	Democratic
45		Claude A. Swanson	February 1, 1906	February 10, 1910	James T. Ellyson	Democratic	U.S. Senator 1910–33
46		William Hodges Mann	February 10, 1910	February 1, 1914	James T. Ellyson	Democratic
47		Henry Carter Stuart	February 1, 1914	February 1, 1918	James T. Ellyson	Democratic
48		Westmoreland Davis	February 1, 1918	February 1, 1922	Benjamin F. Buchanan	Democratic
49		Elbert Lee Trinkle	February 1, 1922	February 1, 1926	Junius E. West	Democratic
50		Harry F. Byrd	February 1, 1926	January 15, 1930	Junius E. West	Democratic	U.S. Senator 1933–65
51		John Garland Pollard	January 15, 1930	January 17, 1934	James H. Price	Democratic
52		George C. Peery	January 17, 1934	January 15, 1938	James H. Price	Democratic
53		James H. Price	January 15, 1938	January 21, 1942	Saxon W. Holt	Democratic
54		Colgate Darden	January 21, 1942	January 16, 1946	William M. Tuck	Democratic
55		William M. Tuck	January 16, 1946	January 18, 1950	Lewis Preston Collins II	Democratic
56		John S. Battle	January 18, 1950	January 20, 1954	Lewis Preston Collins II Allie Edward Stakes Stephens	Democratic
57		Thomas B. Stanley	January 20, 1954	January 11, 1958	Allie Edward Stakes Stephens	Democratic
58		J. Lindsay Almond	January 11, 1958	January 13, 1962	Allie Edward Stakes Stephens	Democratic
59		Albertis Harrison	January 13, 1962	January 15, 1966	Mills Godwin	Democratic
60		Mills Godwin	January 15, 1966	January 17, 1970	Fred G. Pollard	Democratic
61		Linwood Holton	January 17, 1970	January 12, 1974	J. Sargeant Reynolds (Democratic) Henry Howell (Democratic)	Republican
62		Mills Godwin	January 12, 1974	January 14, 1978	John N. Dalton	Republican
63		John Dalton	January 14, 1978	January 16, 1982	Chuck Robb (Democratic)	Republican
64		Chuck Robb	January 16, 1982	January 18, 1986	Dick Davis	Democratic	U.S. Senator 1989–2001
65		Gerald Baliles	January 18, 1986	January 13, 1990	Douglas Wilder	Democratic
66		Douglas Wilder	January 13, 1990	January 15, 1994	Don Beyer	Democratic	First African-American governor elected in American history
67		George Allen	January 15, 1994	January 17, 1998	Don Beyer (Democratic)	Republican	U.S. Senator 2001–2007
68		Jim Gilmore	January 17, 1998	January 12, 2002	John H. Hager	Republican
69		Mark Warner	January 12, 2002	January 14, 2006	Tim Kaine	Democratic	U.S. Senator 2009–present
70		Tim Kaine	January 14, 2006	January 16, 2010	Bill Bolling (Republican)	Democratic	First Catholic Governor, U.S. Senator 2013–present, nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2016
71		Bob McDonnell	January 16, 2010	January 11, 2014	Bill Bolling	Republican
72		Terry McAuliffe	January 11, 2014	January 13, 2018	Ralph Northam	Democratic
73		Ralph Northam	January 13, 2018	Incumbent	Justin Fairfax	Democratic