List of Governors of Iowa

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Governor of Iowa
Iowa-StateSeal.svg
Seal of the State of Iowa
Terry Branstad by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Incumbent
Terry E. Branstad
since January 14, 2011
Style The Honourable
Residence Terrace Hill
Term length Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder Filmore Briggs; 1846
Formation Constitution of Iowa
Succession Every four years, unless re-elected

The Governor of Iowa is the head of the executive branch of Iowa's government[1] and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws,[3] and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Iowa State Legislature,[4] to convene the legislature at any time,[5] and to grant pardons and reprieves, except in cases of treason and impeachment.[6]

The governor has a four-year term,[7] commencing on the Tuesday after the second Monday of January after election.[8] The gubernatorial term was originally two years; this was changed by a constitutional amendment in 1972.[9] To be elected governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of Iowa for at least 2 years.[10] The lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor. [7] If the office of governor becomes vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term.[11] There is no limit on the number of terms a governor may serve.

The governor lives at Terrace Hill

Prior to becoming a territory, Iowa was part of Missouri Territory until 1821, unorganized until 1834, part of Michigan Territory until 1836, and part of Wisconsin Territory until 1838. (For the governors of these periods, see the lists of governors for Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin.) Since statehood, there have been 41 governors of Iowa, including 30 Republicans, 10 Democrats, and 1 Whig. The longest-serving governor was Terry E. Branstad, who served four terms from 1983 to 1999; The shortest-serving governor was Robert D. Fulton, who served 16 days in early 1969. The current governor is Republican Terry E. Branstad, who took office on January 14, 2011.

The Governor's salary for 2011–2012 is $130,000 year.

Contents

Governors [edit]

      Democratic       Republican       Whig

# Name Took Office Left Office Party Lt. Governor Term Notes
1   Ansel Briggs December 3, 1846 December 4, 1850 Democratic vacant 1
2   Stephen P. Hempstead December 4, 1850 December 9, 1854 Democratic vacant 2
3   James W. Grimes December 9, 1854 January 13, 1858 Whig vacant 3
4   Ralph P. Lowe January 13, 1858 January 11, 1860 Republican   Oran Faville 4
5   Samuel J. Kirkwood January 11, 1860 January 14, 1864 Republican   Nicholas J. Rusch 5
  John R. Needham 6
6   William M. Stone January 14, 1864 January 16, 1868 Republican   Enoch W. Eastman 7
  Benjamin F. Gue 8
7   Samuel Merrill January 16, 1868 January 11, 1872 Republican   John Scott 9
  Madison Miner Walden 10
  Henry C. Bulis
8   Cyrus C. Carpenter January 11, 1872 January 13, 1876 Republican   Henry C. Bulis 11
  Joseph Dysart 12
9   Samuel J. Kirkwood January 13, 1876 February 1, 1877 Republican   Joshua G. Newbold 13 [N 1]
10   Joshua G. Newbold February 1, 1877 January 17, 1878 Republican vacant [N 2]
11   John H. Gear January 17, 1878 January 12, 1882 Republican   Frank T. Campbell 14
15
12   Buren R. Sherman January 12, 1882 January 14, 1886 Republican   Orlando H. Manning 16
17
13   William Larrabee January 14, 1886 February 27, 1890 Republican   John A.T. Hull 18
19
14   Horace Boies February 27, 1890 January 11, 1894 Democratic   Alfred N. Poyneer 20
  Samuel L. Bestow 21
15   Frank D. Jackson January 11, 1894 January 16, 1896 Republican   Warren S. Dungan 22
16   Francis M. Drake January 16, 1896 January 13, 1898 Republican   Matt Parrott 23
17   Leslie M. Shaw January 13, 1898 January 16, 1902 Republican   James C. Milliman 24
25
18   Albert B. Cummins January 16, 1902 November 24, 1908 Republican   John Herriott 26 [N 1][N 3]
27
  Warren Garst 28
19   Warren Garst November 24, 1908 January 14, 1909 Republican vacant [N 2]
20   Beryl F. Carroll January 14, 1909 January 16, 1913 Republican   George W. Clarke 29
30
21   George W. Clarke January 16, 1913 January 11, 1917 Republican   William L. Harding 31
32
22   William L. Harding January 11, 1917 January 13, 1921 Republican   Ernest Robert Moore 33
34
23   N. E. Kendall January 13, 1921 January 15, 1925 Republican   John Hammill 35
36
24   John Hammill January 15, 1925 January 15, 1931 Republican   Clem F. Kimball 37
38
  Arch W. McFarlane 39
25   Daniel Webster Turner January 15, 1931 January 12, 1933 Republican   Arch W. McFarlane 40
26   Clyde L. Herring January 12, 1933 January 14, 1937 Democratic   Nelson G. Kraschel 41
42
27   Nelson G. Kraschel January 14, 1937 January 12, 1939 Democratic   John K. Valentine 43
28   George A. Wilson January 12, 1939 January 14, 1943 Republican   Bourke B. Hickenlooper 44
45
29   Bourke B. Hickenlooper January 14, 1943 January 11, 1945 Republican   Robert D. Blue 46
30   Robert D. Blue January 11, 1945 January 13, 1949 Republican   Kenneth A. Evans 47
48
31   William S. Beardsley January 13, 1949 November 21, 1954 Republican   Kenneth A. Evans 49 [N 4]
  William H. Nicholas 50
  Leo Elthon 51
32   Leo Elthon November 22, 1954 January 13, 1955 Republican vacant [N 2]
33   Leo A. Hoegh January 13, 1955 January 17, 1957 Republican   Leo Elthon 52
34   Herschel C. Loveless January 17, 1957 January 17, 1961 Democratic   William H. Nicholas 53
  Edward J. McManus 54
35   Norman A. Erbe January 12, 1961 January 17, 1963 Republican   W. L. Mooty 55
36   Harold E. Hughes January 17, 1963 January 1, 1969 Democratic   W. L. Mooty 56 [N 1]
  Robert D. Fulton 57
37   Robert D. Fulton January 1, 1969 January 16, 1969 Democratic vacant [N 2]
38   Robert D. Ray January 16, 1969 January 14, 1983 Republican   Roger Jepsen 58
59
  Arthur A. Neu 60
  Terry E. Branstad 61
62
39   Terry E. Branstad January 14, 1983 January 15, 1999 Republican   Robert T. Anderson 63
  Jo Ann Zimmerman 64
  Joy Corning 65
66
40   Tom Vilsack January 15, 1999 January 12, 2007 Democratic   Sally Pederson 67
68
41   Chet Culver January 12, 2007 January 14, 2011 Democratic   Patty Judge 69
42   Terry E. Branstad January 14, 2011 Incumbent Republican   Kim Reynolds 70 [N 5]

Other high offices held [edit]

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Iowa. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Name Gubernatorial term U.S. Congress Other offices held
House Senate
Robert Lucas 1838–1841 (territorial) Governor of Ohio
James W. Grimes 1854–1858 S
Samuel J. Kirkwood 1860–1864 S* U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Cyrus C. Carpenter 1872–1876 H
John H. Gear 1878–1881 H S
Leslie M. Shaw 1898–1902 U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Albert B. Cummins 1902–1908 S* President pro tempore of the Senate
N. E. Kendall 1921–1925 H
Clyde L. Herring 1933–1937 S
George A. Wilson 1939–1943 S
Bourke B. Hickenlooper 1943–1945 S
Harold E. Hughes 1963–1969 S*
Tom Vilsack 1999–2007 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Living former governors [edit]

As of December 2009, five former governors were alive, the oldest being Robert D. Ray (1969–1983, born 1928). The most recent governor to die was Leo A. Hoegh (1955–1957), on July 15, 2000. The most recently-serving governor to die was Harold E. Hughes (1963–1969), on October 23, 1996.

Name Gubernatorial term Date of birth
Robert D. Fulton 1969 (1929-05-13) May 13, 1929 (age 84)
Robert D. Ray 1969–1983 (1928-09-26) September 26, 1928 (age 84)
Terry E. Branstad 1983–1999, 2011-present (1946-11-17) November 17, 1946 (age 66)
Tom Vilsack 1999–2007 (1950-12-13) December 13, 1950 (age 62)
Chet Culver 2007–2011 (1966-01-25) January 25, 1966 (age 47)

See also [edit]

Portal icon Iowa portal

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b c Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
  2. ^ a b c d As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
  3. ^ Amendment 11 to the Iowa constitution, passed in 1904, shifted the state's election cycle forward one year, such that terms would begin on odd years. This lengthened Cummins' second term to three years (1904–1907).
  4. ^ Died in office.
  5. ^ Governor Branstad's term expires on January 9, 2015.

References [edit]

General
Constitution
Specific
  1. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 1.
  2. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 7.
  3. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 9.
  4. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article III, § 16.
  5. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 11.
  6. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 16.
  7. ^ a b Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 2.
  8. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 15.
  9. ^ Iowa Constitution, Amend. 32.
  10. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 6.
  11. ^ Iowa Constitution, Article IV, § 17.

External links [edit]

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