List of governors of Maine
The Governor of Maine is the head of the executive branch of Maine's state government[1] and the commander-in-chief of its 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 Maine Legislature,[4] to convene the legislature at any time,[5] and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant pardons.[6]
According to official numbering, there have been 74 governors of Maine since statehood. 70 men have held the office; 4 of them served multiple non-consecutive terms.[7] The longest-serving governor was Joseph E. Brennan, who served two terms from 1979 to 1987. The shortest-serving governors were Nathaniel M. Haskell and Richard H. Vose, who each served only one day. John W. Dana also served for one day in 1844, after the incumbent governor resigned, but was later elected to the governorship. The current governor is Republican Paul LePage, who took office on January 5, 2011. He is serving his second term which expires in January 2019.
Governors
Maine was admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state. Before then, it was the District of Maine, part of the state of Massachusetts.[8] The Maine Constitution of 1820 originally established a gubernatorial term of one year,[9] to begin on the first Wednesday of January; constitutional amendments expanded this to two years in 1879[10] and to four years in 1957.[11] The 1957 amendment also prohibited governors from succeeding themselves after serving two terms.[11] The constitution does not establish an office of lieutenant governor; a vacancy in the office of governor is filled by the president of the Maine Senate.[12] Prior to an amendment in 1964, the president of the senate only acted as governor.[13][14]
- Parties
Democratic (23)
Democratic-Republican (6)
Greenback (1)
Independent (2)
National Republican (1)
Republican (37)
Whig (4)
(Above numbering includes repeat governors: one Whig, one Republican, and two Democrats who served two nonconsecutive terms. It also includes one governor who was a Greenback but co-nominated by the Democrats.)
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Other high offices held
Twenty-four of Maine's governors have served higher federal offices. Seventeen have represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives, while two early in the state's history represented Massachusetts. There were also nine governors who served in the U.S. Senate, five (marked with *) resigning their office as governor to enter the Senate. One governor, Hannibal Hamlin, resigned his seat in the Senate to be governor (marked with †), then resigned as governor the next month to rejoin the Senate. Hamlin was also one of three governors to be ambassadors, and the only one to be Vice President of the United States. Two other governors served in the Cabinet.
Living former U.S. governors of Maine
As of January 2017[update], five former governors are alive, the oldest being Kenneth M. Curtis (served 1967–1975, born 1931). The most recent governor to die was John H. Reed (served 1959–1967, born 1921), on October 31, 2012. The most recently serving governor to die was James B. Longley (served 1975–1979, born 1924), on August 16, 1980.
| Governor | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth (and age) |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth M. Curtis | 1967–1975 | February 8, 1931 |
| Joseph E. Brennan | 1979–1987 | November 2, 1934 |
| John R. McKernan, Jr. | 1987–1995 | May 20, 1948 |
| Angus King | 1995–2003 | March 31, 1944 |
| John Baldacci | 2003–2011 | January 30, 1955 |
Notes
- ^ The fractional terms of some governors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple governors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.
- ^ Resigned to take appointment as a minister to negotiate a treaty with Spain.
- ^ a b As president of the senate, acted as governor until his resignation.
- ^ Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
- ^ a b c As speaker of the state house, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ Once the new Maine Senate was sworn in, Ames saw no purpose in completing the remaining three days of the gubernatorial term and resigned.[15]
- ^ a b c d e f As president of the senate, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ a b c d Died in office.
- ^ a b As president of the state senate, acted as governor until his senate term expired.
- ^ Edward Kent won a close election, but Democrats challenged the election. He was finally declared winner by the state supreme court and sworn in on January 19, 1838.[16]
- ^ Resigned; no reason is known.
- ^ a b c d Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ Resigned due to ill health.[17]
- ^ Resigned once the new Maine Legislature was sworn in.[18]
- ^ a b As president of the senate, acted as governor for unexpired term, and was subsequently elected in his own right.
- ^ Acting governor Burton Cross had been elected to the governorship, but his Senate term ended 25 hours before his term as governor began; therefore, he could not act as governor for that day. As president of the Senate, Haskell served as acting governor until Cross's inauguration.
- ^ Governor LePage's second term expires on January 2, 2019; he is term limited.
References
- General
- "Governors of Maine". National Governors Association. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- "Governors of Maine". Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - "Enacted Constitutional Amendments, 1834—". Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- Constitutions
- "Constitution of the State of Maine, as amended". Maine Legislature. 1820. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- "Constitution of the State of Maine" (PDF). Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. 1820. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 1.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 7.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 12.
- ^ ME Const. art. IV (Pt. III), § 3.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 13.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 11.
- ^ Governors of Maine Archived 2010-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library.
- ^ "Mass Moments: Massachusetts Loses Maine". Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 2, orig.
- ^ ME Const. Amend. 23.
- ^ a b ME Const. Amend. 84.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 14.
- ^ ME Const. Amend. 97.
- ^ ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 14, orig.
- ^ Hallowell Gazette (Maine): p. 2. January 9, 1822. Benjamin Ames to the Maine Legislature, January 2, 1822: "The Senators of the State of Maine, for the present political year, having been qualified to enter upon the duties of their place by having taken and subscribed the oaths required by the constitution, and chosen their President, I have no longer any authority, as I apprehend, to exercise the office of Governor, and therefore resign the same, that it may be filled according to the provisions of the constitution."
- ^ "Maine Governor Edward Kent". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ Lucey, William Leo (1946). Edward Kavanagh: Catholic, Statesman, Diplomat, from Maine 1795–1844: p. 22. College of the Holy Cross. Reprinted 2006, Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-4286-5468-2.
- ^ The Pittsfield Sun (Pittsfield, MA): p. 2. January 11, 1844. "Hon. David Dunn, as Speaker of the House for 1843, entered upon the discharge of the duties of that office on Tuesday, and continued to discharge them until he had completed the administration of the necessary oaths to the members of the Senate and House, yesterday. He then resigned that place, and took his seat in the House."
- ^ "Williamson, William Durkee". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Maine Governor Albion Keith Parris". National Governors Association. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Lincoln, Enoth." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Dunlap, Robert Pinckney." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Fairfield, John." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Kavanaugh, Edward". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Anderson, Hugh Johnston." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Morrill, Anson Peasley." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Hamlin, Hannibal." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Morrill, Lot Myrick." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Perham, Sydney." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Dingley, Nelson, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Plaisted, Harris Merrill." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Burleigh, Edwin Chick." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Powers, Llewellyn." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Fernald, Bert Manfred." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Brewster, Ralph Owen." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Maine Governor Horace Augustus Hildreth." National Governors Association. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Maine Governor Frederick George Payne". National Governors Association. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Maine Governor Edmund Sixtus Muskie". National Governors Association. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Maine Governor Kenneth M. Curtis." National Governors Association. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Brennan, Joseph Edward." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "McKernan, John Rettie, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Baldacci, John Elias." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
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