| Order |
President |
Previous Executive Experience |
| 1 |
George Washington |
General of the Continental Army |
| 2 |
John Adams |
Vice President of the United States |
| 3 |
Thomas Jefferson |
Governor of Virginia, United States Secretary of State, Vice President of the United States |
| 4 |
James Madison |
United States Secretary of State |
| 5 |
James Monroe |
Governor of Virginia, United States Secretary of State, Secretary of War |
| 6 |
John Quincy Adams |
United States Secretary of State |
| 7 |
Andrew Jackson |
Major General (United States), Military Governor of Florida |
| 8 |
Martin Van Buren |
United States Secretary of State, Vice President of the United States |
| 9 |
William Harrison |
Major General (United States), Military Governor of Indiana Territory |
| 10 |
John Tyler |
Governor of Virginia, United States Senate, Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the death of William Henry Harrison) |
| 11 |
James Polk |
Governor of Tennessee, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives |
| 12 |
Zachary Taylor |
Major General (United States) |
| 13 |
Millard Fillmore |
Vice President of the United States |
| 14 |
Franklin Pierce |
Brigadier General (United States) |
| 15 |
James Buchanan |
United States Secretary of State |
| 16 |
Abraham Lincoln |
No Previous Executive Experience: Illinois House of Representatives (1834-1842) & United States House of Representatives (1846-48) |
| 17 |
Andrew Johnson |
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee, Governor of Tennessee, Military Governor of Tennessee, Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon assassination of Lincoln) |
| 18 |
Ulysses Grant |
General (United States) |
| 19 |
Rutherford Hayes |
Major General (United States) & Governor of Ohio |
| 20 |
James Garfield |
Major General (United States) |
| 21 |
Chester Arthur |
Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon assassination of Garfield) |
| 22,24 |
Grover Cleveland |
Mayor of Buffalo, New York, Governor of New York, & President of the United States (elected twice but not consecutively) |
| 23 |
Benjamin Harrison |
Brigadier General (United States) |
| 25 |
William McKinley |
Governor of Ohio |
| 26 |
Theodore Roosevelt |
Assistant United States Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, & Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the assassination of McKinley) |
| 27 |
William Taft |
Governor-General of the Philippines, United States Secretary of War |
| 28 |
Woodrow Wilson |
President of Princeton University, Governor of New Jersey |
| 29 |
Warren Harding |
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio |
| 30 |
Calvin Coolidge |
Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts, Vice President of the United States & Vice President of Northampton Savings Bank |
| 31 |
Herbert Hoover |
United States Secretary of Commerce |
| 32 |
Franklin Roosevelt |
Assistant United States Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York |
| 33 |
Harry Truman |
Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the death of Roosevelt) |
| 34 |
Dwight Eisenhower |
General of the Army (United States) (Supreme Allied Commander, Army Chief of Staff) |
| 35 |
John F. Kennedy |
No Previous Executive Experience: United States House of Representatives (1946-52) & United States Senate (1952-60) |
| 36 |
Lyndon Johnson |
Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the assassination of Kennedy) |
| 37 |
Richard Nixon |
Vice President of the United States |
| 38 |
Gerald Ford |
Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the resignation of Nixon) |
| 39 |
Jimmy Carter |
Governor of Georgia |
| 40 |
Ronald Reagan |
Governor of California |
| 41 |
George H. W. Bush |
Vice President of the United States & Director of Central Intelligence |
| 42 |
Bill Clinton |
Attorney General of Arkansas, Governor of Arkansas |
| 43 |
George W. Bush |
Governor of Texas |
| 44 |
Barack Obama |
No Previous Executive Experience: Illinois Senate (1997–2004) & United States Senate (2005-08) |
