List of Presidents of the United States by previous executive experience

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

This is a list of Presidents of the United States by executive experience prior to assuming office.

Executive experience includes experience in the government executive (for example, service as Vice President of the United States, as a Cabinet officer, or as a governor or other executive official of a state. Service as a commanding officer in a military unit is also considered executive experience. Executive experience may also be construed to extend to senior management in the private sector, such as being the chief executive officer of a company.

Service as a member of the judiciary or legislature is often not considered executive experience, but service as the presiding officer of a legislature (such as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives) may be considered an executive role. Service in the military in an enlisted ranks is also not considered executive experience. Service as a diplomat may or may not be considered executive in nature.

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; Military Governor of Florida
8 Martin Van Buren United States Secretary of State; Vice President of the United States
9 William Henry Harrison Major General, Military Governor of Indiana Territory
10 John Tyler Governor of Virginia, Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the death of Harrison)
11 James Polk Governor of Tennessee, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
12 Zachary Taylor Major General
13 Millard Fillmore Vice President of the United States
14 Franklin Pierce Brigadier General
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 1846-1848)
17 Andrew Johnson Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee; Governor of Tennessee; Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the assassination of Lincoln)
18 Ulysses S. Grant Commanding General of the United States Army
19 Rutherford Hayes Major General; Governor of Ohio
20 James Garfield Major General
21 Chester Arthur Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the assassination of Garfield)
22,24 Grover Cleveland Mayor of Buffalo, New York; Governor of New York; President of the United States (elected to a second non-consecutive term)
23 Benjamin Harrison Brigadier General
25 William McKinley Governor of Ohio
26 Theodore Roosevelt Assistant 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 Vice President of Northampton Savings Bank; Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts; Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts; Governor of Massachusetts; Vice President of the United States (succeeded upon the death of Harding)
31 Herbert Hoover Secretary of Commerce
32 Franklin Roosevelt Assistant 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 (Supreme Allied Commander, Army Chief of Staff)
35 John F. Kennedy No previous executive experience (United States House of Representatives 1946-1952; United States Senate 1952-1960)
36 Lyndon B. 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 Director of Central Intelligence; Vice President of the United States
42 Bill Clinton Arkansas Attorney General; Governor of Arkansas
43 George W. Bush Governor of Texas
44 Barack Obama No previous executive experience (Illinois Senate 1997–2004; United States Senate 2005-2008)
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export