List of governors of Alabama
Governor of Alabama | |
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![]() Seal of the Governor | |
![]() Standard of the Governor | |
since April 10, 2017 | |
Style |
|
Status | |
Residence | Alabama Governor's Mansion |
Term length | Four years, renewable once |
Precursor | Governor of Alabama Territory |
Inaugural holder | William Wyatt Bibb |
Formation | December 14, 1819 |
Deputy | Lieutenant Governor of Alabama |
Salary | $119,950 (2013)[1] |
Website | http://www.governor.state.al.us |
The Governor of Alabama is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Alabama. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Alabama's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.
There have officially been 54 governors of the state of Alabama; this official numbering skips acting and military governors.[2] The first governor, William Wyatt Bibb, served as the only governor of the Alabama Territory. Five people have served as acting governor, bringing the total number of people serving as governor to 59, spread over 63 distinct terms. Four governors have served multiple non-consecutive terms: Bibb Graves, Jim Folsom, and Fob James each served two, and George Wallace served three non-consecutive periods. Officially, these non-consecutive terms are numbered only with the number of their first term. William D. Jelks also served non-consecutive terms, but his first term was in an acting capacity.
The longest-serving governor was George Wallace, who served 16 years over four terms. The shortest term for a non-acting governor was that of Hugh McVay, who served four and a half months after replacing the resigning Clement Comer Clay. Lurleen Wallace, wife of George Wallace, was the first woman to serve as governor of Alabama, and the third woman to serve as governor of any state. The current governor is Republican Kay Ivey, who took office on April 10, 2017 following Governor Robert J. Bentley's court-mandated resignation following a guilty plea-deal amidst a corruption scandal. She is the second female governor of Alabama.
Governors
Governor of the Territory of Alabama
Alabama Territory was formed on March 3, 1817, from Mississippi Territory. It had only one governor appointed by the President of the United States before it became a state; he became the first state governor.
Portrait | Governor | Term in office | Appointed by |
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William Wyatt Bibb | March 6, 1817[a] – December 14, 1819 |
James Monroe |
Governors of the State of Alabama
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Alabama was admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. It seceded from the Union on January 11, 1861, and was a founding member of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. Following the end of the American Civil War, Alabama during Reconstruction was part of the Third Military District, which exerted some control over governor appointments and elections. Alabama was readmitted to the Union on July 14, 1868.
The first Alabama Constitution, ratified in 1819, provided that a governor be elected every two years, limited to serve no more than four out of every six years.[4] This limit remained in place until the constitution of 1868, which simply allowed governors to serve terms of two years.[5] The current constitution of 1901 increased terms to four years,[6] but prohibited governors from succeeding themselves.[7] Amendment 282 to the constitution, passed in 1968, allowed governors to succeed themselves once; a governor serves two consecutive terms can run again after waiting out the next term.[8] The constitution had no set date for the commencement of a governor's term until 1901, when it was set at the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election.[7]
The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1868,[9] abolished in 1875,[10] and recreated in 1901.[11] According to the current constitution, should the governor be out of the state for more than 20 days, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor, and if the office of governor becomes vacant the lieutenant governor ascends to the governorship.[12] Earlier constitutions said the powers of the governor devolved upon the successor, rather than them necessarily becoming governor,[13] but the official listing includes these as full governors.[2] The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.
Alabama was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic-Republican and Democratic parties. It had two Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 112 years passed before voters chose another Republican.
Notes
- ^ Records are scarce as to when Bibb was actually appointed. The territory was formed on March 3, 1817, but he was appointed by President James Monroe, who did not take office until the next day. Other resources indicate that other major appointments for the territory were made on March 6, 1817.[3]
- ^ Repeat governors are officially numbered only once;[2] subsequent terms are marked with their original number italicized.
- ^ The office of Lieutenant Governor was created in the 1868 constitution,[9] abolished in the 1875 Constitution,[10] and recreated in the 1901 Constitution.[11]
- ^ Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
- ^ William Wyatt Bibb died in office; as president of the senate, Thomas Bibb succeeded him.
- ^ Gabriel Moore resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate; as president of the senate, Samuel B. Moore succeeded him.
- ^ Clay resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate; as president of the senate, McVay succeeded him.
- ^ Martin was a Democrat who opposed party leaders and ran as an independent.[14]
- ^ Watts was arrested by Union forces soon after the American Civil War ended; he was released a few weeks later.[15] Parsons was appointed provisional governor by the Union occupation. Between Watts's arrest and Parsons's appointment, Alabama had no governor, and was under the direct rule of General George Henry Thomas.[16]
- ^ The United States Congress stripped Patton of most of his authority in March 1867, after which time the state was effectively under the control of Major General Swayne.[17] The start date given for Swayne is the date of the first Reconstruction Act, which placed Alabama into the Third Military District; all references only say "March 1867"[17] and "when the Reconstruction Acts were passed".[18] In December 1867, President Andrew Johnson ordered the removal of General Swayne, and he was replaced on January 11, 1868, by General Julius Hayden.[19]
- ^ Lindsay was sworn into office on November 26, 1870, but William Hugh Smith refused to leave his seat for two weeks, claiming Lindsay was fraudulently elected; he finally left office on December 8, 1870, when a court so ordered.[20]
- ^ At the start of Samford's term, he was out of state seeking medical treatment; as president of the senate, Jelks acted as governor in his absence. Samford later died in office, and Jelks succeeded him.[21]
- ^ Terms were lengthened from two to four years beginning with this term.
- ^ Jelks was out of state for medical treatment for nearly a year; as lieutenant governor, Cunningham acted as governor in his absence.[22]
- ^ Brandon was out of state for 21 days as a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention; as lieutenant governor, McDowell acted as governor for two days.[2]
- ^ Wallace was out of state for 20 days for medical treatment; as lieutenant governor, Brewer became acting governor on July 25, 1967; Wallace returned to the state later that day.[2][23] Wallace later died in office, and Brewer succeeded her.
- ^ Wallace was out of state for 52 days for medical treatment following an assassination attempt while campaigning for President of the United States; as lieutenant governor, Beasley acted as governor for 32 days.[2]
- ^ a b c d Represented the Democratic Party.
- ^ Hunt was removed from office upon being convicted of illegally using campaign and inaugural funds to pay personal debts; he was later pardoned by the state parole board based on innocence.[24] As lieutenant governor, Folsom succeeded him.
- ^ Represented the Republican Party.
- ^ Bentley resigned from office as part of a plea deal involving campaign violations.[25] As lieutenant governor, Ivey succeeded him. Governor Ivey's first term expires on January 14, 2019.
References
- General
- "Alabama Governors". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- "Alabama: Past Governors Bios". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- "Ala. Gov. Bentley Agrees To Plea Deal And Resigns Amid Scandal". National Public Radio. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- Constitutions
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1901.
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1875.
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1868.
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1865.
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1861.
- "Constitution of the State of Alabama". Alabama Legislature. 1819.
- Specific
- ^ "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Alabama Governors". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ Shearer, Benjamin. The Uniting States – The Story of Statehood for the Fifty United States, Volume 1: Alabama to Kentucky. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 41. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- ^ 1819 Const. art. IV, § 4
- ^ 1868 Const. art. V, § 2
- ^ AL Const. art. V, § 114
- ^ a b AL Const. art. V, § 116
- ^ AL Const. amendment 282
- ^ a b 1868 Const. art. V, § 1
- ^ a b 1875 Const. art. V, § 1
- ^ a b AL Const. art. V, § 112
- ^ AL Const. art. V, § 127
- ^ 1819 Const. art. IV, § 18; 1861 Const. art. IV, § 18; 1865 Const. art V, § 19; 1868 Const. art. V, § 15; 1875 Const. art. V § 15
- ^ "Joshua Lanier Martin". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Thomas Hill Watts". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Lewis Eliphalet Parsons". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Robert Miller Patton". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Alabama Governor Robert Patton". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
- ^ "Wager T. Swayne". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ White, James Terry (1900). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. James T. White & Company. p. 435. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
- ^ "Alabama Governor William Jelks". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
- ^ "Alabama Governor Russell Cunningham". Alabama Department of Archives & History. Retrieved October 13, 2008.
- ^ Owen, Thomas McAdory (1979). Alabama Official and Statistical Register. Alabama Department of Archives & History. p. 17. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Nossiter, Adam (12 June 1997). "Ex-Gov. Hunt of Alabama Cleared by Pardon Board". The New York Times. p. 18. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ Blinder, Alan (10 April 2017). "Robert Bentley, Alabama Governor, Resigns Amid Scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
External links
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