List of Governors of Tennessee

Governor of Tennessee
Flag of the Governor
Incumbent Bill Haslam since January 15, 2011
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Tennessee Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	John Sevier 1796
Salary	$178,356 (2013)^[1]
Website	www.tn.gov/governor/

This is a list of people who have served as Governor of Tennessee.

The governor's term in office is limited by the Tennessee state constitution. The first constitution, enacted in 1796, set a term of two years for the governor and provided that no person could serve as governor for more than six years in any eight-year period.^[2] The term of office was lengthened to four years, without the possibility of consecutive terms, by constitutional amendments adopted in 1953.^[3] Under the current provisions of the state constitution, as amended in 1978, the governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively.^[3]^[4]

For a period of nearly five decades in the 20th century, the Tennessee Democratic Party held the Tennessee governorship continuously. However, since 1967 no two successive governors have belonged to the same party.

According to the Tennessee Blue Book, Tennessee has had 49 governors, including the incumbent, Bill Haslam.^[5] This tally does not include William Blount (the territorial governor) or Robert L. Caruthers (who never took office), though the Blue Book includes them in its list of governors.^[6] All governors are counted only once, regardless of number of terms served (e.g., John Sevier is considered the 1st governor, rather than the 1st and 3rd governor). The Blue Book does not include Edward H. East in its list of governors.

Southwest Territory 1
State of Tennessee 2
Other high offices held by governors 3
Living former governors 4
Notes 5
References 6
External links 7

Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, commonly called the Southwest Territory, was formed in 1790 from lands ceded by North Carolina to the United States government. The territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Tennessee in 1796.

Parties

Democratic-Republican

Governor	Term	Party	Life	State of Birth	Occupation	Notes
William Blount	September 20, 1790 – March 30, 1796	Democratic-Republican	1749–1800	NC	Land speculator	^[7]

State of Tennessee

Parties

Democratic Federalist Democratic-Republican Whig Republican Unionist/Military

#^[8]	Governor	Term	Party	Life	State of Birth	Occupation	Notes
1	John Sevier	March 30, 1796 – September 23, 1801	Democratic-Republican	1745–1815	VA	Soldier, pioneer
2	Archibald Roane	September 23, 1801 – September 23, 1803	Democratic-Republican	1760–1819	PA	Lawyer
1	John Sevier	September 23, 1803 – September 20, 1809	Democratic-Republican	1745–1815	VA	Soldier, pioneer
3	Willie Blount	September 20, 1809 – September 27, 1815	Democratic-Republican	1768–1835	NC	Lawyer, planter
4	Joseph McMinn	September 27, 1815 – October 1, 1821	Democratic-Republican	1758–1824	PA	Merchant
5	William Carroll	October 1, 1821 – October 1, 1827	Democratic-Republican	1788–1844	PA	Merchant, soldier
6	Sam Houston	October 1, 1827 – April 16, 1829	Democratic-Republican	1793–1863	VA	Lawyer
7	William Hall	April 16, 1829 – October 1, 1829	Democratic	1775–1856	NC	Planter, soldier
5	William Carroll	October 1, 1829 – October 12, 1835	Democratic	1788–1844	PA	Merchant, soldier
8	Newton Cannon	October 12, 1835 – October 14, 1839	Whig	1781–1841	NC	Planter
9	James K. Polk	October 14, 1839 – October 15, 1841	Democratic	1795–1849	NC	Lawyer/President
10	James C. Jones	October 15, 1841 – October 14, 1845	Whig	1809–1859	TN	Lawyer
11	Aaron V. Brown	October 14, 1845 – October 17, 1847	Democratic	1795–1859	VA	Lawyer
12	Neill S. Brown	October 17, 1847 – October 16, 1849	Whig	1810–1886	TN	Lawyer
13	William Trousdale	October 16, 1849 – October 16, 1851	Democratic	1790–1872	NC	Lawyer
14	William B. Campbell	October 16, 1851 – October 17, 1853	Whig	1807–1867	TN	Lawyer
15	Andrew Johnson	October 17, 1853 – November 3, 1857	Democratic	1808–1875	NC	Tailor, President
16	Isham G. Harris	November 3, 1857 – March 12, 1862	Democratic	1818–1897	TN	Lawyer, U.S. Senator	^[9]
15	Andrew Johnson	March 12, 1862 – March 4, 1865	Unionist/Military	1808–1875	NC	Tailor, President
—	Edward H. East (acting)	March 4, 1865 – April 5, 1865	Republican	1830–1904	TN	Lawyer	^[10]
17	William G. Brownlow	April 5, 1865 – February 25, 1869	Republican	1805–1877	VA	Editor, preacher
18	Dewitt Clinton Senter	February 25, 1869 – October 10, 1871	Republican	1830–1898	TN	Lawyer
19	John C. Brown	October 10, 1871 – January 18, 1875	Democratic	1827–1889	TN	Lawyer
20	James D. Porter	January 18, 1875 – February 16, 1879	Democratic	1828–1912	TN	Lawyer, educator
21	Albert S. Marks	February 16, 1879 – January 17, 1881	Democratic	1836–1891	KY	Lawyer, chancellor
22	Alvin Hawkins	January 17, 1881 – January 15, 1883	Republican	1821–1905	KY	Lawyer, judge
23	William B. Bate	January 15, 1883 – January 17, 1887	Democratic	1826–1905	TN	Lawyer, U.S. Senator
24	Robert Love Taylor	January 17, 1887 – January 19, 1891	Democratic	1850–1912	TN	Lawyer, U.S. Senator
25	John P. Buchanan	January 19, 1891 – January 16, 1893	Democratic	1847–1930	TN	Farmer
26	Peter Turney	January 16, 1893 – January 21, 1897	Democratic	1827–1903	TN	Lawyer, judge
24	Robert Love Taylor	January 21, 1897 – January 16, 1899	Democratic	1850–1912	TN	Lawyer, U.S. Senator
27	Benton McMillin	January 16, 1899 – January 19, 1903	Democratic	1845–1933	KY	Lawyer, diplomat
28	James B. Frazier	January 19, 1903 – March 21, 1905	Democratic	1856–1937	TN	Lawyer, U.S. Senator
29	John I. Cox	March 21, 1905 – January 17, 1907	Democratic	1855–1946	TN	Lawyer
30	Malcolm R. Patterson	January 17, 1907 – January 26, 1911	Democratic	1861–1935	AL	Lawyer, judge
31	Ben W. Hooper	January 26, 1911 – January 17, 1915	Republican	1870–1957	TN	Lawyer
32	Tom C. Rye	January 17, 1915 – January 15, 1919	Democratic	1863–1953	TN	Lawyer, judge
33	A. H. Roberts	January 15, 1919 – January 15, 1921	Democratic	1868–1946	TN	Lawyer, judge
34	Alfred A. Taylor	January 15, 1921 – January 16, 1923	Republican	1848–1931	TN	Lawyer
35	Austin Peay	January 16, 1923 – October 3, 1927	Democratic	1876–1927	KY	Lawyer	^[11]
36	Henry Hollis Horton	October 3, 1927 – January 17, 1933	Democratic	1866–1934	AL	Lawyer, farmer
37	Harry Hill McAlister	January 17, 1933 – January 15, 1937	Democratic	1875–1959	TN	Lawyer
38	Gordon Browning	January 15, 1937 – January 16, 1939	Democratic	1889–1976	TN	Lawyer, judge
39	Prentice Cooper	January 16, 1939 – January 16, 1945	Democratic	1895–1969	TN	Lawyer
40	Jim Nance McCord	January 16, 1945 – January 16, 1949	Democratic	1879–1968	TN	Editor
38	Gordon Browning	January 16, 1949 – January 15, 1953	Democratic	1889–1976	TN	Lawyer, Judge
41	Frank G. Clement	January 15, 1953 – January 19, 1959	Democratic	1920–1969	TN	Lawyer
42	Buford Ellington	January 19, 1959 – January 15, 1963	Democratic	1907–1972	MS	Farmer
41	Frank G. Clement	January 15, 1963 – January 16, 1967	Democratic	1920–1969	TN	Lawyer
42	Buford Ellington	January 16, 1967 – January 16, 1971	Democratic	1907–1972	MS	Farmer
43	Winfield Dunn	January 16, 1971 – January 18, 1975	Republican	b. 1927	MS	Dentist
44	Ray Blanton	January 18, 1975 – January 17, 1979	Democratic	1930–1996	TN	Farmer, businessman
45	Lamar Alexander	January 17, 1979 – January 17, 1987	Republican	b. 1940	TN	Lawyer, US Senator
46	Ned McWherter	January 17, 1987 – January 21, 1995	Democratic	1930–2011	TN	Businessman
47	Don Sundquist	January 21, 1995 – January 18, 2003	Republican	b. 1936	IL	Businessman
48	Phil Bredesen	January 18, 2003 – January 15, 2011	Democratic	b. 1943	NJ	Businessman
49	Bill Haslam	January 15, 2011 – present	Republican	b. 1958	TN	Businessman

Other high offices held by governors

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

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
Governor	Gubernatorial term	House	Senate	Other offices held
William Blount	1790–1796 (territorial)		S	Continental Congressman from North Carolina
John Sevier	1796–1801 1803–1809	H		U.S. Representative from North Carolina; Governor of the State of Franklin
Sam Houston	1827–1829	H		President of the Republic of Texas; U.S. Senator from Texas; Governor of Texas
William Hall	1829	H
Newton Cannon	1835–1839	H
James K. Polk	1839–1841	H		11th President of the United States
James C. Jones	1841–1845		S
Aaron V. Brown	1845–1847	H		United States Postmaster General
Neill S. Brown	1847–1849			United States Minister to Russia
William Trousdale	1849–1851			United States Minister to Brazil
William B. Campbell	1851–1853	H
Andrew Johnson	1853–1857 1862–1865	H	S	17th President of the United States; 16th Vice President of the United States
Isham G. Harris	1857–1862	H	S
William G. Brownlow	1865–1869		S
James D. Porter	1875–1879			United States Minister to Chile
William B. Bate	1883–1887		S
Robert Love Taylor	1897–1899	H	S
Benton McMillin	1899–1903	H		United States Minister to Peru; United States Minister to Guatemala
James B. Frazier	1903–1905		S*
Malcolm R. Patterson	1907–1911	H
Alfred A. Taylor	1921–1923	H
Gordon Browning	1937–1939 1949–1953	H
Prentice Cooper	1939–1945			United States Ambassador to Peru
Jim Nance McCord	1945–1949	H
Ray Blanton	1975–1979	H
Lamar Alexander	1979–1987		S	United States Secretary of Education
Don Sundquist	1995–2003	H

Living former governors

As of May 2015, four former governors were alive, the oldest being Winfield Dunn (1971–1975, born 1927). The most recent death of governor was Ned McWherter (1987–1995), on April 4, 2011, who is also the most recently serving governor to have died.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Winfield Dunn	1971–1975	(1927-07-01) July 1, 1927
Lamar Alexander	1979–1987	(1940-07-03) July 3, 1940
Don Sundquist	1995–2003	(1936-03-15) March 15, 1936
Phil Bredesen	2003–2011	(1943-11-21) November 21, 1943

Notes

^ "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
^ Jonathan M. Atkins. "William Carroll" in Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture (online edition). Accessed January 27, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Government",
^ William Lyons, John M. Scheb, Billy Stair (2001). Government and politics in Tennessee.
^ "Office of the Governor," Tennessee Blue Book (2011–2012), p. 169.
^ "Past Governors," Tennessee Blue Book (2011–2012), pp. 547, 553.
^ Appointed governor by President George Washington
^ Numbering of the Governors was deduced from the fact that the document at www.tn.gov/sos/bluebook/11-12/2_ExecutiveBranch.pdf identifies Bill Haslam as Tennessee's 49th Governor. Governors who served multiple non-consecutive terms have their numbers repeated in italics in subsequent terms.
^ Harris continued issuing edicts as governor throughout the Civil War. Confederate Tennesseans elected Robert L. Caruthers as Harris's successor in 1863, but Caruthers never took office.
^ East was Tennessee Secretary of State from 1862–1865, appointed by Andrew Johnson, the military governor of the state under Union occupation during the American Civil War. After Johnson was inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States on March 4, 1865, East became the Acting Governor of Tennessee until William G. Brownlow, the "elected" governor of Tennessee, was inaugurated on April 5, 1865. The official Tennessee Blue Book does not include East in its list of former governors.
^ Peay is the only Governor of Tennessee to die in office and was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Henry Horton.

References

Tennessee Government and Politics: Democracy in the Volunteer State p. 43, John R. Vile and Mark E. Byrnes. 1998, Vanderbilt University Press

External links

Tennessee Blue Book: Historical Listings of Constitutional Officers
Tennessee Blue Book: Past Governors of Tennessee

Chief executives of the United States

Federal	President of the United States

State governors (current list)	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Territorial (current list)	American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands

Defunct	Pre-state territories Panama Canal Zone Philippine Islands (until 1935) Philippine Commonwealth (until 1946) Cuba Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

Governors of Tennessee

Sevier Roane Sevier Blount McMinn Carroll Houston Hall Carroll Cannon Polk Jones A. Brown N. Brown Trousdale Campbell Johnson Harris Johnson East Brownlow Senter J. Brown Porter Marks Hawkins Bate R. Taylor Buchanan Turney R. Taylor McMillin Frazier Cox Patterson Hooper Rye Roberts A. Taylor Peay Horton McAlister Browning Cooper McCord Browning Clement Ellington Clement Ellington Dunn Blanton Alexander McWherter Sundquist Bredesen Haslam

State of Tennessee

Nashville (capital)

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List of Governors of Tennessee