List of governors of Michigan

Governor of Michigan
Seal of the governor
Flag of the governor
Incumbent
Gretchen Whitmer
since January 1, 2019
StyleHer Excellency
Status
ResidenceMichigan Governor's Mansion
Term lengthFour years, renewable once
PrecursorGovernor of Michigan Territory
Inaugural holderStevens T. Mason
FormationNovember 3, 1835
DeputyLieutenant Governor of Michigan
Salary$159,300 (2019)
Websitewww.michigan.gov/gov

The governor of Michigan, is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan as well as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws; the power to either approve or veto appropriation bills passed by the Michigan Legislature; the power to convene the legislature; and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment. The governor is also empowered to reorganize the executive branch of the state government.

In the 17th and 18th century, Michigan was part of French and then British holdings, and administered by their colonial governors. After becoming part of the United States, areas of what is today Michigan were part of the Northwest Territory, Indiana Territory and Illinois Territory, and administered by territorial governors. In 1805, the Michigan Territory was created, and five men served as territorial governors, until Michigan was granted statehood in 1837. Forty-seven individuals have held the position of state governor. The first female governor, Jennifer Granholm, served from 2003 to 2011.

After Michigan gained statehood, governors held the office for a 2-year term, until the 1963 Michigan Constitution changed the term to 4 years. The number of times an individual could hold the office was unlimited until a 1992 constitutional amendment imposed a lifetime term limit of two 4-year governorships. The longest-serving governor in Michigan's history was William Milliken, who was promoted from lieutenant governor after Governor George W. Romney resigned to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, then was elected to three further successive terms. The only governors to serve non-consecutive terms were John S. Barry and Frank Fitzgerald.

List of governors

Territory of Michigan

Michigan Territory was organized on June 30, 1805, from the north half of Indiana Territory. It had three governors appointed by the president of the United States, including the longest-serving governor of any territory, Lewis Cass, who served for 18 years.

Governors of Michigan Territory
No. Governor Term in office Appointed by
1 William Hull
(1753–1825)
March 1, 1805

October 29, 1813
(successor appointed)
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
2 Lewis Cass
(1782–1866)
October 29, 1813

August 1, 1831
(resigned)
James Madison
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
3 George Bryan Porter
(1791–1834)
August 6, 1831

July 6, 1834
(died in office)
Andrew Jackson
Stevens T. Mason
(1811–1843)
July 6, 1834

September 21, 1835
(successor appointed)
Territorial
secretary
acting
John S. Horner
(1802–1883)
September 21, 1835

July 3, 1836
(resigned)
Territorial
secretary
acting

State of Michigan

Michigan was admitted to the Union on January 26, 1837. The original 1835 Constitution of Michigan provided for the election of a governor and a lieutenant governor every 2 years. The current constitution of 1963 increased this term to four years. There was no term limit on governors until a 1993 constitutional amendment limited governors to two terms.

Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor, followed in order of succession by the secretary of state and the attorney general. Prior to the current constitution, the duties of the office would devolve upon the lieutenant governor, without that person actually becoming governor. Beginning in 1850, the term begins at noon on January 1 of the year following the election; before, it had no set start date, and terms would last until when their successor was inaugurated, which would be at least the first Monday in January following their election. Prior to the 1963 constitution, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected through separate votes, allowing them to be from different parties. In 1963, this was changed, so that votes are cast jointly for a governor and lieutenant governor of the same party.

Governors of the State of Michigan
No. Governor Term in office Party Election Lt. Governor
1   Stevens T. Mason
(1811–1843)
November 3, 1835

January 7, 1840
(did not run)
Democratic 1835   Edward Mundy
1837
2 William Woodbridge
(1780–1861)
January 7, 1840

February 24, 1841
(resigned)
Whig 1839 James Wright Gordon
3 James Wright Gordon
(1809–1853)
February 24, 1841

January 3, 1842
(did not run)
Whig Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Thomas J. Drake
4 John S. Barry
(1802–1870)
January 3, 1842

January 5, 1846
(did not run)
Democratic 1841 Origen D. Richardson
1843
5 Alpheus Felch
(1804–1896)
January 5, 1846

March 3, 1847
(resigned)
Democratic 1845 William L. Greenly
6 William L. Greenly
(1813–1883)
March 3, 1847

January 3, 1848
(did not run)
Democratic Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Charles P. Bush
7 Epaphroditus Ransom
(1798–1859)
January 3, 1848

January 7, 1850
(lost nomination)
Democratic 1847 William M. Fenton
8 John S. Barry
(1802–1870)
January 7, 1850

January 1, 1852
(did not run)
Democratic 1849
9 Robert McClelland
(1807–1880)
January 1, 1852

March 7, 1853
(resigned)
Democratic 1851 Calvin Britain
1852 Andrew Parsons
10 Andrew Parsons
(1817–1855)
March 7, 1853

January 3, 1855
(did not run)
Democratic Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
George Griswold
11 Kinsley S. Bingham
(1808–1861)
January 3, 1855

January 5, 1859
(did not run)
Republican 1854 George Coe
1856
12 Moses Wisner
(1815–1863)
January 5, 1859

January 2, 1861
(did not run)
Republican 1858 Edmund Burke Fairfield
13 Austin Blair
(1818–1894)
January 2, 1861

January 4, 1865
(did not run)
Republican 1860 James M. Birney
(resigned April 3, 1861)
Joseph R. Williams
(died June 15, 1861)
Henry T. Backus
1862 Charles S. May
14 Henry H. Crapo
(1804–1869)
January 4, 1865

January 1, 1869
(did not run)
Republican 1864 Ebenezer O. Grosvenor
1866 Dwight May
15 Henry P. Baldwin
(1814–1892)
January 1, 1869

January 1, 1873
(did not run)
Republican 1868 Morgan Bates
1870
16 John J. Bagley
(1832–1881)
January 1, 1873

January 3, 1877
(did not run)
Republican 1872 Henry H. Holt
1874
17 Charles Croswell
(1825–1886)
January 3, 1877

January 1, 1881
(did not run)
Republican 1876 Alonzo Sessions
1878
18 David Jerome
(1829–1896)
January 1, 1881

January 1, 1883
(lost election)
Republican 1880 Moreau S. Crosby
19 Josiah Begole
(1815–1896)
January 1, 1883

January 1, 1885
(lost election)
Democratic 1882
20 Russell A. Alger
(1836–1907)
January 1, 1885

January 1, 1887
(did not run)
Republican 1884 Archibald Buttars
21 Cyrus G. Luce
(1824–1905)
January 1, 1887

January 1, 1891
(did not run)
Republican 1886 James H. MacDonald
1888 William Ball
22 Edwin B. Winans
(1826–1894)
January 1, 1891

January 1, 1893
(did not run)
Democratic 1890 John Strong
23 John Treadway Rich
(1841–1926)
January 1, 1893

January 1, 1897
(did not run)
Republican 1892 J. Wight Giddings
1894 Alfred Milnes
(resigned June 1, 1895)
Joseph R. McLaughlin
24 Hazen S. Pingree
(1840–1901)
January 1, 1897

January 1, 1901
(did not run)
Republican 1896 Thomas B. Dunstan
1898 Orrin W. Robinson
25 Aaron T. Bliss
(1837–1906)
January 1, 1901

January 2, 1905
(did not run)
Republican 1900
1902 Alexander Maitland
26 Fred M. Warner
(1865–1923)
January 2, 1905

January 1, 1911
(did not run)
Republican 1904
1906 Patrick H. Kelley
1908
27 Chase Osborn
(1860–1949)
January 1, 1911

January 1, 1913
(did not run)
Republican 1910 John Q. Ross
28 Woodbridge N. Ferris
(1853–1928)
January 1, 1913

January 1, 1917
(did not run)
Democratic 1912
1914 Luren Dickinson
29 Albert Sleeper
(1862–1934)
January 1, 1917

January 1, 1921
(did not run)
Republican 1916
1918
30 Alex J. Groesbeck
(1873–1953)
January 1, 1921

January 1, 1927
(did not run)
Republican 1920 Thomas Read
1922
1924 George W. Welsh
31 Fred W. Green
(1871–1936)
January 1, 1927

January 1, 1931
(did not run)
Republican 1926 Luren Dickinson
1928
32 Wilber M. Brucker
(1894–1968)
January 1, 1931

January 1, 1933
(lost election)
Republican 1930
33 William Comstock
(1877–1949)
January 1, 1933

January 1, 1935
(lost nomination)
Democratic 1932 Allen E. Stebbins
34 Frank Fitzgerald
(1885–1939)
January 1, 1935

January 1, 1937
(lost election)
Republican 1934 Thomas Read
35 Frank Murphy
(1890–1949)
January 1, 1937

January 1, 1939
(lost election)
Democratic 1936 Leo J. Nowicki
36 Frank Fitzgerald
(1885–1939)
January 1, 1939

March 16, 1939
(died in office)
Republican 1938 Luren Dickinson
37 Luren Dickinson
(1859–1943)
March 16, 1939

January 1, 1941
(lost election)
Republican Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Matilda Dodge Wilson
38 Murray Van Wagoner
(1898–1986)
January 1, 1941

January 1, 1943
(lost election)
Democratic 1940 Frank Murphy
39 Harry Kelly
(1895–1971)
January 1, 1943

January 1, 1947
(did not run)
Republican 1942 Eugene C. Keyes
1944 Vernon J. Brown
40 Kim Sigler
(1894–1953)
January 1, 1947

January 1, 1949
(lost election)
Republican 1946 Eugene C. Keyes
41 G. Mennen Williams
(1911–1988)
January 1, 1949

January 1, 1961
(did not run)
Democratic 1948 John W. Connolly
1950 William C. Vandenberg
1952 Clarence A. Reid
1954 Philip Hart
1956
1958 John Swainson
42 John Swainson
(1925–1994)
January 1, 1961

January 1, 1963
(lost election)
Democratic 1960 T. John Lesinski
43 George W. Romney
(1907–1995)
January 1, 1963

January 22, 1969
(resigned)
Republican 1962
1964 William Milliken
1966
44 William Milliken
(1922–2019)
January 22, 1969

January 1, 1983
(did not run)
Republican Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Thomas F. Schweigert
1970 James H. Brickley
1974 James Damman
1978 James H. Brickley
45 James Blanchard
(b. 1942)
January 1, 1983

January 1, 1991
(lost election)
Democratic 1982 Martha Griffiths
1986
46 John Engler
(b. 1948)
January 1, 1991

January 1, 2003
(term-limited)
Republican 1990 Connie Binsfeld
1994
1998 Dick Posthumus
47 Jennifer Granholm
(b. 1959)
January 1, 2003

January 1, 2011
(term-limited)
Democratic 2002 John D. Cherry
2006
48 Rick Snyder
(b. 1958)
January 1, 2011

January 1, 2019
(term-limited)
Republican 2010 Brian Calley
2014
49 Gretchen Whitmer
(b. 1971)
January 1, 2019

Incumbent
Democratic 2018 Garlin Gilchrist
2022

See also


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