List of governors of Pennsylvania (Redirected from List of Governors of Pennsylvania)

Governor of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Seal of the governor
Flag of the governor
Incumbent
Josh Shapiro
since January 17, 2023
Government of Pennsylvania
Style
Status
ResidenceGovernor's Residence
Term lengthFour years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holderThomas Mifflin
FormationDecember 21, 1790
DeputyLieutenant Governor
Salary$201,729 (2020)
Websitewww.governor.pa.gov Edit this at Wikidata

The governor of Pennsylvania is the head of government of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the state's national guard.

The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as to convene the legislature. The governor may grant pardons except in cases of impeachment, but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons.

There have been seven presidents and 48 governors of Pennsylvania, with two governors (Robert E. Pattison and Gifford Pinchot) serving non-consecutive terms, totaling 55 terms in both offices. The longest term was that of the first governor, Thomas Mifflin, who served three full terms as governor in addition to two years as President of the Continental Congress. The shortest term belonged to John C. Bell Jr., who served only 19 days as acting governor after his predecessor, Edward Martin, resigned.

The current governor is Josh Shapiro, who took office on January 17, 2023.

Governors

Pennsylvania was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and was admitted as a state on December 12, 1787. Before it declared its independence, Pennsylvania was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council

The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 created the Supreme Executive Council as the state's executive branch, with a president as its head. The president was chosen annually by the council, though with no specific term dates.

The constitution created the position of "vice-president", though no provision was made if the office of the president became vacant, which occurred four times later. Contemporary sources continue to label the chief executive in such times as the vice-president, without any notion of succeeding in the presidency. One acting president, George Bryan, was subsequently recognized later as a full-fledged governor, due to his acting as president for over six months.

Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
No. President Term in office Vice-President
1 Thomas Wharton Jr.
(1735–1778)
March 5, 1777

May 23, 1778
(died in office)
George Bryan
2 George Bryan
(1731–1791)
May 23, 1778

December 22, 1778
(left office)
acting as
president
3 Joseph Reed
(1741–1785)
December 22, 1778

November 15, 1781
(term-limited)
George Bryan
(resigned October 11, 1779)
Matthew Smith
(resigned November 15, 1779)
William Moore
4 William Moore
(1735–1793)
November 15, 1781

November 7, 1782
(left office)
James Potter
5 John Dickinson
(1732–1808)
November 7, 1782

October 18, 1785
(term-limited)
James Ewing
James Irvine
(resigned October 10, 1785)
Charles Biddle
6 Benjamin Franklin
(1706–1790)
October 18, 1785

November 5, 1788
(term-limited)
Peter Muhlenberg
(resigned October 14, 1788)
David Redick
7 Thomas Mifflin
(1744–1800)
November 5, 1788

December 21, 1790
(became state governor)
George Ross

Governors of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Five governors of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who have served since 1995, (left to right): Mark Schweiker, Tom Ridge, Tom Wolf, Tom Corbett and Ed Rendell, pose in front of the east facade of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg at Wolf's January 2015 gubernatorial inauguration

The 1790 constitution abolished the council and replaced the president with a governor, and established a three-year term for governor commencing on the third Tuesday of the December following the election, with governors not allowed to serve more than nine out of any twelve years. The 1838 constitution moved the start of the term to the third Tuesday of the January following the election, and allowed governors to only serve six out of any nine years. The 1874 constitution lengthened the term to four years, and prohibited governors from succeeding themselves. The current constitution of 1968 changed this to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms, with no lifetime limit.

Under the 1968 constitution, Milton Shapp was the first governor to serve two terms, and Tom Corbett was the first incumbent governor to lose a re-election bid.

If the office of governor becomes vacant through death, resignation, or conviction on impeachment, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor only acts out the duties of governor. Should both offices be vacant, the president pro tempore of the state senate becomes governor. The position of a lieutenant governor was created in the 1874 constitution; prior to then, the speaker of the senate would act as governor in cases of vacancy. Originally, the lieutenant governor could only act as governor; it was not until the 1968 constitution that the lieutenant governor could actually become the sitting governor in that fashion. The office of governor has been vacant for an extended period once before, a 17-day gap in 1848 between the resignation of the previous governor and the swearing in of his acting successor. Governors and lieutenant governors are elected on the same political party ticket.

Governors of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
No. Governor Term in office Party Election Lt. Governor
1   Thomas Mifflin
(1744–1800)
December 21, 1790

December 17, 1799
(term-limited)
None 1790 Office did not exist
Democratic-
Republican
1793
1796
2 Thomas McKean
(1734–1817)
December 17, 1799

December 20, 1808
(term-limited)
Democratic-
Republican
1799
1802
1805
3 Simon Snyder
(1759–1819)
December 20, 1808

December 16, 1817
(term-limited)
Democratic-
Republican
1808
1811
1814
4 William Findlay
(1768–1846)
December 16, 1817

December 19, 1820
(lost election)
Democratic-
Republican
1817
5 Joseph Hiester
(1752–1832)
December 19, 1820

December 16, 1823
(did not run)
Democratic-
Republican
1820
6 John Andrew Shulze
(1775–1852)
December 16, 1823

December 15, 1829
(did not run)
Democratic-
Republican
1823
1826
7 George Wolf
(1777–1840)
December 15, 1829

December 15, 1835
(lost election)
Democratic-
Republican
1829
1832
8 Joseph Ritner
(1780–1869)
December 15, 1835

January 15, 1839
(lost election)
Anti-Masonic 1835
9 David R. Porter
(1788–1867)
January 15, 1839

January 21, 1845
(term-limited)
Democratic 1838
1841
10 Francis R. Shunk
(1788–1848)
January 21, 1845

July 9, 1848
(resigned)
Democratic 1844
1847
11 William F. Johnston
(1808–1872)
July 9, 1848

January 20, 1852
(lost election)
Whig Speaker of
the Senate
acting
1848
12 William Bigler
(1814–1880)
January 20, 1852

January 16, 1855
(lost election)
Democratic 1851
13 James Pollock
(1810–1890)
January 16, 1855

January 19, 1858
(did not run)
Whig 1854
14 William F. Packer
(1807–1870)
January 19, 1858

January 15, 1861
(did not run)
Democratic 1857
15 Andrew Gregg Curtin
(d. 1894)
January 15, 1861

January 15, 1867
(term-limited)
Republican 1860
1863
16 John W. Geary
(1819–1873)
January 15, 1867

January 21, 1873
(term-limited)
Republican 1866
1869
17 John F. Hartranft
(1830–1889)
January 21, 1873

January 21, 1879
(term-limited)
Republican 1872
1875   John Latta
18 Henry M. Hoyt
(1830–1892)
January 21, 1879

January 16, 1883
(term-limited)
Republican 1878 Charles Warren Stone
19 Robert E. Pattison
(1850–1904)
January 16, 1883

January 18, 1887
(term-limited)
Democratic 1882 Chauncey Forward Black
20 James A. Beaver
(1837–1914)
January 18, 1887

January 20, 1891
(term-limited)
Republican 1886 William T. Davies
19 Robert E. Pattison
(1850–1904)
January 20, 1891

January 15, 1895
(term-limited)
Democratic 1890 Louis Arthur Watres
21 Daniel H. Hastings
(1849–1903)
January 15, 1895

January 17, 1899
(term-limited)
Republican 1894 Walter Lyon
22 William A. Stone
(1846–1920)
January 17, 1899

January 20, 1903
(term-limited)
Republican 1898 John P. S. Gobin
23 Samuel W. Pennypacker
(1843–1916)
January 20, 1903

January 15, 1907
(term-limited)
Republican 1902 William M. Brown
24 Edwin Sydney Stuart
(1853–1937)
January 15, 1907

January 17, 1911
(term-limited)
Republican 1906 Robert S. Murphy
25 John K. Tener
(1863–1946)
January 17, 1911

January 19, 1915
(term-limited)
Republican 1910 John Merriman Reynolds
26 Martin Grove Brumbaugh
(1862–1930)
January 19, 1915

January 21, 1919
(term-limited)
Republican 1914 Frank B. McClain
27 William Cameron Sproul
(1870–1928)
January 21, 1919

January 16, 1923
(term-limited)
Republican 1918 Edward E. Beidleman
28 Gifford Pinchot
(1865–1946)
January 16, 1923

January 18, 1927
(term-limited)
Republican 1922 David J. Davis
29 John Stuchell Fisher
(1867–1940)
January 18, 1927

January 20, 1931
(term-limited)
Republican 1926 Arthur James
28 Gifford Pinchot
(1865–1946)
January 20, 1931

January 15, 1935
(term-limited)
Republican 1930 Edward C. Shannon
30 George Howard Earle III
(1890–1974)
January 15, 1935

January 17, 1939
(term-limited)
Democratic 1934 Thomas Kennedy
31 Arthur James
(1883–1973)
January 17, 1939

January 19, 1943
(term-limited)
Republican 1938 Samuel S. Lewis
32 Edward Martin
(1879–1967)
January 19, 1943

January 2, 1947
(resigned)
Republican 1942 John C. Bell Jr.
33 John C. Bell Jr.
(1892–1974)
January 2, 1947

January 21, 1947
(successor took office)
Republican Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Vacant
34 James H. Duff
(1883–1969)
January 21, 1947

January 16, 1951
(term-limited)
Republican 1946 Daniel Strickler
35 John S. Fine
(1893–1978)
January 16, 1951

January 18, 1955
(term-limited)
Republican 1950 Lloyd H. Wood
36 George M. Leader
(1918–2013)
January 18, 1955

January 20, 1959
(term-limited)
Democratic 1954 Roy E. Furman
37 David L. Lawrence
(1889–1966)
January 20, 1959

January 15, 1963
(term-limited)
Democratic 1958 John Morgan Davis
38 William Scranton
(1917–2013)
January 15, 1963

January 17, 1967
(term-limited)
Republican 1962 Raymond P. Shafer
39 Raymond P. Shafer
(1917–2006)
January 17, 1967

January 19, 1971
(term-limited)
Republican 1966 Raymond J. Broderick
40 Milton Shapp
(1912–1994)
January 19, 1971

January 16, 1979
(term-limited)
Democratic 1970 Ernest Kline
1974
41 Dick Thornburgh
(1932–2020)
January 16, 1979

January 20, 1987
(term-limited)
Republican 1978 William Scranton III
1982
42 Bob Casey Sr.
(1932–2000)
January 20, 1987

January 17, 1995
(term-limited)
Democratic 1986 Mark Singel
1990
43 Tom Ridge
(b. 1945)
January 17, 1995

October 5, 2001
(resigned)
Republican 1994 Mark Schweiker
1998
44 Mark Schweiker
(b. 1953)
October 5, 2001

January 21, 2003
(did not run)
Republican Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Robert Jubelirer
45 Ed Rendell
(b. 1944)
January 21, 2003

January 18, 2011
(term-limited)
Democratic 2002 Catherine Baker Knoll
(died November 12, 2008)
2006
Joe Scarnati
(acting)
46 Tom Corbett
(b. 1949)
January 18, 2011

January 20, 2015
(lost election)
Republican 2010 Jim Cawley
47 Tom Wolf
(b. 1948)
January 20, 2015

January 17, 2023
(term-limited)
Democratic 2014 Mike Stack
2018 John Fetterman
(resigned January 3, 2023)
Kim Ward
(acting)
48 Josh Shapiro
(b. 1973)
January 17, 2023

Incumbent
Democratic 2022 Austin Davis

See also


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