List of presidents of the United States by other offices held
This is a list of presidents of the United States by other offices (either elected or appointed) held. Every president of the United States except Donald Trump has served as at least one of the following:
- Vice President of the United States
- a member of Congress (either U.S. senator or representative)
- a governor of a state
- a Cabinet secretary
- a general of the United States Army
Federal government
Executive branch
Vice presidents
Vice President | President served under | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
John Adams | George Washington | 1789–1797 | |
Thomas Jefferson | John Adams | 1797–1801 | |
Martin Van Buren | Andrew Jackson | 1833–1837 | |
John Tyler | William Henry Harrison | 1841 | Became President after Harrison's death |
Millard Fillmore | Zachary Taylor | 1849–1850 | Became President after Taylor's death |
Andrew Johnson | Abraham Lincoln | 1865 | Became President after Lincoln's assassination |
Chester A. Arthur | James A. Garfield | 1881 | Became President after Garfield's assassination |
Theodore Roosevelt | William McKinley | 1901 | Became President after McKinley's assassination |
Calvin Coolidge | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1923 | Became President after Harding's death |
Harry S. Truman | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1945 | Became President after Roosevelt's death |
Richard Nixon | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953–1961 | Only former Vice President to become President after an intervening administration. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | John F. Kennedy | 1961–1963 | Became President after Kennedy's assassination |
Gerald Ford | Richard Nixon | 1973–1974 | Became President after Nixon's resignation |
George H. W. Bush | Ronald Reagan | 1981–1989 |
In addition, George H. W. Bush served as acting president on one occasion under Ronald Reagan, as did Dick Cheney on two occasions under George W. Bush.
13 former vice presidents (R. Johnson, Breckinridge, Morton, Stevenson, Fairbanks, Garner, Wallace, Barkley, Nixon, Humphrey, Mondale, Quayle, and Gore) all made failed runs for the presidency. Nixon, Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore received their party's nomination. Nixon would later be elected in a second run for the presidency. In addition, Joe Biden is a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Cabinet secretaries
Secretary | Office | President served under | Year(s) served |
---|---|---|---|
Thomas Jefferson | Secretary of State | George Washington | 1790–1793 |
James Madison | Secretary of State | Thomas Jefferson | 1801–1809 |
James Monroe | Secretary of State | James Madison | 1811–1814 |
Secretary of War | 1814–1815 | ||
Secretary of State | 1815–1817 | ||
John Quincy Adams | Secretary of State | James Monroe | 1817–1825 |
Martin Van Buren | Secretary of State | Andrew Jackson | 1829–1831 |
James Buchanan | Secretary of State | James K. Polk | 1845–1849 |
William Howard Taft | Secretary of War | Theodore Roosevelt | 1904–1908 |
Herbert Hoover | Secretary of Commerce | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1928 |
Calvin Coolidge |
John Adams (as the vice president) and Thomas Jefferson both served in the Cabinet of George Washington. Calvin Coolidge (as the vice president) and Herbert Hoover both served in the Cabinet of Warren G. Harding.
Both Theodore (from 1897–1898) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (from 1913–1920) served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under presidents McKinley and Wilson, respectively. William Howard Taft served as Solicitor General from 1890 to 1892 under President Harrison.
Ambassadors
President | Position | President served under | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Adams | Minister to Britain | Continental Congress | 1785–1788 | |
Thomas Jefferson | Minister Plenipotentiary to France | Continental Congress | 1785–1789 | |
James Monroe | Minister Plenipotentiary to France | George Washington | 1794–1796 | |
Minister to Britain | Thomas Jefferson | 1803–1807 | Served under Secretary of State James Madison | |
John Quincy Adams | Minister to the Netherlands | George Washington John Adams |
1794–1797 | |
Minister to Germany | John Adams | 1797–1801 | ||
Minister to Russia | James Madison | 1809–1814 | Served under Secretary of State James Monroe | |
Minister to Britain | James Madison | 1815–1817 | ||
Martin Van Buren | Minister to Britain | Andrew Jackson | 1831–1832 | |
William Henry Harrison | Minister to Gran Colombia | John Quincy Adams | 1828–1829 | |
James Buchanan | Minister to Britain | Franklin Pierce | 1853–1856 | |
George H. W. Bush | Ambassador to the United Nations | Richard Nixon | 1971–1973 | |
Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing | Gerald R. Ford | 1974–1975 | Head of U.S. mission in China |
Other federal appointees
President | Office | President appointed by | Year(s) served |
---|---|---|---|
Chester A. Arthur | Collector of the Port of New York | Ulysses S. Grant | 1871–1878 |
George H. W. Bush | Director of Central Intelligence | Gerald Ford | 1976–1977 |
Judicial branch
Chief Justice of the United States
President | President nominated by | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
William Howard Taft | Warren G. Harding | 1921–1930 | Only President to serve on the Supreme Court. |
Other federal judges
President | Court | President nominated by | Year(s) served |
---|---|---|---|
William Howard Taft | United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit | Benjamin Harrison | 1892–1900 |
Legislative branch
Senators
State | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
California | Richard Nixon | 1950–1953 | |
Indiana | Benjamin Harrison | 1881–1887 | |
Illinois | Barack Obama | 2005–2008 | Third sitting Senator elected to the presidency |
Massachusetts | John Quincy Adams | 1803–1808 | |
John F. Kennedy | 1953–1960 | Second sitting Senator elected to the presidency | |
Missouri | Harry S. Truman | 1935–1945 | |
New Hampshire | Franklin Pierce | 1837–1842 | |
New York | Martin Van Buren | 1821–1828 | |
Ohio | William Henry Harrison | 1825–1828 | |
Warren G. Harding | 1915–1921 | First sitting Senator elected to the presidency | |
Pennsylvania | James Buchanan | 1834–1845 | |
Tennessee | Andrew Jackson | 1797–1798 | |
1823–1825 | |||
Andrew Johnson | 1857–1862 | ||
1875 | Only former President in the Senate | ||
Texas | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1949–1961 | Senate Minority Leader 1953-1955 Senate Majority Leader 1955-1961 |
Virginia | James Monroe | 1790–1794 | First former Senator to become President |
John Tyler | 1827–1836 | Only former President pro tempore to become President |
A number of future presidents served together while in the Senate:
- Monroe served under Vice President Adams (1790–1794)
- Jackson served under Vice President Jefferson (1797–1798). Jackson later served with Van Buren (1823–1825). Van Buren also served with W.H. Harrison (1825–1828) and Tyler (1827–1828). Buchanan also served with Tyler (1834–1836) and later served with Pierce (1837–1842). Both Buchanan and Tyler served under Vice President Van Buren (1833–1837), while Pierce later served under Vice President Tyler (1841).
- B. Harrison briefly served under Vice President Arthur (1881).
- L. Johnson served with both Nixon (1950–1953) and Kennedy (1953–1960). L. Johnson and Kennedy both served under Vice President Nixon (1953–1961).
James A. Garfield was elected senator for Ohio in 1880, but he did not take up the office due to being elected President later that year.
Seven former senators (Monroe, Adams, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Pierce, Buchanan, and B. Harrison) were elected to the presidency without ever serving as the vice president between their departure from the Senate and the beginning of their presidencies.
Members of the House of Representatives
State | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
California | Richard Nixon | 1947–1950 | Later elected to the Senate |
Illinois | Abraham Lincoln | 1847–1849 | |
Massachusetts | John Quincy Adams | 1831–1848 | Only former president in the House of Representatives |
John F. Kennedy | 1947–1953 | Later elected to the Senate | |
Michigan | Gerald Ford | 1949–1973 | House Minority Leader 1965-1973 |
New Hampshire | Franklin Pierce | 1833–1837 | Later elected to the Senate |
New York | Millard Fillmore | 1833–1835 | |
1837–1843 | |||
Northwest Territory | William Henry Harrison | 1799–1800 | Served as a non-voting delegate |
Ohio | William Henry Harrison | 1816–1819 | Later elected to the Senate |
Rutherford B. Hayes | 1865–1867 | Later elected Governor of Ohio | |
James A. Garfield | 1863–1881 | Republican Floor Leader Only sitting Representative elected to the presidency | |
William McKinley | 1877–1883 | Later elected Governor of Ohio | |
1885–1891 | |||
Pennsylvania | James Buchanan | 1821–1831 | Later elected to the Senate |
Tennessee | Andrew Jackson | 1796–1797 | Later elected to the Senate |
James K. Polk | 1825–1839 | Only former speaker to become President later elected Governor of Tennessee | |
Andrew Johnson | 1843–1853 | Later elected to the Senate | |
Texas | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1937–1949 | Later elected to the Senate |
George H. W. Bush | 1967–1971 | Later elected Vice President of the United States | |
Virginia | James Madison | 1789–1797 | First former representative to become President |
John Tyler | 1816–1821 | Later elected to the Senate |
A number of future presidents served in the House together:
- Jackson served with Madison (1796–1797)
- W.H. Harrison served with Tyler (1816–1819)
- Buchanan served with Polk (1825–1831). Polk also served with Adams (1831–1839). Adams later served with Fillmore (1833–1835; 1837–1843), Pierce (1833–1837), A. Johnson (1843–1848), and Lincoln (1847–1848). A. Johnson and Lincoln would continue to serve together (1848–1849).
- Garfield served with both Hayes (1865–1867) and McKinley (1877–1881)
- Nixon served with L. Johnson (1947–1949), John F. Kennedy (1947–1950), and Ford (1949–1950). Ford would continue to serve with Kennedy (1950–1953) and later served with Bush (1967–1971).
Continental Congress
President | State | Year(s) served | Body served |
---|---|---|---|
George Washington | Virginia | 1774–1775 | First Continental Congress |
John Adams | Massachusetts | 1774–1778 | First Continental Congress, Second Continental Congress |
Thomas Jefferson | Virginia | 1775–1776 1783–1784 |
Second Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation |
James Madison | Virginia | 1780–1783 | Second Continental Congress, Congress of the Confederation |
James Monroe | Virginia | 1783–1786 | Congress of the Confederation |
State and territorial government
Governors
State / Territory | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Arkansas | Bill Clinton | 1979–1981 | |
1983–1992 | |||
California | Ronald Reagan | 1967–1975 | |
Cuba | William Howard Taft | 1906 | Provisional Governor |
Florida Territory | Andrew Jackson | 1821 | Military Governor |
Georgia | Jimmy Carter | 1971–1975 | |
Indiana Territory | William Henry Harrison | 1801–1813 | |
Louisiana District | William Henry Harrison | 1804–1805 | Interim Authority |
Massachusetts | Calvin Coolidge | 1919–1921 | |
New Jersey | Woodrow Wilson | 1911–1913 | |
New York | Martin Van Buren | 1829 | |
Grover Cleveland | 1883–1885 | ||
Theodore Roosevelt | 1899–1900 | ||
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1929–1932 | ||
Northwest Territory | William Henry Harrison | 1798–1799 | Acting Governor |
Ohio | Rutherford B. Hayes | 1868–1872 | |
1876–1877 | |||
William McKinley | 1892–1896 | ||
Philippines | William Howard Taft | 1901–1904 | Governor-General |
Tennessee | James K. Polk | 1839–1841 | |
Andrew Johnson | 1853–1857 | ||
1862–1865 | Military Governor | ||
Texas | George W. Bush | 1995–2000 | |
Virginia | Thomas Jefferson | 1779–1781 | |
James Monroe | 1799–1802 | ||
1811 | |||
John Tyler | 1825–1827 |
State legislators
- See below for information about pre-1776 colonial offices held.
Other statewide offices
President | Office and Jurisdiction | Year(s) served |
---|---|---|
Martin Van Buren | Attorney General of New York | 1815–1819 |
Millard Fillmore | New York State Comptroller | 1847–1849 |
Warren G. Harding | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio | 1904–1906 |
Calvin Coolidge | Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts | 1916–1919 |
Bill Clinton | Attorney General of Arkansas | 1977–1979 |
Municipal government
President | Office and jurisdiction | Year(s) served |
---|---|---|
George Washington | County surveyor in Mount Vernon | 1749-1751 |
Martin Van Buren | Surrogate of Columbia County, New York | 1808–1812 |
Abraham Lincoln | Postmaster of New Salem, Illinois | 1832–1833 |
County Surveyor for Sangamon County, Illinois | 1833–1834 | |
Andrew Johnson | Alderman, Greeneville, Tennessee | 1828–1830 |
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee | 1834–1835 | |
Grover Cleveland | Sheriff of Erie County, New York | 1871–1873 |
Mayor of Buffalo, New York | 1882–1883 | |
William Howard Taft | Judge on the Superior Court of Cincinnati | 1887-1890 |
Theodore Roosevelt | Superintendent of the New York Board of Police Commissioners | 1895–1897 |
Calvin Coolidge | Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts | 1910–1911 |
Harry S. Truman | Judge of Jackson County, Missouri's Eastern District | 1923-1925 |
Presiding Judge of Jackson County, Missouri | 1927-1935 |
Presidents who had not previously held elective office
With previous experience in government
President | Term of office | Position(s) |
---|---|---|
Zachary Taylor | 1849–1850 | Major general in the United States Army |
Ulysses S. Grant | 1869–1877 | General of the Army of the United States (served as Secretary of War ad interim) |
Herbert Hoover | 1929–1933 | Secretary of Commerce |
Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953–1961 | General of the Army of the United States |
Without previous experience in government
President | Term of office | Notes |
---|---|---|
Donald Trump | 2017–present | Chairman of The Trump Organization |
Colonial governments
Colonial and confederate legislators
Legislature | President | Year(s) served | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Confederate Congress | John Tyler | 1861–1862 | Delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress and elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, but died before entering office |
Massachusetts House of Representatives | John Adams | 1768–1774 | All served as regular members of their colonial legislature under the Kingdom of Great Britain before 1776. |
Virginia House of Burgesses | George Washington | 1758–1774 | |
Thomas Jefferson | 1769–1774 |
Lost races
Not including presidential re-election attempts made while in office.
Presidential elections
Congressional and gubernatorial elections
President | Office and jurisdiction | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
William Henry Harrison | Governor of Ohio | 1820 | Lost to Ethan Allen Brown |
United States Representative | 1822 | Lost to James W. Gazlay. Elected to the Senate in 1824. | |
John Quincy Adams | Governor of Massachusetts | 1833 | Lost to John Davis |
James K. Polk | Governor of Tennessee | 1841, 1843 | Lost re-election to James C. Jones in 1841 and lost to Jones again in 1843. |
Abraham Lincoln | United States Senator from Illinois | 1854 | Lost to Lyman Trumbull |
United States Senator from Illinois | 1858 | Lost to Stephen Douglas | |
Andrew Johnson | United States Senator from Tennessee | 1869 | Lost to Henry Cooper |
United States Representative | 1872 | Came in third behind Horace Maynard and Benjamin F. Cheatham | |
Rutherford B. Hayes | United States Representative | 1872 | Lost to Henry B. Banning. Later elected Governor of Ohio. |
Benjamin Harrison | Governor of Indiana | 1876 | Lost to James D. Williams. |
United States Senator from Indiana | 1887 | Lost to David Turpie. | |
William McKinley | United States Representative | 1890 | Lost to John G. Warwick. Later elected Governor of Ohio. |
Warren G. Harding | Governor of Ohio | 1910 | Lost to Judson Harmon. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | United States Senator from Texas | 1941 | Lost to W. Lee O'Daniel. Later elected Senator in 1948. |
Richard Nixon | Governor of California | 1962 | Lost to Pat Brown. |
George H. W. Bush | United States Senator from Texas | 1964, 1970 | Lost to Ralph Yarborough in 1964 and Lloyd Bentsen in 1970 |
Jimmy Carter | Governor of Georgia | 1966 | Lost Democratic nomination to Lester Maddox. Later won the office in 1970, Won presidency in 1976, but lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan. |
Bill Clinton | United States Representative | 1974 | Lost to John Paul Hammerschmidt in 1974. Elected as Attorney General of Arkansas in 1976. |
Governor of Arkansas | 1980 | Lost re-election to Frank White in 1980, but won in 1978, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1990 | |
George W. Bush | United States Representative | 1978 | Lost to Kent Hance in 1978. Elected as Governor of Texas in 1994. |
Barack Obama | United States Representative | 2000 | Lost Democratic nomination to Bobby Rush in 2000 |