List of governors of New York

The governor of New York is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard.[1] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, to convene the New York legislature,[1] the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the legislature,[2] and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.[3]

Andrew Cuomo, the 56th and current governor of New York.

Fifty-six people have served as governor, four of whom served non-consecutive terms; the official numbering only lists each governor once, so there have officially been fifty-six governors. There has been no female governor. This numbering includes one acting governor: the lieutenant governor who filled the vacancy after the resignation of the governor, under the 1777 Constitution.[4] The list does not include those who have acted as governor when the governor was out of state, such as Lieutenant Governor Timothy L. Woodruff during Theodore Roosevelt's vice presidential campaign in 1900, or Acting Speaker of the New York State Assembly Moses M. Weinstein, who acted as governor for 10 days in 1968 while the governor, the lieutenant governor and the senate majority leader were out of the state, attending the Republican National Convention in Miami.[5]

Four men have become President of the United States after serving as Governor of New York: Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and six were Vice President of the United States. Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt held both offices. Two governors have been Chief Justice of the United States: John Jay held that position when he was elected governor in 1795, and Charles Evans Hughes became chief justice in 1930, two decades after leaving the governorship.

The longest-serving governor was the first, George Clinton, who first took office on July 30, 1777, and served seven terms in two different periods, totaling just under 21 years in office. As 18 of those years were consecutive, Clinton also served the longest consecutive period in office for a New York governor. Charles Poletti had the shortest term, serving 29 days following the resignation of the previous governor, Herbert H. Lehman in 1942. The current governor is Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who took office on January 1, 2011.

Governors

New York was one of the original thirteen colonies on the east coast of North America, and was admitted as a state on July 26, 1788. Prior to declaring its independence, New York was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain, which it in turn obtained from the Dutch as the colony of New Netherland; see the lists of colonial governors and of directors-general of New Netherland for the pre-statehood period.

The office of the governor was established by the first New York Constitution in 1777. The governor was originally for a term of three years,[6] though the constitution did not specify when the term began. A 1787 law set the start of the term at July 1.[7] The New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 amended the state constitution, reducing the term of office to two years,[8] moving the election to November,[9] and moving the beginning and the end of the term to coincide with the calendar year.[10] An 1874 amendment extended the term of office back to three years,[11] but the 1894 constitution again reduced it to two years.[12] The most recent New York Constitution of 1938 extended the term to the current four years.[13] There is no limit to the number of consecutive terms a governor may serve.

The Constitution has provided since 1777 for the election of a lieutenant governor of New York, who is ex officio President of the Senate, to the same term (keeping the same term lengths as the governor throughout all the constitutional revisions). Originally, in the event of the death, resignation or impeachment of the governor, the lieutenant governor would become acting governor until the end of the yearly legislative term, the office being filled in a special election, if there was a remainder of the term.[14] Since the 1821 Constitution, the lieutenant governor explicitly becomes governor upon such vacancy in the office and serves for the entire remainder of the term.[15] Should the office of lieutenant governor become vacant, the President pro tempore of the State Senate[lower-alpha 1] performs all the duties of the lieutenant governor until the vacancy is filled either at the next gubernatorial election or by appointment.[lower-alpha 2] Likewise, should both offices become vacant at the same time, the President pro tempore acts as governor, with the office of lieutenant governor remaining vacant. Should the presidency pro tempore be vacant too, or the incumbent unable to fulfill the duties, the Speaker of the State Assembly is next in the line of succession.[16] The lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor, since the 1954 election with a single joint vote cast for both offices, but is nominated separately.[17]

Governors of the State of New York
No. Governor Term in office Party Election Lieutenant Governor
1   George Clinton July 30, 1777

June 30, 1795
Democratic–
Republican
1777   Pierre Van Cortlandt
1780
1783
1786
1789
1792
2 John Jay July 1, 1795

June 30, 1801
Federalist 1795 Stephen Van Rensselaer
1798
1 George Clinton July 1, 1801

June 30, 1804
Democratic–
Republican
1801 Jeremiah Van Rensselaer
3 Morgan Lewis July 1, 1804

June 30, 1807
Democratic–
Republican
1804 John Broome
(died August 8, 1810)
4 Daniel D. Tompkins July 1, 1807

February 24, 1817
Democratic–
Republican
1807
1810
Vacant
John Tayler
(acting from January 29, 1811)
DeWitt Clinton
(elected May 2, 1811)
1813 John Tayler
1816
[lower-alpha 3]
5 John Tayler
(Acting)
February 24, 1817

June 30, 1817
Democratic–
Republican
Philetus Swift
(acting)
6 DeWitt Clinton July 1, 1817

December 31, 1822
Democratic–
Republican
1817 John Tayler
1820
7 Joseph C. Yates January 1, 1823

December 31, 1824
Democratic–
Republican
1822 Erastus Root
6 DeWitt Clinton January 1, 1825

February 11, 1828
Democratic–
Republican
1824 James Tallmadge Jr.
1826
[lower-alpha 4]
Nathaniel Pitcher
8 Nathaniel Pitcher February 11, 1828

December 31, 1828
Democratic–
Republican
Peter R. Livingston
(acting)
Charles Dayan
(acting from October 17, 1828)
9 Martin Van Buren January 1, 1829

March 12, 1829
Democratic 1828
[lower-alpha 5]
Enos T. Throop
10 Enos T. Throop March 12, 1829

December 31, 1832
Democratic Charles Stebbins
(acting)
William M. Oliver
(acting)
1830 Edward Philip Livingston
11 William L. Marcy January 1, 1833

December 31, 1838
Democratic 1832 John Tracy
1834
1836
12 William H. Seward January 1, 1839

December 31, 1842
Whig 1838 Luther Bradish
1840
13 William C. Bouck January 1, 1843

December 31, 1844
Democratic 1842 Daniel S. Dickinson
14 Silas Wright January 1, 1845

December 31, 1846
Democratic 1844 Addison Gardiner
15 John Young January 1, 1847

December 31, 1848
Whig 1846
Albert Lester
(acting)
Hamilton Fish
16 Hamilton Fish January 1, 1849

December 31, 1850
Whig 1848 George W. Patterson
17 Washington Hunt January 1, 1851

December 31, 1852
Whig 1850 Sanford E. Church
18 Horatio Seymour January 1, 1853

December 31, 1854
Democratic 1852
19 Myron H. Clark January 1, 1855

December 31, 1856
Whig
(fusion)
1854 Henry Jarvis Raymond
20 John A. King January 1, 1857

December 31, 1858
Republican 1856 Henry R. Selden
21 Edwin D. Morgan January 1, 1859

December 31, 1862
Republican 1858 Robert Campbell
1860
18 Horatio Seymour January 1, 1863

December 31, 1864
Democratic 1862 David R. Floyd-Jones
22 Reuben Fenton January 1, 1865

December 31, 1868
Union 1864 Thomas G. Alvord
1866 Stewart L. Woodford
23 John T. Hoffman January 1, 1869

December 31, 1872
Democratic 1868 Allen C. Beach
1870
24 John Adams Dix January 1, 1873

December 31, 1874
Republican 1872 John C. Robinson
25 Samuel J. Tilden January 1, 1875

December 31, 1876
Democratic 1874 William Dorsheimer
26 Lucius Robinson January 1, 1877

December 31, 1879
Democratic 1876
[lower-alpha 6]
27 Alonzo B. Cornell January 1, 1880

December 31, 1882
Republican 1879 George Gilbert Hoskins
28 Grover Cleveland January 1, 1883

January 6, 1885
Democratic 1882
[lower-alpha 7]
David B. Hill
29 David B. Hill January 6, 1885

December 31, 1891
Democratic Dennis McCarthy
(acting)
1885 Edward F. Jones
1888
30 Roswell P. Flower January 1, 1892

December 31, 1894
Democratic 1891 William F. Sheehan
31 Levi P. Morton January 1, 1895

December 31, 1896
Republican 1894
[lower-alpha 8]
Charles T. Saxton
32 Frank S. Black January 1, 1897

December 31, 1898
Republican 1896 Timothy L. Woodruff
33 Theodore Roosevelt January 1, 1899

December 31, 1900
Republican 1898
34 Benjamin Odell January 1, 1901

December 31, 1904
Republican 1900
1902 Frank W. Higgins
35 Frank W. Higgins January 1, 1905

December 31, 1906
Republican 1904 Matthew Linn Bruce
John Raines
(acting)
36 Charles Evans Hughes January 1, 1907

October 6, 1910
Republican 1906 Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler
1908
[lower-alpha 9]
Horace White
37 Horace White October 6, 1910

December 31, 1910
Republican George H. Cobb
(acting)
38 John Alden Dix January 1, 1911

December 31, 1912
Democratic 1910 Thomas F. Conway
39 William Sulzer January 1, 1913

October 17, 1913
Democratic 1912
[lower-alpha 10]
Martin H. Glynn
40 Martin H. Glynn October 17, 1913

December 31, 1914
Democratic Robert F. Wagner
(acting)
41 Charles Seymour Whitman January 1, 1915

December 31, 1918
Republican 1914 Edward Schoeneck
1916
42 Al Smith January 1, 1919

December 31, 1920
Democratic 1918 Harry C. Walker
43 Nathan L. Miller January 1, 1921

December 31, 1922
Republican 1920 Jeremiah Wood
Clayton R. Lusk
(acting)
42 Al Smith January 1, 1923

December 31, 1928
Democratic 1922 George R. Lunn
1924 Seymour Lowman
1926 Edwin Corning
44 Franklin D. Roosevelt January 1, 1929

December 31, 1932
Democratic 1928 Herbert H. Lehman
1930
45 Herbert H. Lehman January 1, 1933

December 3, 1942
Democratic 1932 M. William Bray
1934
1936
1938
[lower-alpha 11][lower-alpha 12]
Charles Poletti
46 Charles Poletti December 3, 1942

December 31, 1942
Democratic Joe R. Hanley
(acting)
47 Thomas E. Dewey January 1, 1943

December 31, 1954
Republican 1942 Thomas W. Wallace
1946 Joe R. Hanley
1950 Frank C. Moore
Arthur H. Wicks
(acting)
Walter J. Mahoney
(acting)
48 W. Averell Harriman January 1, 1955

December 31, 1958
Democratic 1954 George DeLuca
49 Nelson Rockefeller January 1, 1959

December 18, 1973
Republican 1958 Malcolm Wilson
1962
1966
1970
[lower-alpha 13]
50 Malcolm Wilson December 18, 1973

December 31, 1974
Republican Warren M. Anderson
(acting)
51 Hugh Carey January 1, 1975

December 31, 1982
Democratic 1974 Mary Anne Krupsak
1978 Mario Cuomo
52 Mario Cuomo January 1, 1983

December 31, 1994
Democratic 1982 Alfred DelBello
Warren M. Anderson
(acting)
1986 Stan Lundine
1990
53 George Pataki January 1, 1995

December 31, 2006
Republican 1994 Betsy McCaughey Ross[lower-alpha 14]
1998 Mary Donohue
2002
54 Eliot Spitzer January 1, 2007

March 17, 2008
Democratic 2006
[lower-alpha 15]
David Paterson
55 David Paterson March 17, 2008

December 31, 2010
Democratic Joseph Bruno
(acting)
Dean Skelos
(acting)
Malcolm Smith
(acting)
Pedro Espada Jr.
(acting)[lower-alpha 16]
Richard Ravitch
(Contested)[lower-alpha 17]
Malcolm Smith
(acting)[lower-alpha 18]
Richard Ravitch[lower-alpha 19]
56 Andrew Cuomo January 1, 2011

Incumbent
Democratic 2010 Robert Duffy
2014 Kathy Hochul
2018
[lower-alpha 20]

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional and other federal offices, and ranking diplomatic positions to foreign countries held by New York governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented New York.

* Denotes those offices for which the governor resigned the governorship.
 Denotes those offices from which the governor resigned to take the governorship.
Governor Gubernatorial term U.S. Congress Other offices held Source
House Senate
George Clinton 17771795
18011804
Delegate to the Continental Congress, Vice President of the United States [18]
John Jay 17951801 President of the Continental Congress, U.S. Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Minister to Spain, Chief Justice of the United States [19]
Daniel D. Tompkins 18071817 H Vice President of the United States* [20]
DeWitt Clinton 18171822
18251828
S [21]
Nathaniel Pitcher 1828 H [22]
Martin Van Buren 1829 S† U.S. Secretary of State*, Minister to the United Kingdom, Vice President of the United States, President of the United States [23]
Enos T. Throop 18291832 H [24]
William L. Marcy 18331838 S† U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of State [25]
William H. Seward 18391842 S U.S. Secretary of State [26]
Silas Wright 18451846 H S† [27]
John Young 18471848 H [28]
Hamilton Fish 18491850 H S U.S. Secretary of State [29]
Washington Hunt 18511852 H [30]
John Alsop King 18571858 H [31]
Edwin D. Morgan 18591862 S [32]
Reuben Fenton 18651868 H† S [33]
John Adams Dix 18731874 S Minister to France, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury [34]
Grover Cleveland 18831885 President of the United States* [35]
David B. Hill 18851891 S [36]
Roswell P. Flower 18921894 H [37]
Levi P. Morton 18951896 H Minister to France, Vice President of the United States [38]
Frank S. Black 18971898 H† [39]
Theodore Roosevelt 18991900 Vice President of the United States, President of the United States [40]
Benjamin B. Odell, Jr. 19011904 H [41]
Charles Evans Hughes 19071910 U.S. Secretary of State, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court*, Chief Justice of the United States.
William Sulzer 1913 H† [42]
Martin H. Glynn 19131914 H [43]
Franklin D. Roosevelt 19291932 President of the United States [44]
Herbert H. Lehman 19331942 S [45]
W. Averell Harriman 19551958 U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ambassador to the Soviet Union [46]
Nelson Rockefeller 19591973 Vice President of the United States [47]
Hugh Carey 19751982 H† [48]
Andrew Cuomo 2011 U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Living former Governors of New York

As of September 2018, there are three living former Governors of New York, the oldest being George Pataki (served from 1995 to 2006, born 1945). The most recent governor to die was Mario Cuomo (served from 1983 to 1994, born 1932), on January 1, 2015; he is also the most recently serving governor to have died.

Governor Gubernatorial term Date of birth (and age)
George Pataki 19952006 (1945-06-24) June 24, 1945
Eliot Spitzer 20072008 (1959-06-10) June 10, 1959
David Paterson 20082010 (1954-05-20) May 20, 1954

See also

  • New York gubernatorial elections
  • List of colonial governors of New York

Notes

  1. The state constitutions refer to this position as the "temporary president of the senate".
  2. On September 22, 2009, the New York Court of Appeals upheld the right of the governor to appoint a lieutenant governor to fill the vacancy.
  3. Tompkins resigned to be Vice President of the United States. As lieutenant governor, Tayler acted as governor until a successor was elected.
  4. Clinton died in office; as lieutenant governor, Pitcher succeeded him.
  5. Van Buren resigned to be United States Secretary of State; as lieutenant governor, Throop succeeded him.
  6. First term under an 1874 amendment to the constitution, which lengthened terms to three years.
  7. Cleveland resigned to be President of the United States; as lieutenant governor, Hill succeeded him.
  8. First term under the 1894 constitution, which shortened terms to two years.
  9. Hughes resigned to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; as lieutenant governor, White succeeded him.
  10. Sulzer was impeached and removed from office for campaign contribution fraud; as lieutenant governor, Glynn succeeded him.
  11. First term under the 1938 constitution, which lengthened terms to four years.
  12. Lehman resigned to be Director of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations at the U.S. Department of State; as lieutenant governor, Poletti succeeded him.
  13. Rockefeller resigned to devote himself to his Commission on Critical Choices for Americans; as lieutenant governor, Wilson succeeded him.
  14. Elected as Betsy McCaughey, but married and changed name in 1995.
  15. Spitzer resigned due to a prostitution scandal; as lieutenant governor, Paterson succeeded him.
  16. Espada was a Democrat, but combined with the Republicans in a change of leadership which triggered the 2009 New York State Senate leadership crisis.
  17. Ravitch was appointed on July 8, 2009, but the appointment was contested in the courts. On August 20, the Appellate Division rejected the appointment, and Ravitch vacated the office.
  18. Smith succeeded Espada on July 9 as temporary President of the New York State Senate, and claimed to be Acting Lieutenant Governor under the provisions of the New York State Constitution while the appointment of Ravitch was contested.
  19. On September 22, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division's ruling, and thus re-instated Ravitch to the lieutenant governorship, beginning on July 8.
  20. Cuomo's third term began January 1, 2019, and will expire December 31, 2022.

References

General
  • "Governors of New York". State of New York. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  • "Governors Database: New York". National Governors Association. National Governors Association. 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  • Jenkins, John Stilwell (1851). Lives of the Governors of the State of New York. Auburn N.Y.: Derby and Miller. p. 862.
Constitutions
Specific
  1. New York Constitution article IV, § 3.
  2. New York Constitution article IV, § 7.
  3. New York Constitution article IV, § 4.
  4. "Governors of New York". State of New York. Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  5. McFadden, Robert D. (December 3, 2007). "Moses Weinstein, 95, Legislator and Judge, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  6. 1777 New York Constitution, article XVIII.
  7. "Governors of New York". New York Department of State. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  8. 1821 New York Constitution article III, § 1.
  9. 1821 New York Constitution article I, § 15.
  10. 1821 New York Constitution article I, § 16.
  11. John Joseph Lalor, ed. (1883). "New York". Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States. II. Chicago: Melbert B. Cary & Company. p. 1017. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  12. 1894 New York Constitution article IV, § 1
  13. New York Constitution article IV, § 1.
  14. 1777 New York Constitution, article X.
  15. New York Constitution, article IV § 5.
  16. New York Constitution, article IV § 6.
  17. "Executive Branch of the Several States". The Green Papers. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  18. "Clinton, George". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  19. "John Jay". The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  20. "Tompkins, Daniel D." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  21. "Clinton, DeWitt". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  22. "Pitcher, Nathaniel". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  23. "Martin, Van Buren". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  24. "Throop, Enos Thompson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  25. "March, William Learned". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  26. "Seward, William Henry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  27. "Wright, Silas Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  28. "Young John". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  29. "Fish, Hamilton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  30. "Hunt, Washington". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  31. "King, John Alsop". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  32. "Morgan, Edwin Denison". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  33. "Fenton, Reuben Eaton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  34. "Dix, John Adams". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  35. "Grover Cleveland". The White House. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  36. "Hill, David Bennett". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  37. "Flower, Roswell Pettibone". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  38. "Morton, Levi Parsons". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  39. "Black, Frank Swett". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  40. "Theodore Roosevelt". The White House. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  41. "Odell, Benjamin Barker". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  42. "Sulzer, William". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.
  43. "Glynn, Martin Henry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  44. "Franklin D. Roosevelt". The White House. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
  45. "Lehman, Herbert Henry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  46. "Averell Harriman". HistoryCenteral.com. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  47. "Rockefeller, Nelson Aldrich". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. July 12, 2010.
  48. "Carey, Hugh Leo". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. March 28, 2008.

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