List of Governors of Alabama

Governor of Alabama
Seal of the Governor
Flag of the Governor
Incumbent Robert J. Bentley since January 17, 2011
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Alabama Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, can succeed self once
Inaugural holder	William Wyatt Bibb
Formation	December 14, 1819
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
Salary	$119,950 (2013)
Website	http://www.governor.state.al.us

The Governor of Alabama is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Alabama. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Alabama's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Alabama Legislature, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

There have officially been 53 governors of the state of Alabama; this official numbering skips acting and military governors. The first governor, William Wyatt Bibb, served as the only governor of the Alabama Territory. Five people have served as acting governor, bringing the total number of people serving as governor to 58, spread over 63 distinct terms. Four governors have served multiple non-consecutive terms: Bibb Graves, Jim Folsom, and Fob James each served two, and George Wallace served three non-consecutive periods. Officially, these non-consecutive terms are numbered only with the number of their first term. William D. Jelks also served non-consecutive terms, but his first term was in an acting capacity.

The longest-serving governor was George Wallace, who served sixteen years over four terms. The shortest term for a non-acting governor was that of Hugh McVay, who served four and a half months after replacing the resigning Clement Comer Clay. Lurleen Wallace, wife of George Wallace, was the first and so far only woman to serve as governor of Alabama, and the third woman to serve as governor of any state. The current governor is Republican Robert J. Bentley, who took office on January 17, 2011.

Governors

Governor of the Territory of Alabama

For the period before Alabama Territory was formed, see the list of Governors of Mississippi Territory.

Alabama Territory was formed on March 3, 1817, from Mississippi Territory. It had only one governor appointed by the President of the United States before it became a state; he became the first state governor.

Picture	Governor	Term in office	Appointed by
	William Wyatt Bibb	March 6, 1817 – December 14, 1819	James Monroe

Governors of the State of Alabama

Seal for use by the Governor-Elect

Governor's Flag 1868–1939

Alabama was admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. It seceded from the Union on January 11, 1861 and was a founding member of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861; there was no Union Alabama government in exile, so there was a single line of governors. Following the end of the American Civil War, Alabama during Reconstruction was part of the Third Military District, which exerted some control over governor appointments and elections. Alabama was readmitted to the Union on July 14, 1868.

The first Alabama Constitution, ratified in 1819, provided that a governor be elected every two years, limited to serve no more than four out of every six years. This limit remained in place until the constitution of 1868, which simply allowed governors to serve terms of two years. The current constitution of 1901 increased terms to four years, but prohibited governors from succeeding themselves. Amendment 282 to the constitution, passed in 1968, allowed governors to succeed themselves once. The constitution had no set date for the commencement of a governor's term until 1901, when it was set at the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election.

The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1868, abolished in 1875, and recreated in 1901. According to the current constitution, should the governor be out of the state for more than 20 days, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor, and if the office of governor becomes vacant the lieutenant governor fully becomes governor. Earlier constitutions said the powers of the governor devolved upon the successor, rather than them necessarily becoming governor, but the official listing includes these as full governors. The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.

Alabama was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic-Republican and Democratic parties. It had two Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 112 years passed before voters chose another Republican.

Parties

      Democratic (52)       Democratic-Republican (3)       Independent (1)       Military (1)       Republican (6)

#	Picture	Governor		Term in office	Party	Term	Lt. Governor
1			William Wyatt Bibb	December 14, 1819 – July 10, 1820	Democratic- Republican	1 (1819)	Office did not exist
2	75px		Thomas Bibb	July 10, 1820 – November 9, 1821	Democratic- Republican
3			Israel Pickens	November 9, 1821 – November 25, 1825	Democratic- Republican	2 (1821)
						3 (1823)
4			John Murphy	November 25, 1825 – November 25, 1829	Jackson Democrat	4 (1825)
						5 (1827)
5			Gabriel Moore	November 25, 1829 – March 3, 1831	Jackson Democrat	6 (1829)
6			Samuel B. Moore	March 3, 1831 – November 26, 1831	Democratic
7			John Gayle	November 26, 1831 – November 21, 1835	Democratic	7 (1831)
						8 (1833)
8			Clement Comer Clay	November 21, 1835 – July 17, 1837	Democratic	9 (1835)
9			Hugh McVay	July 17, 1837 – November 30, 1837	Democratic
10			Arthur P. Bagby	November 30, 1837 – November 22, 1841	Democratic	10 (1837)
						11 (1839)
11			Benjamin Fitzpatrick	November 22, 1841 – December 10, 1845	Democratic	12 (1841)
						13 (1843)
12			Joshua L. Martin	December 10, 1845 – December 16, 1847	Independent	14 (1845)
13			Reuben Chapman	December 16, 1847 – December 17, 1849	Democratic	15 (1847)
14			Henry W. Collier	December 17, 1849 – December 20, 1853	Democratic	16 (1849)
						17 (1851)
15			John A. Winston	December 20, 1853 – December 1, 1857	Democratic	18 (1853)
						19 (1855)
16			Andrew B. Moore	December 1, 1857 – December 2, 1861	Democratic	20 (1857)
						21 (1859)
17			John Gill Shorter	December 2, 1861 – December 1, 1863	Democratic	22 (1861)
18			Thomas H. Watts	December 1, 1863 – May 1, 1865	Democratic	23 (1863)
—	Interregnum			May 1, 1865 – June 21, 1865	—
19			Lewis E. Parsons	June 21, 1865 – December 13, 1865	Democratic
20			Robert M. Patton	December 13, 1865 – July 24, 1868	Pre-War Whig	24 (1865)
—			Wager Swayne	March 2, 1867 – January 11, 1868	Military
21			William Hugh Smith	July 24, 1868 – November 26, 1870	Republican	25 (1868)
								Andrew J. Applegate (August 13, 1868 – August 21, 1870)
							Vacant August 21, 1870 – November 26, 1870
22			Robert B. Lindsay	November 26, 1870 – November 17, 1872	Democratic	26 (1870)		Edward H. Moren
23			David P. Lewis	November 17, 1872 – November 24, 1874	Republican	27 (1872)		Alexander McKinstry
24			George S. Houston	November 24, 1874 – November 28, 1878	Democratic	28 (1874)		Robert F. Ligon
						29 (1876)	Office did not exist
25	75px		Rufus W. Cobb	November 28, 1878 – December 1, 1882	Democratic	30 (1878)
						31 (1880)
26			Edward A. O'Neal	December 1, 1882 – December 1, 1886	Democratic	32 (1882)
						33 (1884)
27			Thomas Seay	December 1, 1886 – December 1, 1890	Democratic	34 (1886)
						35 (1888)
28			Thomas G. Jones	December 1, 1890 – December 1, 1894	Democratic	36 (1890)
						37 (1892)
29	75px		William C. Oates	December 1, 1894 – December 1, 1896	Democratic	38 (1894)
30			Joseph F. Johnston	December 1, 1896 – December 1, 1900	Democratic	39 (1896)
						40 (1898)
—			William D. Jelks	December 1, 1900 – December 26, 1900	Democratic	41 (1900)
31			William J. Samford	December 1, 1900 – June 11, 1901	Democratic
32			William D. Jelks	June 11, 1901 – January 14, 1907	Democratic
						42 (1902)		Russell M. Cunningham
—			Russell M. Cunningham	April 25, 1904 – March 5, 1905	Democratic	—	Acting as governor
33			B. B. Comer	January 14, 1907 – January 17, 1911	Democratic	43 (1906)		Henry B. Gray
34	75px		Emmet O'Neal	January 17, 1911 – January 18, 1915	Democratic	44 (1910)		Walter D. Seed, Sr.
35			Charles Henderson	January 18, 1915 – January 20, 1919	Democratic	45 (1914)		Thomas Kilby
36			Thomas Kilby	January 20, 1919 – January 15, 1923	Democratic	46 (1918)		Nathan Lee Miller
37			William W. Brandon	January 15, 1923 – January 17, 1927	Democratic	47 (1922)		Charles S. McDowell
—			Charles S. McDowell	July 10, 1924 – July 11, 1924	Democratic	—	Acting as governor
38			Bibb Graves	January 17, 1927 – January 19, 1931	Democratic	48 (1926)		William C. Davis
39			Benjamin M. Miller	January 19, 1931 – January 14, 1935	Democratic	49 (1930)		Hugh Davis Merrill
38			Bibb Graves	January 14, 1935 – January 17, 1939	Democratic	50 (1934)		Thomas E. Knight (January 14, 1935 – May 17, 1937)
							Vacant May 17, 1937 – January 17, 1939
40			Frank M. Dixon	January 17, 1939 – January 19, 1943	Democratic	51 (1938)		Albert A. Carmichael
41			Chauncey Sparks	January 19, 1943 – January 20, 1947	Democratic	52 (1942)		Leven H. Ellis
42			Jim Folsom	January 20, 1947 – January 15, 1951	Democratic	53 (1946)		James C. Inzer
43			Gordon Persons	January 15, 1951 – January 17, 1955	Democratic	54 (1950)		James Allen
42			Jim Folsom	January 17, 1955 – January 19, 1959	Democratic	55 (1954)		William G. Hardwick
44			John M. Patterson	January 19, 1959 – January 14, 1963	Democratic	56 (1958)		Albert Boutwell
45			George Wallace	January 14, 1963 – January 16, 1967	Democratic	57 (1962)		James Allen
46			Lurleen Wallace	January 16, 1967 – May 7, 1968	Democratic	58 (1966)		Albert Brewer
47			Albert Brewer	May 7, 1968 – January 18, 1971	Democratic		Vacant
45			George Wallace	January 18, 1971 – January 15, 1979	Democratic	59 (1970)		Jere Beasley
						60 (1974)
—			Jere Beasley	June 5, 1972 – July 7, 1972	Democratic	—	Acting as governor
48			Fob James	January 15, 1979 – January 17, 1983	Democratic	61 (1978)		George McMillan
45			George Wallace	January 17, 1983 – January 19, 1987	Democratic	62 (1982)		Bill Baxley
49			H. Guy Hunt	January 19, 1987 – April 22, 1993	Republican	63 (1986)		Jim Folsom, Jr.
						64 (1990)
50			Jim Folsom, Jr.	April 22, 1993 – January 16, 1995	Democratic		Vacant
48			Fob James	January 16, 1995 – January 18, 1999	Republican	65 (1994)		Don Siegelman
51			Don Siegelman	January 18, 1999 – January 20, 2003	Democratic	66 (1998)		Steve Windom
52			Bob Riley	January 20, 2003 – January 17, 2011	Republican	67 (2002)		Lucy Baxley
						68 (2006)		Jim Folsom, Jr.
53			Robert J. Bentley	January 17, 2011 – Incumbent	Republican	69 (2010)		Kay Ivey
						70 (2014)

Other high offices held

Nineteen of Alabama's governors have served other high offices, including one ambassador and one Confederate cabinet member. Fifteen represented Alabama in the U.S. Congress, while two represented Alabama in the Provisional Confederate Congress. Additionally, two were elected to the U.S. Senate shortly after the American Civil War, but were not allowed to take office.

Governor	Other offices held	Source
William Wyatt Bibb	Representative from Georgia Senator from Georgia
Israel Pickens	Representative from North Carolina Senator from Alabama
John Murphy	Representative from Alabama
Gabriel Moore	Representative from Alabama Senator from Alabama
John Gayle	Representative from Alabama
Clement Comer Clay	Representative from Alabama Senator from Alabama
Arthur P. Bagby	Senator from Alabama Minister to Russia
Benjamin Fitzpatrick	Senator from Alabama (including as President pro tempore)
Joshua L. Martin	Representative from Alabama
Reuben Chapman	Representative from Alabama
John A. Winston	Elected to represent Alabama in the Senate but was refused his seat
John Gill Shorter	Provisional Confederate Deputy from Alabama
Thomas H. Watts	Confederate States Attorney General
Lewis E. Parsons	Elected to represent Alabama in the Senate but was refused his seat
David P. Lewis	Provisional Confederate Deputy from Alabama
George S. Houston	Representative from Alabama Senator from Alabama
William C. Oates	Representative from Alabama
Joseph F. Johnston	Senator from Alabama
William J. Samford	Representative from Alabama
B. B. Comer	Senator from Alabama
Bob Riley	Representative from Alabama

Living former governors

There are six living former governors of Alabama, the oldest being John M. Patterson. The most recent death of a former governor was that of H. Guy Hunt (1987-1993) on January 30, 2009.

Governor	Years in office	Date of birth (and age)
John M. Patterson	1959–1963	(1921-09-27) September 27, 1921
Albert Brewer	1968–1971	(1928-10-26) October 26, 1928
Fob James	1979–1983 1995–1999	(1934-09-15) September 15, 1934
Jim Folsom, Jr.	1993–1995	(1949-05-14) May 14, 1949
Don Siegelman	1999–2003	(1946-02-24) February 24, 1946
Bob Riley	2003–2011	(1944-10-03) October 3, 1944

See also

• Timeline of Alabama

References

General

Constitutions

Specific

External links

• Office of the Governor of Alabama