List of Governors of California

Jerry Brown, 34th and the current 39th Governor of California. He is the longest serving governor in California history.

The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

There have been 38 governors; many have been influential nationwide in areas far-flung from politics. Leland Stanford founded Stanford University in 1891. Earl Warren, later Chief Justice of the United States, won an election with the nominations of the three major parties – the only person ever to run essentially unopposed for governor of California. Ronald Reagan, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild and later President of the United States, and Arnold Schwarzenegger both came to prominence through acting. Gray Davis, the 37th governor of California, was the second governor in American history to be recalled by voters. The shortest tenure was that of Milton Latham, who served only five days before being elected by the legislature to fill a vacant United States Senate seat. The longest tenure is that of the current governor, Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr., who previously served as governor from 1975 to 1983 and has been serving again since 2011. He is the son of former governor Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. who served from 1959-1967.

Governors

For the governors prior to statehood, see the List of Governors of California before admission.

California was obtained by the United States in the Mexican Cession following the Mexican–American War. Unlike most other states, it was never organized as a territory, and was admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850.

The original California Constitution of 1849 called for elections every two years, with no set start date for the term. An amendment ratified in 1862 increased the term to four years,^[1] and the 1879 constitution set the term to begin on the first Monday in January following an election. In 1990, Proposition 140 led to a constitutional amendment^[2] implementing a term limit of two terms;^[3] prior to this limit, only one governor, Earl Warren, served more than two terms. Jerry Brown was able to be elected to a third term in 2010 because his previous terms were before the term limit was enacted. The 1849 constitution also created the office of lieutenant governor, who, in cases of vacancy in the office of governor, becomes governor.^[4] The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.

List of governors

Democratic (16)       American (1)       Republican (22)       Progressive (1)
№	Portrait	Governor		Term in office	Party	Term[lower-alpha 1]	Previous office	Lieutenant Governor
1			Peter Hardeman Burnett November 15, 1807 – May 17, 1895 (Aged 87)	December 20, 1849 – January 9, 1851	Democratic	1 [lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]	None		John McDougall
2			John McDougall ca. 1818 – March 30, 1866 (Aged 48)	January 9, 1851 – January 8, 1852	Democratic		1st Lieutenant Governor of California (1849–1851)		David C. Broderick (acting)
3			John Bigler January 8, 1805 – November 29, 1871 (Aged 66)	January 8, 1852 – January 9, 1856	Democratic	2	2nd Speaker of the California Assembly (1850–1851)		Samuel Purdy
						3
4			J. Neely Johnson August 2, 1825 – August 31, 1872 (Aged 47)	January 9, 1856 – January 8, 1858	American	4	California State Assemblyman		Robert M. Anderson
5			John B. Weller February 22, 1812 – August 17, 1875 (Aged 63)	January 8, 1858 – January 9, 1860	Democratic	5	U.S. Senator from California (1852-1857)		John Walkup
6			Milton Latham May 23, 1827 – March 4, 1882 (Aged 54)	January 9, 1860 – January 14, 1860	Democratic	6 [lower-alpha 4]	U.S. Representative for California's At-large (1853-1855)		John G. Downey
7			John G. Downey June 24, 1827 – March 1, 1894 (Aged 66)	January 14, 1860 – January 10, 1862	Democratic		6th Lieutenant Governor of California (1860)		Isaac N. Quinn (acting) January 14, 1860 – January 7, 1861
									Pablo de la Guerra (acting) January 7, 1861 – January 10, 1862
8			Leland Stanford March 9, 1824 – June 21, 1893 (Aged 69)	January 10, 1862 – December 10, 1863	Republican	7	None		John F. Chellis
9			Frederick Low June 30, 1828 – July 21, 1894 (Aged 66)	December 10, 1863 – December 5, 1867	Republican	8 [lower-alpha 5]	U.S. Representative for California's At-large (1862-1863)		Tim N. Machin
10			Henry Huntly Haight May 20, 1825 – September 2, 1878 (Aged 53)	December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871	Democratic	9	None		William Holden
11			Newton Booth December 30, 1825 – July 14, 1892 (Aged 66)	December 8, 1871 – February 27, 1875	Republican	10 [lower-alpha 6]	California State Senator		Romualdo Pacheco
12			Romualdo Pacheco October 31, 1831 – January 23, 1899 (Aged 67)	February 27, 1875 – December 9, 1875	Republican		9th Lieutenant Governor of California (1849–1851)		William Irwin (acting)
13			William Irwin ca. 1827 – March 15, 1886 (Aged 58–59)	December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880	Democratic	11	Acting Lieutenant Governor of California		James A. Johnson
14			George Clement Perkins August 23, 1839 – February 26, 1923 (Aged 83)	January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883	Republican	12	California State Senator		John Mansfield
15			George Stoneman August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894 (Aged 72)	January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887	Democratic	13	Major General Union Army		John Daggett
16			Washington Bartlett February 29, 1824 – September 12, 1887 (Aged 63)	January 8, 1887 – September 12, 1887	Democratic	14 [lower-alpha 7]	20th Mayor of San Francisco (1883-1887)		Robert Waterman
17			Robert Waterman December 15, 1826 – April 12, 1891 (Aged 64)	September 12, 1887 – January 8, 1891	Republican		17th Lieutenant Governor of California		Stephen M. White[lower-alpha 8] (acting)
18			Henry Markham November 16, 1840 – October 9, 1923 (Aged 82)	January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895	Republican	15	U.S. Representative for California's 1st (1885-1887)		John B. Reddick
19			James Budd May 18, 1851 – July 30, 1908 (Aged 57)	January 11, 1895 – January 4, 1899	Democratic	16	U.S. Representative for California's 2nd (1883-1885)		Spencer G. Millard[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 10] January 11, 1895 – October 24, 1895
									William T. Jeter October 24, 1895 – January 4, 1899
20			Henry Gage December 25, 1852 – August 28, 1924 (Aged 71)	January 4, 1899 – January 7, 1903	Republican	17	None		Jacob H. Neff
21			George Pardee July 25, 1857 – September 1, 1941 (Aged 84)	January 7, 1903 – January 9, 1907	Republican	18	29th Mayor of Oakland (1893-1895)		Alden Anderson
22			James Gillett September 20, 1860 – April 20, 1937 (Aged 76)	January 9, 1907 – January 3, 1911	Republican	19	U.S. Representative for California's 1st (1903-1906)		Warren R. Porter
23			Hiram Johnson September 2, 1866 – August 6, 1945 (Aged 78)	January 3, 1911 – March 15, 1917	Republican	20	None		A.J. Wallace
					Progressive	21 [lower-alpha 11]			John M. Eshleman[lower-alpha 12] (January 5, 1915 – February 28, 1916)
								Vacant February 28, 1916 – July 22, 1916
									William Stephens[lower-alpha 9] (July 22, 1916 - March 15, 1917)
24			William Stephens December 26, 1859 – April 25, 1944 (Aged 84)	March 15, 1917 – January 8, 1923	Republican		27th Lieutenant Governor of California (1916–1917)	Vacant
						22			C.C. Young
25			Friend Richardson December 1, 1865 – September 6, 1943 (Aged 77)	January 9, 1923 – January 4, 1927	Republican	23	21st California State Treasurer (1915-1923)
26			C.C. Young April 28, 1869 – December 24, 1947 (Aged 78)	January 4, 1927 – January 6, 1931	Republican	24	29th Lieutenant Governor of California (1919–1927)		Buron Fitts (1927-1928)
									H. L. Carnahan (1928-1931)
27			James Rolph August 23, 1869 – June 2, 1934 (Aged 64)	January 6, 1931 – June 2, 1934	Republican	25 [lower-alpha 13]	30th Mayor of San Francisco (1912-1931)		Frank Merriam
28			Frank Merriam December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955 (Aged 89)	June 2, 1934 – January 2, 1939	Republican		31st Lieutenant Governor of California (1931–1934)	Vacant
						26			George J. Hatfield
29			Culbert Olson November 7, 1876 – April 13, 1962 (Aged 85)	January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943	Democratic	27	California State Senator	Vacant
									Ellis E. Patterson (1939-1943)
30			Earl Warren March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974 (Aged 83)	January 4, 1943 – October 5, 1953	Republican[lower-alpha 14]	28	20th Attorney General of California (1939–1943)		Frederick Houser
						29			Goodwin Knight
						30[lower-alpha 15]
31			Goodwin Knight December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970 (Aged 73)	October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959	Republican		35th Lieutenant Governor of California (1947–1953)		Harold J. Powers
						31
32			Pat Brown April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996 (Aged 90)	January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967	Democratic	32	23rd Attorney General of California (1951–1959)		Glenn M. Anderson
						33
33			Ronald Reagan February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004 (Aged 93)	January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975	Republican	34	None		Robert Finch (1967-1969)
									Edwin Reinecke (1969-1974)
						35
									John L. Harmer (1974-1975)
34			Jerry Brown April 7, 1938	January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983	Democratic	36	24th Secretary of State of California (1971–1975)		Mervyn M. Dymally
						37			Michael Curb[lower-alpha 9]
35			George Deukmejian June 6, 1928	January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991	Republican	38	27th Attorney General of California (1979–1983)		Leo T. McCarthy[lower-alpha 8]
						39
36			Pete Wilson August 3, 1933	January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999	Republican	40	U.S. Senator from California (1983-1991)
						41			Gray Davis[lower-alpha 8]
37			Gray Davis December 26, 1942	January 4, 1999 – November 17, 2003	Democratic	42	44th Lieutenant Governor of California (1995-1999)		Cruz Bustamante[lower-alpha 8]
						43 [lower-alpha 16]
38			Arnold Schwarzenegger July 30, 1947	November 17, 2003 – January 3, 2011	Republican		None
						44			John Garamendi[lower-alpha 8] (2007-2009)
									Abel Maldonado[lower-alpha 9][lower-alpha 17] (2009-2011)
39			Jerry Brown April 7, 1938	January 3, 2011 – Incumbent	Democratic	45	31st Attorney General of California (2007-2011) 34th Governor of California (1975-1983)
									Gavin Newsom[lower-alpha 17] (2011 - present)
						46 [lower-alpha 18]

Other high offices held

Seventeen governors of California have served other high offices, including one President of the United States, a Chief Justice of the United States, and five ambassadors. Thirteen have served in the U.S. Congress, all representing California, though one of them also represented Ohio.

Governor	Other offices held	Source
John Bigler	Minister to Chile	[10]
John B. Weller	Representative from Ohio Senator from California Minister to Mexico	[11]
Milton Latham	Representative from California Senator from California	[12]
Leland Stanford	Senator from California	[13]
Frederick Low	Representative from California Minister to the Great Qing Empire	[14]
Newton Booth	Senator from California	[15]
Romualdo Pacheco	Representative from California Minister to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua	[16]
George Clement Perkins	Senator from California	[17]
Henry Markham	Representative from California	[18]
James Budd	Representative from California	[19]
Henry Gage	Minister to Portugal	[20]
James Gillett	Representative from California	[21]
Hiram Johnson	Senator from California	[22]
William Stephens	Representative from California	[23]
Earl Warren	Chief Justice of the United States	[24]
Ronald Reagan	President of the United States	[25]
Pete Wilson	Senator from California	[26]

Living former U.S. governors of California

There are four former governors of California who are currently alive, the oldest being George Deukmejian, born 1928. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Ronald Reagan (served 1967-1975, born 1911) on June 5, 2004. Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975 to 1983, is currently serving and thus is not included on this list.

Governor	Years in office	Date of birth (and age)
George Deukmejian	1983–1991	June 6, 1928
Pete Wilson	1991–1999	August 23, 1933
Gray Davis	1999–2003	December 26, 1942
Arnold Schwarzenegger	2003–2011	July 30, 1947

See also

• List of Governors of California before admission
• List of Governors of California by age

Notes

1. Each term for which a governor is elected is listed here; if multiple governors served in a single term, due to resignations, deaths, and the like, then that term will be shared among those governors. If a governor was elected multiple times, then there will be multiple terms listed for that governor.
2. A civilian government was formed in late 1849 prior to official statehood, and operated as the state government for ten months before official statehood was granted.^[5]
3. Burnett resigned, citing personal reasons; he was reportedly unhappy with the legislature, and wanted more time to manage his business.^[6] As lieutenant governor, McDougall became governor.
4. Latham resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate. As lieutenant governor, Downey became governor.
5. An 1862 constitutional amendment increased the office's term length from two to four years.
6. Booth resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate. As lieutenant governor, Pacheco became governor.
7. Bartlett died in office; as lieutenant governor, Waterman became governor.
8. Represented the Democratic Party (United States).
9. Represented the Republican Party (United States).
10. Died in office.
11. Johnson resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate. As lieutenant governor, Stephens became governor.
12. Died in office.^[7]
13. Rolph died in office; as lieutenant governor, Merriam became governor.
14. Warren ran as a Republican for his first and third terms. For his second term, he won the nomination of the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive parties.
15. Warren resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States. As lieutenant governor, Knight became governor.
16. Davis was recalled and Schwarzenegger chosen to replace him in a special recall election.^[8]
17. Newsom delayed his swearing in as lieutenant governor until January 10, 2011, to remain mayor of San Francisco; Maldonado stayed on as lieutenant governor until then.^[9]
18. Governor Brown's fourth term expires on January 7, 2019; he will be term limited.

References

General

• "Governors of California". California State Library. Official Site of the State of California. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
• "California: Past Governors Bios". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
• "Chronology of California's Lieutenant Governors". Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
• JoinCalifornia.com - Dates of birth and death for Governors

Constitutions

• "Constitution of the State of California". Legislative Counsel of California. 1879. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
• "Constitution of the State of California". California Secretary of State. 1849. Retrieved February 27, 2010.

Specific

1. Henning, W.F. (1899). Constitution of the State of California. C.W. Palm Company. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
2. "California Ballot Propositions 1990-1999". Los Angeles County Law Library. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
3. CA Const. art. V, § 2
4. CA Const. art. V, § 10
5. "California Governor Peter Hardeman Burnett". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
6. Durham, Walter T. (1997). Volunteer Forty-niners: Tennesseans and the California Gold Rush. Vanderbilt University Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-8265-1298-4. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
7. "Lieutenant Governor Eshleman Dies Very Suddenly". Marin County Tocsin. March 4, 1916. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
8. "Statewide Special Election". California Secretary of State. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
9. Upton Oot, John (January 7, 2011). "Newsom's Dual Role Raises Legal Quandary". The Bay Citizen. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
10. "California Governor John Bigler". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
11. "Weller, John B.". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
12. "Latham, Milton Slocum". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
13. "Stanford, Leland". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
14. "Low, Frederick Ferdinand". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
15. "Booth, Newton". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
16. "Pacheco, Romualdo". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
17. "Perkins, George Clement". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
18. "Markham, Henry Harrison". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
19. "Budd, James Herbert". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
20. "California Governor Henry Tifft Gage". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
21. "Gillett, James Norris". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
22. "Johnson, Hiram Warren". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
23. "Stephens, William Dennison". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.
24. "California Governor Earl Warren". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
25. "California Governor Ronald Wilson Reagan". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
26. "Wilson, Pete". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Historian of the United States Senate. Retrieved October 15, 2008.

External links

• Office of the Governor of California