List of Governors of Florida

Governor of Florida
Official seal
Incumbent Rick Scott since January 4, 2011
Style	Mr. Governor
Residence	Florida Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	William Dunn Moseley
Formation	1845
Deputy	Carlos López-Cantera, Lieutenant Governor
Salary	$130,273 (2013)[1]
Website	www.flgov.com

The Governor of Florida is the head of the executive branch of Florida's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida Legislature,^[3] to convene the legislature,^[4] and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.^[5]

When Florida was first acquired by the United States, future president Andrew Jackson served as its military governor. Florida Territory was established in 1822, and five people served as governor over six distinct terms. The first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, served 12 years, the longest of any governor to date.

Since statehood in 1845 there have been 43 people who have served as governor, one of whom served two distinct terms. Three state governors have served two full four-year terms: William D. Bloxham, in two stints; and Reubin Askew and Jeb Bush, who each served their terms consecutively. Bob Graham almost served two terms, as he resigned with only three days left. The shortest term in office belongs to Wayne Mixson, who served three days following the resignation of his predecessor, Bob Graham.

The current governor is Rick Scott, who took office on January 4, 2011, following the 2010 election. He was re-elected in 2014, and his second term began on January 6, 2015.

Governors

Federal Military Commissioner

For a list of governors of Florida before it became a United States territory, see the list of colonial governors of Florida.

Spanish Florida was acquired from Spain in the Adams–Onís Treaty, which took effect July 10, 1821.^[6] Parts of West Florida had already been assigned to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi; the remainder and East Florida were governed by a military commissioner with the powers of governor until the territory was organized and incorporated.^[7]

Picture	Commissioner	Took office	Left office	Appointed by	Notes
	Andrew Jackson	March 10, 1821	December 31, 1821	James Monroe	[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]

Governors of the Territory of Florida

Florida Territory was organized on March 30, 1822, combining East and West Florida.^[12]

Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Appointed by
	William Pope Duval	April 17, 1822	April 24, 1834	James Monroe
				John Quincy Adams
				Andrew Jackson
	John Eaton	April 24, 1834	March 16, 1836
	Richard K. Call	March 16, 1836	December 2, 1839
	Robert R. Reid	December 2, 1839	March 19, 1841	Martin Van Buren
	Richard K. Call	March 19, 1841	August 11, 1844	William Henry Harrison
				John Tyler
	John Branch	August 11, 1844	June 25, 1845

Governors of the State of Florida

The State of Florida was admitted to the Union on March 3, 1845. It seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861,^[13] and joined the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861,^[14] as a founding member; there was no Union government in exile, so there was a single line of governors. Following the end of the American Civil War, it was part of the Third Military District.^[15] Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868.^[16]

The Florida Constitution of 1838 provided that a governor be elected every four years, who was not allowed to serve consecutive terms.^[17] The secessionist constitution of 1861 would have reduced this to two years and removed the term limit,^[18] but the state fell to the Union before the first election under that constitution. The rejected constitution of 1865 and the ratified constitution of 1868 maintained the four-year term,^[19][20] though without the earlier term limit, which was reintroduced in the 1885 constitution.^[21] The current constitution of 1968 states that should the governor serve, or would have served had he not resigned, more than six years in two consecutive terms, he cannot be elected to the succeeding term.^[22] The start of a term was set in 1885 at the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following the election,^[21] where it has remained.^[23]

Originally, the president of the state senate acted as governor should that office be vacant.^[24] The 1865 and 1868 constitutions created the office of lieutenant governor,^[25][26] who would similarly act as governor. This office was abolished in 1885, with the president of the senate again taking on that duty.^[27] The 1968 constitution recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who now becomes governor in the absence of the governor.^[28] The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.^[22]

Florida was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic and Whig parties. It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 90 years passed before voters chose another Republican.

Democratic (34)   Whig (1)   Provisional (1)   Republican (8)[lower-alpha 3]   Prohibition (1)   Independent (1)[lower-alpha 3]
#[lower-alpha 4]	Governor			Term in office	Party	Term[lower-alpha 5]	Lt. Governor[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7]
1			William Dunn Moseley	June 25, 1845 – October 1, 1849	Democratic	1 (1845)	Office did not exist
2			Thomas Brown	October 1, 1849 – October 3, 1853	Whig	2 (1849)
3			James E. Broome	October 3, 1853 – October 5, 1857	Democratic	3 (1853)
4			Madison S. Perry	October 5, 1857 – October 7, 1861	Democratic	4 (1857)
5			John Milton	October 7, 1861 – April 1, 1865	Democratic	5 (1861) [lower-alpha 8]
6			Abraham K. Allison	April 1, 1865 – May 19, 1865	Democratic
—	Interregnum			May 19, 1865 – July 13, 1865	—
7			William Marvin	July 13, 1865 – December 20, 1865	Provisional	6 (1865) [lower-alpha 9]
8			David S. Walker	December 20, 1865 – July 4, 1868	Democratic[lower-alpha 10]			William W. J. Kelly[lower-alpha 11]
9			Harrison Reed	July 4, 1868 – January 7, 1873	Republican	7 (1868) [lower-alpha 12]		William Henry Gleason (removed December 14, 1868)[lower-alpha 13]
							Vacant
								Edmund C. Weeks (appointed January 24, 1870) (term ended December 27, 1870)[lower-alpha 14]
								Samuel T. Day (took office December 27, 1870)
10			Ossian B. Hart	January 7, 1873 – March 18, 1874	Republican	8 (1872) [lower-alpha 15]		Marcellus Stearns
11			Marcellus Stearns	March 18, 1874 – January 2, 1877	Republican		Vacant
12			George Franklin Drew	January 2, 1877 – January 4, 1881	Democratic	9 (1876)		Noble A. Hull (resigned March 3, 1879)
							Vacant
13			William D. Bloxham	January 4, 1881 – January 7, 1885	Democratic	10 (1880)		Livingston W. Bethel
14			Edward A. Perry	January 7, 1885 – January 8, 1889	Democratic	11 (1884)		Milton H. Mabry
15			Francis P. Fleming	January 8, 1889 – January 3, 1893	Democratic	12 (1888)	Office did not exist
16			Henry L. Mitchell	January 3, 1893 – January 5, 1897	Democratic	13 (1892)
17			William D. Bloxham	January 5, 1897 – January 8, 1901	Democratic	14 (1896)
18			William Sherman Jennings	January 8, 1901 – January 3, 1905	Democratic	15 (1900)
19			Napoleon B. Broward	January 3, 1905 – January 5, 1909	Democratic	16 (1904)
20			Albert W. Gilchrist	January 5, 1909 – January 7, 1913	Democratic	17 (1908)
21			Park Trammell	January 7, 1913 – January 2, 1917	Democratic	18 (1912)
22			Sidney Johnston Catts	January 2, 1917 – January 4, 1921	Prohibition	19 (1916)
23			Cary A. Hardee	January 4, 1921 – January 6, 1925	Democratic	20 (1920)
24			John W. Martin	January 6, 1925 – January 8, 1929	Democratic	21 (1924)
25			Doyle E. Carlton	January 8, 1929 – January 3, 1933	Democratic	22 (1928)
26			David Sholtz	January 3, 1933 – January 5, 1937	Democratic	23 (1932)
27			Fred P. Cone	January 5, 1937 – January 7, 1941	Democratic	24 (1936)
28			Spessard Holland	January 7, 1941 – January 2, 1945	Democratic	25 (1940)
29			Millard F. Caldwell	January 2, 1945 – January 4, 1949	Democratic	26 (1944)
30			Fuller Warren	January 4, 1949 – January 6, 1953	Democratic	27 (1948)
31			Daniel T. McCarty	January 6, 1953 – September 28, 1953	Democratic	28 (1952) [lower-alpha 16]
32			Charley Eugene Johns	September 28, 1953 – January 4, 1955	Democratic
33			LeRoy Collins	January 4, 1955 – January 3, 1961	Democratic
						29 (1956)
34			C. Farris Bryant	January 3, 1961 – January 5, 1965	Democratic	(1960)
35			W. Haydon Burns	January 5, 1965 – January 3, 1967	Democratic	31 (1964) [lower-alpha 17]
36			Claude R. Kirk, Jr.	January 3, 1967 – January 5, 1971	Republican	32 (1966)
								Ray C. Osborne (took office January 7, 1969)
37			Reubin Askew	January 5, 1971 – January 2, 1979	Democratic	33 (1970)		Thomas Burton Adams, Jr.
						34 (1974)		Jim Williams
38			Bob Graham	January 2, 1979 – January 3, 1987	Democratic	35 (1978)		Wayne Mixson
						36 (1982) [lower-alpha 18]
39			Wayne Mixson	January 3, 1987 – January 6, 1987	Democratic		Vacant
40			Bob Martinez	January 6, 1987 – January 8, 1991	Republican	37 (1986)		Bobby Brantley
41			Lawton Chiles	January 8, 1991 – December 12, 1998	Democratic	38 (1990)		Buddy MacKay
						39 (1994) [lower-alpha 19]
42			Buddy MacKay	December 12, 1998 – January 5, 1999	Democratic		Vacant
43			Jeb Bush	January 5, 1999 – January 2, 2007	Republican	40 (1998)		Frank Brogan (resigned March 3, 2003)
						41 (2002)
								Toni Jennings
44			Charlie Crist	January 2, 2007 – January 4, 2011	Republican	42 (2006)		Jeff Kottkamp[lower-alpha 11]
					Independent[lower-alpha 20]
45			Rick Scott	January 4, 2011 – Incumbent	Republican	43 (2010)		Jennifer Carroll (resigned March 12, 2013)
							Vacant
								Carlos López-Cantera (appointed February 3, 2014)
						44 (2014) [lower-alpha 21]

Other high offices held

Fourteen of Florida's governors have served in federal offices, including one President of the United States, two Cabinet secretaries, and one ambassador. One served as Governor of North Carolina, and all fourteen were elected to the U.S. Congress, though only nine represented Florida, and only seven actually took their seats. One died before taking office, and the other was refused his seat by the U.S. Senate shortly after the American Civil War, because Florida had not yet been reconstructed. One governor (marked with *) resigned to take his seat in the Senate.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Other offices held	Source
Andrew Jackson	1821	Representative and Senator from Tennessee, President of the United States	[38]
William Pope Duval	1822–1834	Representative from Kentucky	[39]
John Eaton	1834–1836	Senator from Tennessee, Minister to Spain, Secretary of War	[40]
Richard K. Call	1836–1839 1841–1844	Territorial Delegate from Florida Territory	[41]
Robert R. Reid	1839–1841	Representative from Florida, Representative from Georgia	[42]
John Branch	1844–1845	Representative and Senator from North Carolina, Governor of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy	[43]
William Marvin	1865	Elected to the Senate from Florida but was refused seat	[44]
Napoleon B. Broward	1905–1909	Elected to the Senate from Florida but died before taking office	[45]
Park Trammell	1913–1917	Senator from Florida	[46]
Spessard Holland	1941–1945	Senator from Florida	[47]
Millard F. Caldwell	1945–1949	Representative from Florida	[48]
Bob Graham	1979–1987	Senator from Florida*	[49]
Lawton Chiles	1991–1998	Senator from Florida	[50]
Buddy MacKay	1998–1999	Representative from Florida	[51]

Living former U.S. governors of Florida

As of May 2015, there are six former governors who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. governor of Florida being Wayne Mixson (served 1987, born 1922). The most recent death of a former U.S. governor of Florida was that of Reubin Askew (served 1971–1979, born 1928), on March 13, 2014. The most recently serving U.S. governor of Florida to die was Lawton Chiles, who served from January 8, 1991 until he died in office on December 12, 1998.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Bob Graham	1979–1987	November 9, 1936
Wayne Mixson	1987	June 16, 1922
Bob Martinez	1987–1991	December 25, 1934
Buddy MacKay	1998–1999	March 22, 1933
Jeb Bush	1999–2007	February 11, 1953
Charlie Crist	2007–2011	July 24, 1956

Line of Succession

Since 2003, the line of succession to the office of Governor has been as follows:^[52]

1. Lieutenant Governor, currently Carlos López-Cantera
2. Attorney General, currently Pam Bondi
3. Chief Financial Officer, currently Jeff Atwater
4. Commissioner of Agriculture, currently Adam Putnam

Whenever the Governor is unable or unwilling to discharge the office, either temporarily or permanently, the Lieutenant Governor takes over all the duties of the governorship either until the Governor is able to resume the office or until the next election. At any time that the Governor is on trial for impeachment, the Lieutenant Governor becomes the Acting Governor. Additionally, at any time that three members of the cabinet and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court agree on the Governor's mental or physical unfitness for office, they may suspend and reinstate the Governor, pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution.

If a vacancy occurs in the office of Governor and a successor within the above-stated line of succession can not fill the vacancy, the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and the President of the Senate must convene the Legislature by joint proclamation within 15 days for the purpose of choosing a person to serve as Governor for the remainder of the term. A successor can only be chosen by a majority vote in a joint session of both houses.^[53]

If, after the appointment of a Lieutenant Governor, a vacancy occurs in the office of Governor with more than 28 months remaining in the term and the appointed Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor, voters must choose a governor and lieutenant governor to serve out the remainder of the terms at the next general election.

Notes

1. Jackson's official titles were "Commissioner of the United States" and "Governor of East and West Florida".^[8]
2. Jackson left Florida on October 8, 1821.^[9] His resignation was submitted on November 13, 1821,^[10] and the president accepted it on December 31, 1821.^[11]
3. Includes one partial term served by a governor who represented another party during the same term.
4. The official numbering includes repeat terms, as well as the provisional governor.
5. 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.
6. The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1868, abolished in 1885, and recreated in 1968.
7. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
8. Milton died in office, having committed suicide due to the pending defeat of the Confederate States of America, stating in his final address to the legislature that "death would be preferable to reunion."^[29] As president of the senate, Allison acted as governor until he resigned to go into hiding from approaching Union troops, and was captured by them on June 19, 1865.^[30] Following his resignation, Florida was without governance until a federal governor was appointed.
9. Marvin and Walker were appointed by President Andrew Johnson following the American Civil War.
10. Most sources state Walker was a Democrat; the state archives say he was "Conservative".^[31]
11. Represented the Republican Party.
12. Reed was popularly elected under the terms of the 1868 constitution, and took the oath of office on June 8, 1868; it was not until July 4, 1868, however, that the federal commander of Florida, still under Reconstruction, recognized the validity of the state constitution and the election.^[32]
13. During an attempted impeachment of Reed, Gleason proclaimed himself governor. The Supreme Court eventually sided with Reed, and Gleason was removed from office.^[33]
14. Appointed as temporary lieutenant governor to replace William Henry Gleason. However, the state comptroller did not believe the governor could appoint a replacement to an elected office and refused to pay Weeks, and the Senate refused to accept his presidency over them, even proposing a motion to arrest him. Governor Reed called for a special election to replace him, and though Weeks fought it, the Florida Supreme Court declared his term to have ended when the new election results were certified.^[34]
15. Hart died in office. As lieutenant governor, Stearns acted as governor for the remainder of the term.
16. McCarty died in office. As president of the senate, Johns acted as governor until a special election, in which Collins was chosen.^[35]
17. Burns' term was only two years as the election schedule was changed so that it would not coincide with presidential elections.^[36]
18. Graham resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate. As lieutenant governor, Mixson became governor.
19. Chiles died in office; as lieutenant governor, MacKay became governor.
20. Crist was elected as a member of the Republican Party, and switched to independent in April 2010.^[37]
21. Governor Scott's second term expires on January 8, 2019; he will be term limited.

References

General

• "Governors of Florida". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
• "A Guide to Florida Governors and the Florida Cabinet". State Library and Archives of Florida. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

Constitutions

• "Constitution of the State of Florida". Florida Legislature. 1968. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
• "Constitution of 1885". State Library and Archives of Florida. 1885. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
• "Constitution of 1868". State Library and Archives of Florida. 1868. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
• "Constitution of 1865". State Library and Archives of Florida. 1865. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
• "Constitution of the State of Florida". State Library and Archives of Florida. 1868. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
• "Constitution of 1838". State Library and Archives of Florida. 1838. Retrieved April 19, 2015.

Specific

1. "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
2. FL Const. art. IV, § 1a
3. FL Const. art. III, § 8
4. FL Const. art. III, § 3c
5. FL Const. art. IV, § 8
6. "Adams-Onís Treaty". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
7. "Andrew Jackson, Commissioner of the United States". Florida Department of State. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
8. "Andrew Jackson". State Library and Archives of Florida. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
9. Morris, Allen; Joan Perry Morris (1999). The Florida Handbook, 1999–2000. Peninsular Books. ISBN 978-0-9616000-7-5. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
10. Harold D. Moser; David R. Hoth; George H. Hoemann, eds. (1996). The Papers of Andrew Jackson: 1821–1824. University of Tennessee Press. p. 513. ISBN 0-87049-897-5. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
11. Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed. (1902). The Writings of James Monroe. G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 207. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
12. Peters, Virginia Bergman (1979). The Florida Wars. Hamden: The Shoestring Press. pp. 63–74. ISBN 0-208-01719-4.
13. "Florida and the Civil War" A Short History". Florida Memory. State Library & Archives of Florida. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
14. "February 1861–1865". This Day in History. Florida Historical Society. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
15. Cox, Merlin (January 1968). "Military Reconstruction in Florida". Florida Historical Quarterly. 46 (3): 219.
16. "June in Florida History". This Day in History. Florida Historical Society. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
17. 1838 Const. art III, § 2
18. 1861 Const. art. III, § 2
19. 1865 Const. art. III, § 2
20. 1868 Const. art. V, § 2
21. 1885 Const. art. IV, § 2
22. FL Const. art. IV, § 5
23. FL Const. art. IV, § 2
24. 1838 Const. art III, § 18
25. 1865 Const. art. III, § 19
26. 1868 Const. art. V, § 15
27. 1885 Const. art. IV, § 19
28. FL Const. art. IV, § 3
29. "John Milton". National Governors Association. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
30. "Abraham Kurkindolle Allison". National Governors Association. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
31. "David Shelby Walker". State Library and Archives of Florida. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
32. "Florida Governors' Portraits – Harrison Reed". Museum of Florida History. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
33. Davis, William Watson (1913). The Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida, Volume 53. Columbia University. pp. 550–555. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
34. Cases argued and adjudged in the Supreme Court of Florida. XIII. State of Florida. 1871. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
35. "Thomas Leroy Collins". National Governors Association. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
36. "Haydon Burns". National Governors Association. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
37. "Can Crist Win in Florida as an Independent?". Time. May 3, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
38. "Jackson, Andrew". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
39. "Duval, William Pope". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
40. "Eaton, John Henry". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
41. "Call, Richard Keith". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
42. "Reid, Robert Raymond". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
43. "Branch, John". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
44. "William Marvin". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
45. "Napoleon Bonaparte Broward". National Governors Association. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
46. "Trammell, Park". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
47. "Holland, Spessard Lindsey". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
48. "Caldwell, Millard Fillmore". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
49. "Graham, Daniel Robert (Bob)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
50. "Chiles, Lawton Mainor, Jr.". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
51. "MacKay, Kenneth Hood, Jr. (Buddy)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
52. "States' Lines of Succession of Gubernatorial Powers" (PDF). National Emergency Management Association (NEMA). May 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
53. "Succession to office of Governor". The Florida Legislature. Retrieved May 1, 2015.