List of Governors of Vermont

The Governor of Vermont is the state government's chief executive. As of 2015, Vermont is one of only two states (New Hampshire being the other) that elects governors for two-year terms.

Until 1870, Vermont elected its governors for one-year terms.^[1]

List

The following is a list of governors of Vermont:

As the independent Vermont Republic

#	Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Party	Lt. governor
1		Thomas Chittenden	1778	1789	No party	Joseph Marsh (1778–1779)	No party'
						Benjamin Carpenter (1779–1781)	No party
						Elisha Payne (1781–1782)	No party
						Paul Spooner (1782–1787)	No party
						Joseph Marsh (1787–1790)	No party
2		Moses Robinson	1789	1790	No party
3		Thomas Chittenden	1790	1791	No party	Peter Olcott (1790–1794)	No party

As a U.S. state

Parties

  Democratic   Democratic-Republican   Federalist   No party   National Republican   Republican   Whig

#	Picture	Governor	Took office	Left office	Party
1		Thomas Chittenden	October 1790	August 25, 1797	No party	West
2		Paul Brigham	August 25, 1797	October 16, 1797	Democratic-Republican	East
3		Isaac Tichenor	October 16, 1797	October 9, 1807	Federalist	West
4		Israel Smith	October 9, 1807	October 14, 1808	Democratic-Republican	West
5		Isaac Tichenor	October 14, 1808	October 14, 1809	Federalist	West
6		Jonas Galusha	October 14, 1809	October 23, 1813	Democratic-Republican	West
7		Martin Chittenden	October 23, 1813	October 14, 1815	Federalist	West
8		Jonas Galusha	October 14, 1815	October 23, 1820	Democratic-Republican	West
9		Richard Skinner	October 23, 1820	October 10, 1823	Democratic-Republican	West
10		Cornelius P. Van Ness	October 10, 1823	October 13, 1826	Democratic-Republican	West
11		Ezra Butler	October 13, 1826	October 10, 1828	National Republican	East
12		Samuel C. Crafts	October 10, 1828	October 18, 1831	National Republican	East
13		William A. Palmer	October 18, 1831	November 2, 1835	Anti-Masonic	East
14		Silas H. Jennison	November 2, 1835	October 15, 1841	Whig	West
15		Charles Paine	October 15, 1841	October 13, 1843	Whig	East
16		John Mattocks	October 13, 1843	October 11, 1844	Whig	East
17		William Slade	October 11, 1844	October 9, 1846	Whig	West
18		Horace Eaton	October 9, 1846	October 1848	Whig	East
19		Carlos Coolidge	October 1848	October 11, 1850	Whig	East
20		Charles K. Williams	October 11, 1850	October 1852	Whig	West
21		Erastus Fairbanks	October 1852	October 1853	Whig	East
22		John S. Robinson	October 1853	October 13, 1854	Democratic	West
23		Stephen Royce	October 13, 1854	October 10, 1856	Whig (1st term) / Republican (2nd term)	West
24		Ryland Fletcher	October 10, 1856	October 10, 1858	Republican	East
25		Hiland Hall	October 10, 1858	October 12, 1860	Republican	West
26		Erastus Fairbanks	October 12, 1860	October 11, 1861	Republican	East
27		Frederick Holbrook	October 11, 1861	October 9, 1863	Republican	East
28		J. Gregory Smith	October 9, 1863	October 13, 1865	Republican	West
29		Paul Dillingham	October 13, 1865	October 13, 1867	Republican	East
30		John B. Page	October 13, 1867	October 15, 1869	Republican	West
31		Peter T. Washburn	October 15, 1869	February 7, 1870	Republican	East
32		George W. Hendee	February 7, 1870	October 6, 1870	Republican	West
33		John W. Stewart	October 6, 1870	October 3, 1872	Republican	West
34		Julius Converse	October 3, 1872	October 8, 1874	Republican	East
35		Asahel Peck	October 8, 1874	October 5, 1876	Republican	West
36		Horace Fairbanks	October 5, 1876	October 3, 1878	Republican	East
37		Redfield Proctor	October 3, 1878	October 7, 1880	Republican	West
38		Roswell Farnham	October 7, 1880	October 5, 1882	Republican	East
39		John L. Barstow	October 5, 1882	October 2, 1884	Republican	West
40		Samuel E. Pingree	October 2, 1884	October 7, 1886	Republican	East
41		Ebenezer J. Ormsbee	October 7, 1886	October 4, 1888	Republican	West
42		William P. Dillingham	October 4, 1888	October 2, 1890	Republican	East
43		Carroll S. Page	October 2, 1890	October 6, 1892	Republican	West
44		Levi K. Fuller	October 6, 1892	October 4, 1894	Republican	East
45		Urban A. Woodbury	October 4, 1894	October 8, 1896	Republican	West
46		Josiah Grout	October 8, 1896	October 6, 1898	Republican	East
47		Edward C. Smith	October 6, 1898	October 4, 1900	Republican	West
48		William W. Stickney	October 4, 1900	October 3, 1902	Republican	East
49		John G. McCullough	October 3, 1902	October 6, 1904	Republican	West
50		Charles J. Bell	October 6, 1904	October 4, 1906	Republican	East
51		Fletcher D. Proctor	October 4, 1906	October 8, 1908	Republican	West
52		George H. Prouty	October 8, 1908	October 5, 1910	Republican	East
53		John A. Mead	October 5, 1910	October 3, 1912	Republican	West
54		Allen M. Fletcher	October 3, 1912	January 7, 1915	Republican	East
55		Charles W. Gates	January 7, 1915	January 4, 1917	Republican	West
56		Horace F. Graham	January 4, 1917	January 9, 1919	Republican	East
57		Percival W. Clement	January 9, 1919	January 6, 1921	Republican	West
58		James Hartness	January 6, 1921	January 4, 1923	Republican	East
59		Redfield Proctor, Jr.	January 4, 1923	January 8, 1925	Republican	West
60		Franklin S. Billings	January 8, 1925	January 6, 1927	Republican	East
61		John E. Weeks	January 6, 1927	January 8, 1931	Republican	West
62		Stanley C. Wilson	January 8, 1931	January 10, 1935	Republican	East
63		Charles M. Smith	January 10, 1935	January 7, 1937	Republican	West
64		George David Aiken	January 7, 1937	January 9, 1941	Republican	East
65		William H. Wills	January 9, 1941	January 4, 1945	Republican	West
66		Mortimer R. Proctor	January 4, 1945	January 9, 1947	Republican	West
67		Ernest W. Gibson, Jr.	January 9, 1947	January 16, 1950	Republican	East
68		Harold J. Arthur	January 16, 1950	January 4, 1951	Republican	West
69		Lee E. Emerson	January 4, 1951	January 6, 1955	Republican	East
70		Joseph B. Johnson	January 6, 1955	January 8, 1959	Republican	East
71		Robert T. Stafford	January 8, 1959	January 5, 1961	Republican	West
72		F. Ray Keyser, Jr.	January 5, 1961	January 10, 1963	Republican	East
73		Philip H. Hoff	January 10, 1963	January 9, 1969	Democratic	West
74		Deane C. Davis	January 9, 1969	January 4, 1973	Republican	East
75		Thomas P. Salmon	January 4, 1973	January 6, 1977	Democratic	East
76		Richard A. Snelling	January 6, 1977	January 10, 1985	Republican	West
77		Madeleine M. Kunin	January 10, 1985	January 10, 1991	Democratic	West
78		Richard A. Snelling	January 10, 1991	August 13, 1991	Republican	West
79		Howard Dean	August 13, 1991	January 9, 2003	Democratic	West
80		Jim Douglas	January 9, 2003	January 6, 2011	Republican	West
81		Peter Shumlin	January 6, 2011	Incumbent	Democratic	East

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Vermont except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
		House	Senate
Moses Robinson	1789–1790 (Vt. Republic)		S
Isaac Tichenor	1797–1807 1808–1809		S
Israel Smith	1807–1808	H	S
Richard Skinner	1820–1823	H
Cornelius P. Van Ness	1823–1826			United States Minister to Spain, Collector of the Port of New York
Ezra Butler	1826–1828	H
Samuel C. Crafts	1828–1831	H	S
William A. Palmer	1831–1835		S
John Mattocks	1843–1844	H
William Slade	1844–1846	H
Hiland Hall	1858–1860	H
Paul Dillingham	1865–1867	H
George W. Hendee	1870	H
John W. Stewart	1870–1872	H	S
Redfield Proctor	1878–1880		S	United States Secretary of War
William P. Dillingham	1888–1890		S
Carroll S. Page	1890–1892		S
John E. Weeks	1927–1931	H
George Aiken	1937–1941		S
William H. Wills	1941–1945			Member, Federal Communications Commission
Ernest W. Gibson, Jr.	1947–1950		S	Judge, United States District Court for the District of Vermont
Robert Stafford	1959–1961	H	S
Madeleine M. Kunin	1985–1991			United States Deputy Secretary of Education; United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Living former governors of Vermont

As of May 2015, there are five former governors of Vermont who are currently living at this time, the oldest governor of Vermont being Philip H. Hoff (served 1963–1969, born 1924). The most recent governor of Vermont to die was F. Ray Keyser, Jr. (served 1961–1963, born 1927), on March 7, 2015. The most recently serving governor of Vermont to die was Richard A. Snelling (served 1977–1985 and 1991, born 1927), in office on August 13, 1991.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Philip H. Hoff	1963–1969	June 29, 1924
Thomas P. Salmon	1973–1977	August 19, 1932
Madeleine M. Kunin	1985–1991	September 28, 1933
Howard Dean	1991–2003	November 17, 1948
Jim Douglas	2003–2011	June 21, 1951

Mountain Rule

From the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s until the 1960s, only Republicans won general elections for Vermont's statewide offices. One method that made this possible was imposition of the "Mountain Rule." Under the provisions of the Mountain Rule, one U.S. Senator was a resident of the east side of the Green Mountains and one resided on the west side, and the governorship and lieutenant governorship alternated between residents of the east and west side. Nominees for Governor and Lieutenant Governor were allowed two one-year terms and, later, one two-year term. For nearly 100 years, likely Republican candidates for office in Vermont agreed to abide by the Mountain Rule in the interests of party unity. Several factors led to the eventual weakening of the Mountain Rule, including: the long time political dispute between the Proctor (conservative) and Aiken–Gibson (liberal) wings of the party; primaries rather than conventions to select nominees; the direct election of U.S. Senators; and several active third parties, including the Progressives, the Prohibition Party, and the Local Option movement. In the 1960s, the rise of the Vermont Democratic Party and the construction of Interstate 89 also contributed to the end of the Mountain Rule. Though I-89 is a north-south route, it traverses Vermont from east to west and changed the way Vermonters viewed how the state was divided.^[2][3]

References

1. pdf
2. Newspaper article, The Mountain Rule in Vermont, New York Times, February 12, 1895
3. Magazine article, Mountain Rule Revisited, by Samuel B. Hand, Vermont History Magazine, published by Vermont Historical Society, Summer/Fall 2003, pages 139 to 151