List of governors of Pennsylvania

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of the executive branch of Pennsylvania's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military.

The job of the governor is to enforce state laws and to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature. The governor may grant pardons except in cases of impeachment.

There have been seven presidents and 46 governors of Pennsylvania. Two governors serving non-consecutive terms. There have been a total of 55 terms in both offices. The longest term was that of the first governor, Thomas Mifflin. He served three full terms as governor and two years as president. The shortest term belonged to John Bell. He served only 19 days as acting governor after Edward Martin resigned. The current governor is Tom Wolf. His term began on January 20, 2015.

Governors
Pennsylvania was one of the first thirteen colonies. It became a state on December 12, 1787.

The Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council

The first constitution in 1776 created the Supreme Executive Council as the executive branch. The President was the leader of the  Council. The president was picked each year by the council.

The 1776 constitution created the position of "vice-president" but it did not say what should happen if the president left office. This happened four times. Sources from that time still listed the chief executive as the vice president when that person acted as the president.  One acting president, George Bryan, has since been recognized as a governor. This is because he acted as president for over six months.

Governors of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The 1790 constitution ended the council. It replaced the president with a governor, and created a three-year term for governor. This term started on the third Tuesday of the December after the election. A governors could not serve more than nine out of any twelve years. The 1838 constitution moved the start of the term to the third Tuesday of the January after the election. It allowed governors to only serve six out of any nine years. The 1874 constitution lengthened the term to four years. It said that governors could not succeed themselves (be elected to another term while still in office). The current constitution of 1968 changed this to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms. There are no limits on the number of terms a governor may serve in total as long as there is a four year break after a second term.

If the governor dies, resigns or is impeached, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the rest of the term. If the governor becomes unable to act as governor because of disability, the lieutenant governor only acts out the duties of governor. Should both offices be vacant, the president pro tempore of the state senate becomes governor. The position of lieutenant governor was created in the 1874 constitution. Before this, the speaker of the senate would act as governor in cases of vacancy. At first, the lieutenant governor could only act as governor. It was not until the 1968 constitution that the lieutenant governor could actually become governor. The office of governor has been vacant for an extended period of time once. There was a 17-day time period in 1848 between the death of Francis R. Shunk and the swearing in of William F. Johnston. Governors and lieutenant governors are elected on the same ticket.

Living former governors
, five former governors are alive. The most recent death of a former governor was that of William Scranton (1963–1967), on July 28, 2013.

Notes

References
General

 

Constitutions

 
 
 
 
 

Specific

Other websites

 Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania