Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

The **lieutenant governor** **of Virginia** is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is the second highest-ranking official in the state government. The lieutenant governor ranks first in the gubernatorial line of succession and is also the officer of the legislative branch, president of the Virginia Senate and the presiding officer of the Virginia Senate.

Ghazala Hashmi is the 43rd and current lieutenant governor of Virginia, in office since January 2026.

## Eligibility & requirements

Section 13 of the state's constitution states for a person to serve as lieutenant governor must:

- be at least thirty years old.
- be a United States citizen
- be a registered voter and resident of Virginia for at least five years.

## Election process and terms

The lieutenant governor is elected by the people through the popular election to a four-year term on a separate ticket. The candidate must have the majority of the popular vote in order to win the election.

Under Section 13 of the state's constitution, the lieutenant governor doesn't have term limits unlike the governor, who is prevented from elected consecutively.

### President of the Virginia Senate

Article V, gives the lieutenant governor the title **president of the Senate**, authorizing the lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate. This position also has the authority to cast a tie-breaking vote.

The lieutenant governor also serves as a member of several other state boards, commissions and councils, including the:

• Board of Trustees of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and the Center for Rural Virginia

• Board of Directors of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Virginia Tourism Authority

• Virginia Military Advisory Council

• Commonwealth Preparedness Council and the Council on Virginia's Future

## Living former lieutenant governors

|Lt. Governor|Lt. Gubernatorial term|Date of birth (and age)|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Chuck Robb|1978–1982||
|Douglas Wilder|1986–1990||
|Don Beyer|1990–1998||
|Tim Kaine|2002–2006||
|Bill Bolling|2006–2014||
|Ralph Northam|2014–2018||
|Justin Fairfax|2018–2022||
|Winsome Earle-Sears|2022–2026||

## Other websites

- Lieutenant Governor of Virginia's website
- List of past Lieutenant Governors

## Infobox (political post)

- **post**: Lieutenant Governor
- **body**: the Commonwealth of Virginia
- **insignia**: Seal of Virginia.svg
- **insigniasize**: 100px
- **insigniacaption**: Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia
- **image**: File:Ghazala Hashmi 2025 (cropped).png
- **incumbent**: Ghazala Hashmi
- **incumbentsince**: January 17, 2026
- **termlength**: Four years, no term limits
- **formation**: 1852
- **inaugural**: Shelton Leake
- **flag**: File:Flag of Virginia.svg
- **flagsize**: 130px
- **flagcaption**: Flag of the Commonwealth of Virginia
- **department**: Virginia Senate
Government of Virginia
- **style**: Madam Lieutenant Governor
 (Informal)
 The Honorable
 (Formal)
Mr. President (title), Madam President
(When presiding over Virginia Senate)
- **residence**: None official
- **succession**: Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States, First
 (gubernatorial line of succession)
- **constituting instrument**: Constitution of Virginia
- **salary**: $36,321
- **seat**: Oliver Hill Building, Richmond, Virginia