List of governors of Mississippi
The governor of Mississippi is the head of state and head of government of Mississippi and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Mississippi Legislature, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except in cases of treason or impeachment, to grant pardons and reprieves. To be elected governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of the United States for twenty years  and a resident of Mississippi for at least five years at the time of inauguration. The Constitution of Mississippi, ratified in 1890, calls for a four-year term for the governor, elected via the two-round system since a 2020 referendum. Prior to this, the governor was elected by an electoral college composed of the districts represented in the Mississippi House of Representatives, with a contingent election held in the House in the event no candidate received a majority of district electors. The governor may be reelected once (prior to a 1987 amendment to the state Constitution, governors were limited  to one term). The original Constitution of 1817 had only a two-year term for governor; this was expanded to four years in the 1868 Constitution. The lieutenant governor is elected at the same time as the governor and serves as president of the Mississippi Senate. When the office of governor becomes vacant for any reason, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term. The governor of Mississippi also appoints the members of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. History. Since Mississippi became a U.S. state, it has had 54 governors serving 64 distinct terms , including 50 Democrats, 7 Republicans and 7 from other parties. Democrats dominated after retaking control of the state legislature; they passed a Constitution in 1890 that disfranchised most African Americans, excluding them from the political system for nearly 70 years, effectively making it a one-party state. The state's longest-serving governor was John M. Stone, who served two terms over ten years (his second term was extended to six years by a transitional provision in the 1890 Constitution). The shortest-serving governor was James Whitfield, who served  months from 1851 to 1852. 10 governors (David Holmes, Gerard Brandon , Charles Lynch, John A. Quitman, John J. Pettus, Adelbert Ames, John Marshall Stone, Theodore G. Bilbo, Dennis Murphree, and Hugh L. White) have served non-consecutive terms. The current governor is Republican Tate Reeves, who took office January 14, 2020. Other high offices held. This is a table of congressional, confederate, other governorships, and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Mississippi except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take. Living former governors of Mississippi. , there are four living former Mississippi governors, the oldest Governor of Mississippi being Haley Barbour (served  2004–2012, born 1947). The most recent Governor of Mississippi to die was William Winter (served 1980–1984, born 1923) on December 18, 2020. The most recently serving governor of Mississippi to die was Kirk Fordice (served 1992–2000) on September 7, 2004.