List of Governors of West Virginia Information & List of Governors of West Virginia Links at HealthHaven.com

Joe Manchin, current Governor of West Virginia

The Governor of West Virginia is the head of the executive branch of West Virginia's government^[1] and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws,^[1] and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the West Virginia Legislature,^[3] to convene the legislature at any time,^[4] and, except when prosecution has been carried out by the House of Delegates, to grant pardons and reprieves.^[5]

To be elected governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of West Virginia for at least five years at the time of inauguration.^[6] The Constitution of West Virginia, ratified in 1872, calls for a four-year term for the governor, commencing on the Monday after the second Wednesday in the January following an election.^[6] The original constitution of 1863 had only a two-year term for governor.^[7]

The constitution makes no mention of a lieutenant governor; if the governorship becomes vacant, the Senate President takes the position of acting governor. If more than one year remains in the governor's term at the time of vacancy, a new election is held; otherwise, the Senate President serves the remainder of the term.^[8] A bill passed in 2000 grants the Senate President the honorary title of Lieutenant Governor,^[9] but this title is rarely used in practice and the terms of the Senate President do not correspond with governorships. The current Senate President is Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin, who has served since 1995. (See List of Presidents of the West Virginia Senate.)

Since West Virginia became a state, it has had 34 governors; 32 men have held the office (Arch A. Moore, Jr. and Cecil H. Underwood each served two nonconsecutive governorships). Six governors in the state's history have served multiple terms. The longest-serving governor was Moore, who served for three terms over twelve years. The state's first governor, Arthur I. Boreman, served the most consecutive terms, resigning a week before the end of his third term; he is the only governor so far to leave office before the end of his term. Daniel D.T. Farnsworth was Senate President at the time; he filled the last seven days of Boreman's term and remains the shortest-serving governor.

Underwood has the unusual distinction of being both the youngest person to be elected as Governor (age 34 upon his first term in 1957) and the oldest to both be elected and serve (age 74 upon his second term in 1997; age 78 at the end of his second term in 2001).

The current governor is Joe Manchin, who took office on January 17, 2005; his second term expires in January 2013.

[edit] Governors

For a list of governors who served the region before West Virginia became a state, see List of Governors of Virginia.

West Virginia was originally part of the state of Virginia, one of the original Thirteen Colonies. The northwestern counties of Virginia broke away during the American Civil War and formed the state, which was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863. Two more Virginia counties, Berkeley and Jefferson, joined the state on March 10, 1866.

Democratic (19) Independent (1) Republican (15)

Arthur I. Boreman, first Governor of West Virginia

Upper-body portrait of a well-dressed nineteenth-century man.

John J. Jacob, fourth Governor of West Virginia, served his first term as a Democrat and his second as an Independent.

Upper-body portrait of a mid-twentieth-century man in a suit.

William C. Marland, 24th Governor of West Virginia

Jay Rockefeller, 29th Governor of West Virginia

#		Party	Term start	Term end	Terms^{[N 1]}
1	Arthur I. Boreman	Republican	June 20, 1863	February 26, 1869	2+¹⁄₂^{[N 2]}
2	Daniel D. T. Farnsworth	Republican	February 26, 1869	March 4, 1869	¹⁄₂^{[N 3]}
3	William E. Stevenson	Republican	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1871	2
4	John J. Jacob	Democratic	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1877	2^{[N 4]}^{[N 5]}
4	John J. Jacob	Independent	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1877	2^{[N 4]}^{[N 5]}
5	Henry M. Mathews	Democratic	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881	1
6	Jacob B. Jackson	Democratic	March 4, 1881	March 4, 1885	1
7	Emanuel Willis Wilson	Democratic	March 4, 1885	February 6, 1890	1^{[N 6]}
8	Aretas B. Fleming	Democratic	February 6, 1890	March 4, 1893	1
9	William A. MacCorkle	Democratic	March 4, 1893	March 4, 1897	1
10	George W. Atkinson	Republican	March 4, 1897	March 4, 1901	1
11	Albert B. White	Republican	March 4, 1901	March 4, 1905	1
12	William M. O. Dawson	Republican	March 4, 1905	March 4, 1909	1
13	William E. Glasscock	Republican	March 4, 1909	March 14, 1913	1
14	Henry D. Hatfield	Republican	March 14, 1913	March 5, 1917	1
15	John J. Cornwell	Democratic	March 5, 1917	March 4, 1921	1
16	Ephraim F. Morgan	Republican	March 4, 1921	March 4, 1925	1
17	Howard M. Gore	Republican	March 4, 1925	March 4, 1929	1
18	William G. Conley	Republican	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	1
19	Herman G. Kump	Democratic	March 4, 1933	January 18, 1937	1
20	Homer A. Holt	Democratic	January 18, 1937	January 13, 1941	1
21	Matthew M. Neely	Democratic	January 13, 1941	January 15, 1945	1
22	Clarence W. Meadows	Democratic	January 15, 1945	January 17, 1949	1
23	Okey L. Patteson	Democratic	January 17, 1949	January 19, 1953	1
24	William C. Marland	Democratic	January 19, 1953	January 14, 1957	1
25	Cecil H. Underwood	Republican	January 14, 1957	January 16, 1961	1
26	William Wallace Barron	Democratic	January 16, 1961	January 18, 1965	1
27	Hulett C. Smith	Democratic	January 18, 1965	January 13, 1969	1
28	Arch A. Moore, Jr.	Republican	January 13, 1969	January 17, 1977	2
29	Jay Rockefeller	Democratic	January 17, 1977	January 14, 1985	2
30	Arch A. Moore, Jr.	Republican	January 14, 1985	January 16, 1989	1
31	Gaston Caperton	Democratic	January 16, 1989	January 13, 1997	2
32	Cecil H. Underwood	Republican	January 13, 1997	January 15, 2001	1
33	Bob Wise	Democratic	January 15, 2001	January 17, 2005	1
34	Joe Manchin	Democratic	January 17, 2005	incumbent	2^{[N 7]}

[edit] Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional offices held by governors. All representatives and senators listed represented West Virginia. No governor of West Virginia has held any other federal office.

* Denotes those offices that the governor resigned to take.

† Denotes those offices that the governor resigned to be governor.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. House	U.S. Senate	Source
Arthur I. Boreman	1863–1869	—	S*	^[10]
George W. Atkinson	1897–1901	H	—	^[13]
Henry D. Hatfield	1913–1917	—	S	^[14]
Matthew M. Neely	1941–1945	H	S†	^[15]
Arch A. Moore, Jr.	1969–1977, 1985–1989	H	—	^[16]
Jay Rockefeller	1977–1985	—	S	^[17]
Bob Wise	2001–2005	H	—	^[18]

[edit] Living former governors

As of August 2009^[update], five former governors are alive, the oldest of whom is Hulett C. Smith (1965–1969, born 1918). The most recent governor to die was Cecil H. Underwood (1957–1961, 1997–2001), who died on November 24, 2008.^[19]

Name	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth
Hulett C. Smith	1965–1969	October 21, 1918
Arch A. Moore, Jr.	1969–1977, 1985–1989	April 16, 1923
Jay Rockefeller	1977–1985	June 18, 1937
Gaston Caperton	1989–1997	February 21, 1940
Bob Wise	2001–2005	January 6, 1948

[edit] Notes

^ The fractional terms of some governors are not to be understood literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple governors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.
^ Resigned to run for the United States Senate, winning election.^[10]
^ As president of the state senate, filled unexpired term.^[11]
^ Jacob's second term was under the 1872 constitution, which increased term lengths from two to four years.
^ Jacob was elected as a Democrat for his first term, and as an independent for his second.
^ Did not run for re-election in 1888, but due to the election being disputed, remained in office until the investigation was completed.^[12]
^ Governor Manchin's second term expires on January 14, 2013; he is term limited.

[edit] References

General

"Governor Joe Manchin III, West Virginia's 34th Governor." State of West Virginia. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
"Governors of West Virginia." National Governors Association. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

Constitutions

"Constitution of West Virginia" (1872). West Virginia Legislature. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
"Constitution of West Virginia" (1863). Archive.org. Retrieved August 19, 2009.

Specific

^ ^a ^b WV Const. art. VII, § 5.
^ WV Const. art. VII, § 12.
^ WV Const. art. VII, § 14.
^ WV Const. art. VI, § 18–19.
^ WV Const. art. VII, § 11.
^ ^a ^b WV Const. art. VII, § 1.
^ WV Const. (1863) art. V, § 1.
^ WV Const. art. VII, § 16.
^ H.B. 4781 (Enrolled March 11, 2009). West Virginia Legislature, 2000 Sessions. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Boreman, Arthur Ingram." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "West Virginia Governor Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth." National Governors Association. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
^ "West Virginia Governor Emanuel Willis Wilson." National Governors Association. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
^ "Atkinson, George Wesley." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "Hatfield, Henry Drury." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "Neely, Matthew Mansfield." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "Moore, Arch Alfred, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "Rockefeller, John Davison IV (Jay)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
^ "Wise, Robert Ellsworth, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
^ "Former Gov. Cecil Underwood has died at 86." Charleston Daily Mail. November 24, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2009.

[edit] See also

[frac-9] The fractional terms of some governors are not to be understood literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple governors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.

[11] Resigned to run for the United States Senate, winning election.^[10]

[13] As president of the state senate, filled unexpired term.^[11]

[14] Jacob's second term was under the 1872 constitution, which increased term lengths from two to four years.

[15] Jacob was elected as a Democrat for his first term, and as an independent for his second.

[17] Did not run for re-election in 1888, but due to the election being disputed, remained in office until the investigation was completed.^[12]

[18] Governor Manchin's second term expires on January 14, 2013; he is term limited.

[wvc7-5-0] WV Const. art. VII, § 5.

[wvc7-12-1] WV Const. art. VII, § 12.

[2] WV Const. art. VII, § 14.

[3] WV Const. art. VI, § 18–19.

[4] WV Const. art. VII, § 11.

[wvc7-1-5] WV Const. art. VII, § 1.

[6] WV Const. (1863) art. V, § 1.

[7] WV Const. art. VII, § 16.

[8] H.B. 4781 (Enrolled March 11, 2009). West Virginia Legislature, 2000 Sessions. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[boreman-10] "Boreman, Arthur Ingram." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[12] "West Virginia Governor Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth." National Governors Association. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

[16] "West Virginia Governor Emanuel Willis Wilson." National Governors Association. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

[19] "Atkinson, George Wesley." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[20] "Hatfield, Henry Drury." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[21] "Neely, Matthew Mansfield." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[22] "Moore, Arch Alfred, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[23] "Rockefeller, John Davison IV (Jay)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2009.

[24] "Wise, Robert Ellsworth, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

[25] "Former Gov. Cecil Underwood has died at 86." Charleston Daily Mail. November 24, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2009.

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