List of governors of West Virginia

Governor of West Virginia
110px Seal of the Governor
200px Incumbent Jim Justice since January 16, 2017
Style	Governor (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Status	Head of State Head of Government
Residence	West Virginia Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	Arthur I. Boreman
Formation	June 20, 1863
Salary	$150,000 (2013)

The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West Virginia 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 West Virginia Legislature, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except when prosecution has been carried out by the House of Delegates, to grant pardons and reprieves.

Since West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, during the American Civil War, 34 men have served as governor. Two, Arch A. Moore Jr. (West Virginia's 28th and 30th governors) and Cecil H. Underwood (West Virginia's 25th and 32nd governors), served two nonconsecutive terms in office. The longest-serving governor was Moore, who served for three terms over twelve years. The state's first governor after admission into the Union, Arthur I. Boreman, served the most consecutive terms, resigning a week before the end of his third term. Before the state's admission, Francis H. Pierpont, the, "Father of West Virginia," was elected governor during the Wheeling Convention of 1861. 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 Republican Jim Justice, who assumed office on January 16, 2017. West Virginia's 36th governor, Justice was elected as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party on August 4 of that year.

To serve as 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. Under the current Constitution of West Virginia, ratified in 1872, the governor serves a four-year term commencing on the Monday after the second Wednesday in the January following an election. The original constitution of 1863 only called for a two-year term. He may be reelected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. Any partial term served counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms.

The constitution makes no mention of a lieutenant governor; if the governorship becomes vacant, the senate president acts as 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 acts as governor for the remainder of the term. A bill passed in 2000 grants the senate president the honorary title of lieutenant governor, but this title is rarely used in practice and the terms of the senate president do not correspond with governorships. The same bill states that the line of succession after the senate president will be the speaker of the House of Delegates, followed by the state attorney general, the state auditor and former governors, in inverse order of term, that are in residence in the state at the time of the vacancy.

List of governors

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

Parties

      Democratic (19)       People's Independent (1)       Republican (16)

#	Governor			Term start	Term end	Party	Terms
1			Arthur I. Boreman     July 24, 1823 – April 19, 1896    (aged 72)	June 20, 1863	February 26, 1869	Republican	​2 1⁄2
2		100px	Daniel D. T. Farnsworth     December 23, 1819 – December 5, 1892    (aged 72)	February 26, 1869	March 4, 1869	Republican	​1⁄2
3			William E. Stevenson     March 18, 1820 – November 29, 1883    (aged 63)	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1871	Republican	2
4		100px	John J. Jacob     December 9, 1829 – November 24, 1893    (aged 63)	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1877	Democratic	2
						Independent
5			Henry M. Mathews     March 29, 1834 – April 28, 1884    (aged 50)	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1881	Democratic	1
6		100px	Jacob B. Jackson     April 6, 1829 – December 11, 1893    (aged 64)	March 4, 1881	March 4, 1885	Democratic	1
7			Emanuel Willis Wilson     August 11, 1844 – May 28, 1905    (aged 60)	March 4, 1885	February 6, 1890	Democratic	1
8		100px	Aretas B. Fleming     October 15, 1839 – October 13, 1923    (aged 83)	February 6, 1890	March 4, 1893	Democratic	1
9			William A. MacCorkle     May 7, 1857 – September 24, 1930    (aged 73)	March 4, 1893	March 4, 1897	Democratic	1
10			George W. Atkinson     June 29, 1845 – April 4, 1925    (aged 79)	March 4, 1897	March 4, 1901	Republican	1
11		100px	Albert B. White     September 22, 1856 – July 3, 1941    (aged 85)	March 4, 1901	March 4, 1905	Republican	1
12		100px	William M. O. Dawson     May 21, 1853 – March 12, 1916    (aged 62)	March 4, 1905	March 4, 1909	Republican	1
13			William E. Glasscock     December 13, 1862 – April 12, 1925    (aged 62)	March 4, 1909	March 14, 1913	Republican	1
14			Henry D. Hatfield     September 15, 1875 – October 23, 1962    (aged 87)	March 14, 1913	March 5, 1917	Republican	1
15			John J. Cornwell     July 11, 1867 – September 8, 1953    (aged 86)	March 5, 1917	March 4, 1921	Democratic	1
16			Ephraim F. Morgan     January 16, 1869 – January 15, 1950    (aged 80)	March 4, 1921	March 4, 1925	Republican	1
17			Howard Mason Gore     October 12, 1877 – June 20, 1947    (aged 69)	March 4, 1925	March 4, 1929	Republican	1
18		100px	William G. Conley     January 8, 1866 – October 21, 1940    (aged 74)	March 4, 1929	March 4, 1933	Republican	1
19		100px	Herman G. Kump     October 31, 1877 – February 14, 1962    (aged 84)	March 4, 1933	January 18, 1937	Democratic	1
20		100px	Homer A. Holt     March 1, 1898 – January 16, 1975    (aged 76)	January 18, 1937	January 13, 1941	Democratic	1
21			Matthew M. Neely     November 9, 1874 – January 18, 1958    (aged 83)	January 13, 1941	January 15, 1945	Democratic	1
22		100px	Clarence W. Meadows     February 11, 1904 – September 12, 1961    (aged 57)	January 15, 1945	January 17, 1949	Democratic	1
23		100px	Okey Patteson     September 14, 1898 – July 3, 1989    (aged 90)	January 17, 1949	January 19, 1953	Democratic	1
24		100px	William C. Marland     March 26, 1918 – November 26, 1965    (aged 47)	January 19, 1953	January 14, 1957	Democratic	1
25			Cecil H. Underwood     November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008    (aged 86)	January 14, 1957	January 16, 1961	Republican	1
26			William Wallace Barron     December 8, 1911 – November 12, 2002    (aged 90)	January 16, 1961	January 18, 1965	Democratic	1
27		100px	Hulett C. Smith     October 21, 1918 – January 15, 2012    (aged 93)	January 18, 1965	January 13, 1969	Democratic	1
28		100px	Arch A. Moore Jr.     April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015    (aged 91)	January 13, 1969	January 17, 1977	Republican	2
29			Jay Rockefeller (1937-06-18) June 18, 1937	January 17, 1977	January 14, 1985	Democratic	2
30		100px	Arch A. Moore Jr.     April 16, 1923 – January 7, 2015    (aged 91)	January 14, 1985	January 16, 1989	Republican	1
31			Gaston Caperton (1940-02-21) February 21, 1940	January 16, 1989	January 13, 1997	Democratic	2
32		100px	Cecil H. Underwood     November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008    (aged 86)	January 13, 1997	January 15, 2001	Republican	1
33			Bob Wise (1948-01-06) January 6, 1948	January 15, 2001	January 17, 2005	Democratic	1
34			Joe Manchin (1947-08-24) August 24, 1947	January 17, 2005	November 15, 2010	Democratic	​1 1⁄2
35		100px	Earl Ray Tomblin (1952-03-15) March 15, 1952	November 15, 2010	November 13, 2011	Democratic	​1 1⁄2
				November 13, 2011	January 16, 2017
36		100px	Jim Justice (1951-04-27) April 27, 1951	January 16, 2017	Incumbent	Democratic	2
						Republican

Succession

Main article: Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States § West Virginia

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*
George W. Atkinson	1897–1901	H	—
Henry D. Hatfield	1913–1917	—	S
Matthew M. Neely	1941–1945	H	S†
Arch A. Moore Jr.	1969–1977 1985–1989	H	—
Jay Rockefeller	1977–1985	—	S
Bob Wise	2001–2005	H	—
Joe Manchin	2005–2010	—	S*

Living former governors of West Virginia

As of January 2017, there are five former governors of West Virginia who are currently living at this time, the oldest of whom is Jay Rockefeller (served 1977–1985, born 1937). The most recent governor to die was Arch A. Moore Jr. (served 1969–1977 and 1985–1989, born 1923), who died on January 7, 2015. The most recently serving governor to die was Cecil H. Underwood (served 1957–1961 and 1997–2001, born 1922), who died on November 24, 2008.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Jay Rockefeller	1977–1985	(1937-06-18) June 18, 1937
Gaston Caperton	1989–1997	(1940-02-21) February 21, 1940
Joe Manchin	2005–2010	(1947-08-24) August 24, 1947
Bob Wise	2001–2005	(1948-01-06) January 6, 1948
Earl Ray Tomblin	2010–2011(acting), 2011–2017	(1952-03-15) March 15, 1952

References

Specific

General

• Richard E. Fast. The history and government of West Virginia (1901) to 1900 online edition

Constitutions

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN

• Office of the Governor of West Virginia