Governor of Massachusetts

Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
120px Flag of the Governor
Seal of the Governor
Incumbent Charlie Baker since January 8, 2015
Style	His Excellency
Term length	Four years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	John Hancock
Formation	October 25, 1780
Salary	$139,832 (2013)
Website	Office of the Governor

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of the executive branch of Massachusetts's state government and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current Governor is Charlie Baker.

Constitutional role

Part the Second, Chapter II, Section I, Article I of the Massachusetts Constitution reads,

There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be styled, The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and whose title shall be – His Excellency.

The Governor of Massachusetts is the chief executive of the Commonwealth, and is supported by a number of subordinate officers. He, like most other state officers, senators, and representatives, was originally elected annually. In 1918 this was changed to a two-year term, and since 1966 the office of Governor has carried a four-year term. The Governor of Massachusetts does not receive a mansion, other official residence, or housing allowance. Instead, he resides in his own private residence. The title "His Excellency" is a throwback to the royally appointed Governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The first Governor to use the title was Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont in 1699; since he was an Earl, it was thought proper to call him "Your Excellency." The title was retained until 1742, when an order from King George II forbade its further use. However, the framers of the state constitution revived it because they found it fitting to dignify the Governor with this title.

The Governor also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth's armed forces.

Succession

According to the state constitution, whenever the chair of the Governor is vacant, the Lieutenant Governor shall take over as acting Governor. The first time this came into use was five years after the constitution's adoption in 1785, when Governor John Hancock resigned the post, leaving Lieutenant Governor Thomas Cushing as acting Governor. Most recently, Jane Swift became acting Governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci. Under this system, the Lieutenant Governor retains his or her position and title as "Lieutenant Governor" and becomes acting Governor, not Governor.

The Lieutenant Governor, when acting as Governor, is referred to as "the Lieutenant-Governor, acting governor" in official documents.

The Massachusetts Constitution does not use the term "acting governor". The Massachusetts courts have found that the full authority of the office of the Governor devolves to the Lieutenant Governor upon vacancy in the office of Governor, i.e., there is no circumstance short of death, resignation, or impeachment that would relieve the acting governor from the full responsibilities of being the Governor.

When the constitution was first adopted, the Governor's Council was charged with acting as Governor in the event that both the Governorship and Lieutenant Governorship were vacant. This occurred in 1799 when Governor Increase Sumner died in office on June 7, 1799, leaving Lieutenant Governor Moses Gill as acting governor. Acting Governor Gill never received a lieutenant and died on May 20, 1800, between that year's election and the inauguration of Governor-elect Caleb Strong. The Governor's Council served as the executive for ten days; the council's chair, Thomas Dawes was at no point named Governor or acting Governor.

Article LV of the Constitution, enacted in 1918, created a new line of succession:

• Governor (Charlie Baker)
• Lieutenant Governor (Karyn Polito)
• Secretary of the Commonwealth (Bill Galvin)
• Attorney General (Maura Healey)
• Treasurer and Receiver-General (Deb Goldberg)
• State Auditor (Suzanne Bump)

When the Governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the office of Governor remains vacant for the rest of the 4-year term. The Lieutenant Governor does not succeed but only discharges powers and duties as acting Governor. However, if a vacancy in the office of Governor continues for six months, and the six months expire more than five months before the next regular biennial state election midway through the Governor's term, a special election is held at that time to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired four-year term.

Cabinet

The Governor has a 10-person cabinet, each of whom oversees a portion of the government under direct administration (as opposed to independent executive agencies). See Government of Massachusetts for a complete listing.

Traditions

The front doors of the state house are only opened when a Governor leaves office or a head of state comes to visit the State House, or for the return of flags from Massachusetts regiments at the end of wars. The tradition of the ceremonial door originated when departing Governor Benjamin Butler kicked open the front door and walked out by himself in 1884.

Incoming Governors usually choose at least one past Governor's portrait to hang in their office.

Immediately before being sworn into office, the Governor-elect receives four symbols from the departing Governor: the ceremonial pewter "Key" for the Governor's office door, the Butler Bible, the "Gavel", and a two-volume set of the Massachusetts General Statutes with a personal note from the departing Governor to his/her successor added to the back of the text. The Governor-elect is then escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms to the House Chamber and sworn in by the Senate President before a joint session of the House and Senate.

Lone walk

Upon completion of their term, the departing Governor takes a "lone walk" down the Grand Staircase, through the House of Flags, into Doric Hall, out the central doors and down the steps of the Massachusetts State House. The Governor then crosses the street into Boston Common, thereby symbolically rejoining the Commonwealth as a private citizen. Benjamin Butler started the tradition in 1884. Some walks have been modified with some past Governors having their wives, friends or staff accompany them. A 19-gun salute is offered during the walk and frequently the steps are lined by the outgoing Governor's friends and supporters.

In January 1991, outgoing Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, the first woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts, walked down the stairs before Governor Michael Dukakis. In a break from tradition, the January 2007 inauguration of Governor Deval Patrick took place the day after outgoing Governor Mitt Romney took the lone walk down the front steps.

Governor's residence

Despite several proposals for establishing an official residence for the Governor of Massachusetts, including the Endicott Estate which was once acquired for the purpose, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not have a Governor's Mansion.

In 1955, Governor Foster Furcolo turned down a proposal to establish the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury, built by royal Governor William Shirley, as the official residence.

At one time, Governor John A. Volpe accepted the donation of the Endicott Estate in Dedham from the heirs of Henry Bradford Endicott. He intended to renovate the 19th-century mansion into a splendid Governor's residence. After Volpe resigned to become Secretary of Transportation in the Nixon Administration, the plan was aborted by his successor in consideration of budgetary constraints and because the location was considered too far from the seat of power, the State House in Boston.

Prior to their early-20th century demolitions, the Province House and the Hancock Manor were also proposed as official residences.

Since the Governor has no official residence, the expression "corner office," rather than "Governor's mansion," is commonly used in the press as a metonym for the office of Governor.

List of Governors

180px

The Seal and Flag of the Governor of Massachusetts

Since 1780, 65 people have been elected governor, six to non-consecutive terms, and seven lieutenant governors have acted as governor without subsequently being elected governor. Prior to 1918 constitutional reforms, both the governor's office and that of lieutenant governor were vacant on one occasion, when the state was governed by the Governor's Council.

Colonial Massachusetts

Further information: List of colonial governors of Massachusetts

The colonial history of Massachusetts begins with the founding first of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, and then the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. The Dominion of New England combined these and other New England colonies into a single unit in 1686, but collapsed in 1689. In 1692 the Province of Massachusetts Bay was established, merging Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, which then included the territory of present-day Maine.

Colonial governors of Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay Colony were elected annually by a limited subset of the male population (known as freemen), while Dominion officials and those of the 1692 province were appointed by the British crown. In 1774 General Thomas Gage became the last royally appointed governor of Massachusetts. He was recalled to England after the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, by which time the Massachusetts Provincial Congress exercised de facto control of Massachusetts territory outside British-occupied Boston. Between 1775 and the establishment of the Massachusetts State Constitution in 1780 the state was governed by the provincial congress and an executive council.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1780–present

In the table below, acting governors are denoted in the leftmost column by the letter "A", and are not counted as actual governors. The longest-serving governor was Michael Dukakis, who served twelve years in office, although they were not all consecutive. The longest period of uninterrupted service by any governor was nine years, by Levi Lincoln, Jr. The shortest service period by an elected governor was one year, achieved by several 19th century governors. Increase Sumner, elected by a landslide to a third consecutive term in 1799, was on his deathbed and died not long after taking the oath of office; this represents the shortest part of an individual term served by a governor. Sumner was one of four governors to die in office; seven governors resigned, most of them to assume another office.

Political Party	Number of Governors
Democratic	19
Democratic-Republican	6
Federalist	3
Know Nothing	1
National Republican	1
No party affiliation	6
Republican	31
Whig	7

Parties

      Democratic       Federalist       Democratic-Republican       No party       Whig       National Republican       Republican       Know Nothing

#	Governor	Party	Years	Lt. Governor	Electoral history
1	John Hancock	None	October 25, 1780 – February 17, 1785	Thomas Cushing (1780–1788)	Resigned due to claimed illness (recurring gout).
A	Thomas Cushing		February 17, 1785 – May 27, 1785		Lost election in his own right
2	James Bowdoin		May 27, 1785 – May 30, 1787		Lost re-election
3	John Hancock		May 30, 1787 – October 8, 1793		Died
				Benjamin Lincoln (1788–1789)
				Samuel Adams (1789–1794)
4	Samuel Adams		October 8, 1793 – June 2, 1797		Retired
				Moses Gill (1794–1800)
5	Increase Sumner	Federalist	June 2, 1797 – June 7, 1799		Died
A	Moses Gill	None	June 7, 1799 – May 20, 1800		Died
A	Governor's Council		May 20, 1800 – May 30, 1800	None
6	Caleb Strong	Federalist	May 30, 1800 – May 29, 1807	Samuel Phillips, Jr. (1801–1802)	Lost re-election
				Edward Robbins (1802–1806)
7	James Sullivan	Democratic- Republican	May 29, 1807 – December 10, 1808	Levi Lincoln, Sr.	Died
A	Levi Lincoln, Sr.	Democratic- Republican	December 10, 1808 – May 1, 1809		Lost election in his own right
8	Christopher Gore	Federalist	May 1, 1809 – June 10, 1810	David Cobb	Lost re-election
9	Elbridge Gerry	Democratic- Republican	June 10, 1810 – March 4, 1812	William Gray	Lost re-election
10	Caleb Strong	Federalist	March 4, 1812 – May 30, 1816	William Phillips, Jr.	Retired
11	John Brooks	Federalist	May 30, 1816 – May 31, 1823		Retired
12	William Eustis	Democratic- Republican	May 31, 1823 – February 6, 1825	Levi Lincoln, Jr. (1823–1824)	Died
				Marcus Morton (1824–1825)
A	Marcus Morton	Democratic- Republican	February 6, 1825 – May 26, 1825		Lost nomination
13	Levi Lincoln, Jr.	National Republican	May 26, 1825 – January 9, 1834	Thomas L. Winthrop (1826–1833)	Retired
14	John Davis	Whig	January 9, 1834 – March 1, 1835	Samuel Turell Armstrong	Resigned to become US Senator
A	Samuel Turell Armstrong	Whig	March 1, 1835 – January 13, 1836		Lost nomination; lost election as independent
15	Edward Everett	Whig	January 13, 1836 – January 18, 1840	George Hull	Lost re-election
16	Marcus Morton	Democratic	January 18, 1840 – January 7, 1841		Lost re-election
17	John Davis	Whig	January 7, 1841 – January 17, 1843		Lost re-election
18	Marcus Morton	Democratic	January 17, 1843 – January 9, 1844	Henry H. Childs	Lost re-election
19	George N. Briggs	Whig	January 9, 1844 – January 11, 1851	John Reed, Jr.	Lost re-election
20	George S. Boutwell	Democratic	January 11, 1851 – January 14, 1853	Henry W. Cushman	Did not run for reelection, left Democratic party over slavery, helped organize Republican party
21	John H. Clifford	Whig	January 14, 1853 – January 12, 1854	Elisha Huntington	Retired
22	Emory Washburn	Whig	January 12, 1854 – January 4, 1855	William C. Plunkett	Lost re-election
23	Henry Gardner	Know-Nothing	January 4, 1855 – January 7, 1858	Simon Brown (1855–1856)	Lost re-election
				Henry W. Benchley (1856–1858)
24	100px Nathaniel Prentice Banks	Republican	January 7, 1858 – January 3, 1861	Eliphalet Trask	Retired to run for president
25	John Albion Andrew	Republican	January 3, 1861 – January 4, 1866	John Z. Goodrich (1861)	Retired
				John Nesmith (1862)
				Joel Hayden (1863–1866)
26	Alexander H. Bullock	Republican	January 4, 1866 – January 7, 1869	William Claflin	Retired
27	William Claflin	Republican	January 7, 1869 – January 4, 1872	Joseph Tucker (1869–1873)	Retired
28	William B. Washburn	Republican	January 4, 1872 – April 29, 1874		Resigned to become US Senator
				Thomas Talbot (1873–1875)
A	Thomas Talbot	Republican	April 29, 1874 – January 7, 1875		Chose not to seek election in his own right
29	William Gaston	Democratic	January 7, 1875 – January 6, 1876	Horatio G. Knight	Lost re-election
30	Alexander H. Rice	Republican	January 6, 1876 – January 2, 1879		Retired
31	Thomas Talbot	Republican	January 2, 1879 – January 8, 1880	John Davis Long	Retired
32	John Davis Long	Republican	January 8, 1880 – January 4, 1883	Byron Weston	Not a candidate for reelection to 4th term
33	Benjamin F. Butler	Democratic	January 4, 1883 – January 3, 1884	Oliver Ames	Lost re-election
34	George D. Robinson	Republican	January 3, 1884 – January 6, 1887		Not a candidate for reelection to 4th term, unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate
35	Oliver Ames	Republican	January 6, 1887 – January 7, 1890	John Q. A. Brackett	Not a candidate for reelection to 4th term
36	John Q. A. Brackett	Republican	January 7, 1890 – January 8, 1891	William H. Haile (1890–1893)	Lost re-election
37	William E. Russell	Democratic	January 8, 1891 – January 4, 1894		Not a candidate for reelection to 4th term
				Roger Wolcott (1893–1897)
38	Frederic T. Greenhalge	Republican	January 4, 1894 – March 5, 1896		Died
39	100px Roger Wolcott	Republican	March 5, 1896 – January 4, 1900		Not a candidate for reelection to 3rd full term
				Winthrop Murray Crane (1897–1900)
40	Winthrop Murray Crane	Republican	January 4, 1900 – January 8, 1903	John L. Bates	Not a candidate for reelection to 4th Term
41	John L. Bates	Republican	January 8, 1903 – January 5, 1905	Curtis Guild, Jr.	Lost reelection for 3rd term
42	William L. Douglas	Democratic	January 5, 1905 – January 4, 1906		Not a candidate for reelection
43	Curtis Guild, Jr.	Republican	January 4, 1906 – January 7, 1909	Eben Sumner Draper	Not a candidate for reelection to 4th term
44	100px Eben Sumner Draper	Republican	January 7, 1909 – January 5, 1911	Louis A. Frothingham	Lost re-election
45	Eugene Noble Foss	Democratic	January 5, 1911 – January 8, 1914	Louis A. Frothingham (1911–1912)	Did not stand for renomination as Democrat; defeated as independent in general election
				Robert Luce (1912–1913)
				David I. Walsh (1913–1914)
46	David I. Walsh	Democratic	January 8, 1914 – January 6, 1916	Edward P. Barry (1914–1915)	Lost re-election
				Grafton D. Cushing (1915–1916)
47	Samuel W. McCall	Republican	January 6, 1916 – January 2, 1919	Calvin Coolidge	Retired
48	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	January 2, 1919 – January 6, 1921	Channing H. Cox	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Vice President
49	Channing H. Cox	Republican	January 6, 1921 – January 8, 1925	Alvan T. Fuller	Not a candidate for reelection to 3rd term
50	Alvan T. Fuller	Republican	January 8, 1925 – January 3, 1929	Frank G. Allen	Not a candidate for reelection to 3rd term
51	Frank G. Allen	Republican	January 3, 1929 – January 8, 1931	William S. Youngman	Lost re-election
52	Joseph B. Ely	Democratic	January 8, 1931 – January 3, 1935	William S. Youngman (1929–1933)	Retired
				Gaspar G. Bacon (1933–1935)
53	James Michael Curley	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 7, 1937	Joseph L. Hurley	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
54	Charles F. Hurley	Democratic	January 7, 1937 – January 5, 1939	Francis E. Kelly	Lost renomination
55	Leverett Saltonstall	Republican	January 5, 1939 – January 3, 1945	Maurice J. Tobin	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
56	Maurice J. Tobin	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 2, 1947	Robert F. Bradford	Lost re-election
57	Robert F. Bradford	Republican	January 2, 1947 – January 6, 1949	Arthur W. Coolidge	Lost re-election
58	Paul A. Dever	Democratic	January 6, 1949 – January 8, 1953	Charles F. Sullivan	Lost re-election
59	Christian A. Herter	Republican	January 8, 1953 – January 3, 1957	Sumner G. Whittier	Retired, appointed U.S. Under Secretary of State.
60	Foster Furcolo	Democratic	January 3, 1957 – January 5, 1961	Robert F. Murphy (1957–1960)	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
61	John A. Volpe	Republican	January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963	Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr.	Lost re-election
62	Endicott Peabody	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965	Francis X. Bellotti	Lost renomination
63	John A. Volpe	Republican	January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969	Elliot Richardson (1965–1967)	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation
				Francis W. Sargent (1967–1969)
64	Francis W. Sargent	Republican	January 22, 1969 – January 2, 1975		Acted as governor for the remainder of Volpe's term, and was then elected governor
				Donald R. Dwight (1971–1975)
65	100px Michael Dukakis	Democratic	January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979	Thomas P. O'Neill III	Lost renomination
66	Edward J. King	Democratic	January 4, 1979 – January 6, 1983		Lost renomination
67	100px Michael Dukakis	Democratic	January 6, 1983 – January 3, 1991	John Kerry (1983–1985)	Retired
				Vacant (1985–1987)
				Evelyn Murphy (1987–1991)
68	William F. Weld	Republican	January 3, 1991 – July 29, 1997	Paul Cellucci (1991–1999)	First elected in 1990 Re-elected in 1994 Resigned when nominated U.S. Ambassador to Mexico but was not confirmed by the US Senate to the office.
A 69	Paul Cellucci	Republican	July 29, 1997 – April 10, 2001		Acted as governor for the remainder of Weld's term, and was then elected governor in 1998 Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to Canada
				Jane Swift
A	Jane Swift	Republican	April 10, 2001 – January 2, 2003		Acted as governor for the remainder of Cellucci's term, and then retired.
70	Mitt Romney	Republican	January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007	Kerry Healey	Elected in 2002 Did not seek re-election.
71	Deval Patrick	Democratic	January 4, 2007 – January 8, 2015	Tim Murray (2007–2013)	Elected in 2006 Re-elected in 2010 Retired
				Vacant
72	Charlie Baker	Republican	January 8, 2015 - present	Karyn Polito	Elected in 2014

Other high offices held

This is a table of notable government offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Massachusetts.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
		House	Senate
John Hancock	1787–1793 1780–1785			Delegate to the Continental Congress (including twice as President of the Continental Congress)
Thomas Cushing	1785 (acting)			Delegate to the Continental Congress
Samuel Adams	1793–1797			Delegate to the Continental Congress
Caleb Strong	1800–1807 1812–1816		Y	Delegate to the Continental Congress
James Sullivan	1807–1808			Delegate to the Continental Congress, but did not attend
Levi Lincoln, Sr.	1808–1809 (acting)	Y		U.S. Attorney General
Christopher Gore	1813–1816		Y
Elbridge Gerry	1810–1812	Y		Delegate to the Continental Congress, Co-commissioner to France, Vice President of the United States
William Eustis	1823–1825	Y		Ambassador to the Netherlands, U.S. Secretary of War
Marcus Morton	1825 (acting) 1840–1841 1843–1844	Y
Levi Lincoln, Jr.	1825–1834	Y
John Davis	1834–1835 1841–1843	Y	Y
Edward Everett	1836–1840	Y	Y	Ambassador to Great Britain, U.S. Secretary of State
George N. Briggs	1844–1851	Y
George S. Boutwell	1851–1853	Y	Y	U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Nathaniel Prentice Banks	1858–1861	Y		Speaker of the House
William B. Washburn	1874–1874	Y	Y
Alexander H. Rice	1876–1879	Y
John Davis Long	1880–1883	Y		U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Benjamin Franklin Butler	1883–1884	Y
George D. Robinson	1884–1887	Y
Frederic T. Greenhalge	1894–1896	Y
Winthrop Murray Crane	1900–1903		Y
Eugene Noble Foss	1911–1914	Y
David I. Walsh	1914–1916		Y
Samuel W. McCall	1916–1919	Y
Calvin Coolidge	1919–1921			Vice President of the United States, President of the United States
Alvan T. Fuller	1925–1929	Y
James Michael Curley	1935–1937	Y		Mayor of Boston
Leverett Saltonstall	1939–1945		Y	Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Maurice J. Tobin	1945–1947			Mayor of Boston, U.S. Secretary of Labor
Christian A. Herter	1953–1957		Y	U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Trade Representative
Foster Furcolo	1957–1961	Y		Treasurer of Massachusetts
John A. Volpe	1961–1963 1965–1969			U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ambassador to Italy
Paul Cellucci	1997–2001			Ambassador to Canada

Living former governors

As of May 2015, there are five former U.S. governors and acting U.S. governors of Massachusetts who are currently living at this time, the oldest being Michael Dukakis (1975–1979, 1983–1991, born 1933). The most recent U.S. governor of Massachusetts, and also the U.S. governor of Massachusetts who served most recently, to have died was Paul Cellucci (1997–1999 [acting]; 1999–2001), on June 8, 2013.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Michael Dukakis	1975–1979 1983–1991	(1933-11-03) November 3, 1933
William F. Weld	1991–1997	(1945-07-31) July 31, 1945
Jane Swift	2001–2003 (acting)	(1965-02-24) February 24, 1965
Mitt Romney	2003–2007	(1947-03-12) March 12, 1947
Deval Patrick	2007–2015	(1956-07-31) July 31, 1956

See also

• List of colonial governors of Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Governor's Council
• Government of Massachusetts

External links

• Office of the Governor
• CNN.com 2006 election results