List of governors of Virginia
The following is a list of the Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor is the head of the executive branch of Virginia's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Virginia General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.
The first Constitution of 1776 created the office of Governor, to be elected annually by the Virginia State Legislature. The Governor could serve up to three years at a time, and once out of office, could not serve again for four years. The 1830 constitution changed the thrice renewable one-year term length to a non-renewable three-year term, and set the start date at the first day in January following an election. This constitution also prevented governors from succeeding themselves, a prohibition that exists to the present day. The 1851 Constitution increased terms to four years and made the office elected by the people, rather than the legislature. The commencement of the Governor's term was moved to the first day in February by the 1902 Constitution, and then to the Saturday after the second Wednesday in January by the 1971 and current Constitution.
If the office of governor is vacant due to disqualification, death, or resignation, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia becomes Governor. The office of Lieutenant Governor was created in 1851. Prior to that a Council of State existed; it chose from among its members a President who would be "Lieutenant-Governor" and would act as governor when there was a vacancy in that office.
Officially, there have been 73 Governors of Virginia; the Acting Governors are not counted.
Colonial Governors
President of the Committee for Public Safety
; Parties| # | Picture | President | Took office | Left office | Party |
| 1 | Edmund Pendleton | August 16, 1775 | July 5, 1776 | None |
List of Governors
; Parties| # | Picture | Governor | Took office | Left office | Lieutenant Governor | Party | Notes |
| 1 | Patrick Henry | July 5, 1776 | June 1, 1779 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | First under 1776 Constitution | |
| 2 | Thomas Jefferson | June 1, 1779 | June 3, 1781 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | 3rd President of the United States | |
| 3 | William Fleming | June 3, 1781 | June 12, 1781 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | ||
| 4 | Thomas Nelson, Jr. | June 12, 1781 | November 22, 1781 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | ||
| – | David Jameson | November 22, 1781 | December 1, 1781 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | Acting Governor | |
| 5 | Benjamin Harrison V | December 1, 1781 | December 1, 1784 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | ||
| 6 | Patrick Henry | December 1, 1784 | December 1, 1786 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | Re-elected after 5-year hiatus | |
| 7 | Edmund Randolph | December 1, 1786 | December 1, 1788 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | First under U.S. statehood | |
| 8 | Beverley Randolph | December 1, 1788 | December 1, 1791 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | None | ||
| 9 | Henry Lee III | December 1, 1791 | December 1, 1794 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Federalist | ||
| 10 | Robert Brooke | December 1, 1794 | December 1, 1796 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 11 | James Wood | December 1, 1796 | December 1, 1799 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Federalist | ||
| – | Hardin Burnley | December 7, 1799 | December 11, 1799 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | |||
| – | John Pendleton, Jr. | December 11, 1799 | December 19, 1799 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | |||
| 12 | James Monroe | December 19, 1799 | December 1, 1802 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1790–1794, fifth President of the United States | |
| 13 | John Page | December 1, 1802 | December 7, 1805 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 14 | William H. Cabell | December 7, 1805 | December 1, 1808 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 15 | John Tyler, Sr. | December 1, 1808 | January 15, 1811 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| — | George William Smith | January 15, 1811 | January 19, 1811 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor | |
| 16 | James Monroe | January 19, 1811 | April 3, 1811 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1790–94, Fifth President of the United States | |
| 17 | George William Smith | April 3, 1811 | December 26, 1811 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor Later elected in his own right Died in office | |
| N/A | Peyton Randolph | December 27, 1811 | January 3, 1812 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | Acting Governor | |
| 18 | James Barbour | January 3, 1812 | December 1, 1814 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | U.S. Senator 1815–1825 | |
| 19 | Wilson Cary Nicholas | December 1, 1814 | December 1, 1816 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 20 | James Patton Preston | December 1, 1816 | December 1, 1819 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 21 | Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. | December 1, 1819 | December 1, 1822 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | ||
| 22 | James Pleasants | December 1, 1822 | December 10, 1825 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned U.S. Senate to assume Governorship | |
| 23 | John Tyler | December 10, 1825 | March 4, 1827 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic-Republican | Resigned to enter U.S. Senate 1827–1836, 10th United States President | |
| 24 | William Branch Giles | March 4, 1827 | March 4, 1830 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1804–1815 | |
| 25 | John Floyd | March 4, 1830 | March 31, 1834 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | First under 1830 constitution | |
| 26 | Littleton Waller Tazewell | March 31, 1834 | April 30, 1836 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1824–1832 | |
| — | Wyndham Robertson | April 30, 1836 | March 31, 1837 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Whig | Acting Governor | |
| 27 | David Campbell | March 31, 1837 | March 31, 1840 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | ||
| 28 | Thomas Walker Gilmer | March 31, 1840 | March 20, 1841 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Whig | ||
| — | John M. Patton | March 20, 1841 | March 31, 1841 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Whig | Acting Governor | |
| — | John Rutherfoord | March 31, 1841 | March 31, 1842 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | Acting Governor | |
| — | John Munford Gregory | March 31, 1842 | January 1, 1843 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Whig | Acting Governor | |
| 29 | James McDowell | January 1, 1843 | January 1, 1846 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | ||
| 30 | William Smith | January 1, 1846 | January 1, 1849 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | ||
| 31 | John B. Floyd | January 1, 1849 | January 16, 1852 | Office vacant 1776-1852 | Democratic | U.S. Secretary of War 1857–60 | |
| 32 | Joseph Johnson | January 16, 1852 | January 1, 1856 | Shelton Leake | Democratic | First under 1851 constitution First popularly elected governor | |
| 33 | Henry A. Wise | January 1, 1856 | January 1, 1860 | Elisha W. McComas William Lowther Jackson | Democratic | ||
| 34 | John Letcher | January 1, 1860 | January 1, 1864 | Robert Latane Montague | Democratic | ||
| 35 | William Smith | January 1, 1864 | May 9, 1865 | Samuel Price | Democratic | ||
| — | Francis Harrison Pierpont | May 15, 1861 | April 4, 1868 | - | Republican | Elected by May 1861 Wheeling Convention. Reelected by June 1861 Wheeling Convention with recognition by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Elected by Restored General Assembly | |
| — | Henry H. Wells | April 4, 1868 | September 21, 1869 | - | Republican | Appointed Governor by U.S. military | |
| 36 | Gilbert Carlton Walker | September 21, 1869 | January 1, 1874 | John F. Lewis John Lawrence Marye, Jr. | Republican | Appointed Governor by U.S. military then elected as a Republican Governor later served as a Democratic Congressman | |
| 37 | James L. Kemper | January 1, 1874 | January 1, 1878 | Robert E. Withers Henry Wirtz Thomas | Democratic | ||
| 38 | Frederick W. M. Holliday | January 1, 1878 | January 1, 1882 | James A. Walker | Democratic | ||
| 39 | William E. Cameron | January 1, 1882 | January 1, 1886 | John F. Lewis | Re-adjuster | ||
| 40 | Fitzhugh Lee | January 1, 1886 | January 1, 1890 | John E. Massey | Democratic | ||
| 41 | Philip W. McKinney | January 1, 1890 | January 1, 1894 | James H. Tyler | Democratic | ||
| 42 | Charles Triplett O'Ferrall | January 1, 1894 | January 1, 1898 | Robert C. Kent | Democratic | Resigned U. S. House seat to assume Governorship | |
| 43 | James Hoge Tyler | January 1, 1898 | January 1, 1902 | Edward Echols | Democratic | ||
| 44 | Andrew Jackson Montague | January 1, 1902 | February 1, 1906 | Joseph Edward Willard | Democratic | ||
| 45 | Claude A. Swanson | February 1, 1906 | February 10, 1910 | James T. Ellyson | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1910–33 | |
| 46 | William Hodges Mann | February 10, 1910 | February 1, 1914 | James T. Ellyson | Democratic | ||
| 47 | Henry Carter Stuart | February 1, 1914 | February 1, 1918 | James T. Ellyson | Democratic | ||
| 48 | Westmoreland Davis | February 1, 1918 | February 1, 1922 | Benjamin F. Buchanan | Democratic | ||
| 49 | Elbert Lee Trinkle | February 1, 1922 | February 1, 1926 | Junius E. West | Democratic | ||
| 50 | Harry F. Byrd | February 1, 1926 | January 15, 1930 | Junius E. West | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1933–65 | |
| 51 | John Garland Pollard | January 15, 1930 | January 17, 1934 | James H. Price | Democratic | ||
| 52 | George C. Peery | January 17, 1934 | January 15, 1938 | James H. Price | Democratic | ||
| 53 | James H. Price | January 15, 1938 | January 21, 1942 | Saxon W. Holt | Democratic | ||
| 54 | Colgate Darden | January 21, 1942 | January 16, 1946 | William M. Tuck | Democratic | ||
| 55 | William M. Tuck | January 16, 1946 | January 18, 1950 | Lewis Preston Collins II | Democratic | ||
| 56 | John S. Battle | January 18, 1950 | January 20, 1954 | Lewis Preston Collins II Allie Edward Stakes Stephens | Democratic | ||
| 57 | Thomas B. Stanley | January 20, 1954 | January 11, 1958 | Allie Edward Stakes Stephens | Democratic | ||
| 58 | J. Lindsay Almond | January 11, 1958 | January 13, 1962 | Allie Edward Stakes Stephens | Democratic | ||
| 59 | Albertis Harrison | January 13, 1962 | January 15, 1966 | Mills Godwin | Democratic | ||
| 60 | Mills Godwin | January 15, 1966 | January 17, 1970 | Fred G. Pollard | Democratic | ||
| 61 | Linwood Holton | January 17, 1970 | January 12, 1974 | J. Sargeant Reynolds Henry Howell | Republican | ||
| 62 | Mills Godwin | January 12, 1974 | January 14, 1978 | John N. Dalton | Republican | ||
| 63 | John Dalton | January 14, 1978 | January 16, 1982 | Chuck Robb | Republican | ||
| 64 | Chuck Robb | January 16, 1982 | January 18, 1986 | Dick Davis | Democratic | U.S. Senator 1989–2001 | |
| 65 | Gerald Baliles | January 18, 1986 | January 13, 1990 | Douglas Wilder | Democratic | ||
| 66 | Douglas Wilder | January 13, 1990 | January 15, 1994 | Don Beyer | Democratic | First African-American governor elected in American history | |
| 67 | George Allen | January 15, 1994 | January 17, 1998 | Don Beyer | Republican | U.S. Senator 2001–2007 | |
| 68 | Jim Gilmore | January 17, 1998 | January 12, 2002 | John H. Hager | Republican | ||
| 69 | Mark Warner | January 12, 2002 | January 14, 2006 | Tim Kaine | Democratic | U.S. Senator 2009–present | |
| 70 | Tim Kaine | January 14, 2006 | January 16, 2010 | Bill Bolling | Democratic | First Catholic Governor, U.S. Senator 2013–present, nominee for Vice President of the United States in 2016 | |
| 71 | Bob McDonnell | January 16, 2010 | January 11, 2014 | Bill Bolling | Republican | ||
| 72 | Terry McAuliffe | January 11, 2014 | January 13, 2018 | Ralph Northam | Democratic | ||
| 73 | Ralph Northam | January 13, 2018 | Incumbent | Justin Fairfax | Democratic |
Living former Governors of Virginia
, there are nine former governors of Virginia currently living, the oldest being A. Linwood Holton, Jr.. The most recent governor of Virginia to die was Gerald Baliles, on October 29, 2019. He is also the most recently served governor to die.Other high offices held
This is a table of congressional, confederate and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Virginia except where noted.Birth places
| Part of Virginia | # of Governors Elected |
| Central Virginia | 16 |
| Not from Virginia | 12 |
| Peninsula | 10 |
| Southwest Virginia | 8 |
| South Central Virginia | 7 |
| Northern Neck of Virginia | 5 |
| Northwest Virginia | 4 |
| West Central Virginia | 4 |
| Northern Central Virginia | 2 |
| Southeast | 2 |
| Eastern Shore of Virginia | 1 |
| Not from Virginia or United States | 1 |
| Total | 72 |
- These numbers reflect place of residence when taking office, not birthplace