List of governors of Georgia facts for kids

The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current officeholder is Republican Brian Kemp, who assumed office on January 14, 2019.

There have officially been 83 governors of the State of Georgia, including 11 who served more than one distinct term (John Houstoun, George Walton, Edward Telfair, George Mathews, Jared Irwin, David Brydie Mitchell, George Rockingham Gilmer, M. Hoke Smith, Joseph Mackey Brown, John M. Slaton and Eugene Talmadge, with Herman Talmadge serving two de facto distinct terms).

The longest-serving governors are George Busbee, Joe Frank Harris, Zell Miller, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, each of whom served two full four-year terms; Joseph E. Brown, governor during the Civil War, was elected four times, serving seven and a half years. The shortest term of the post-revolutionary period is that of Matthew Talbot, who served 13 days after succeeding his predecessor who died in office. Eugene Talmadge died in December 1946 before taking office in his second distinct term, leading to a dispute in which three people claimed the office.

Governors

Georgia was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and was admitted as a state on January 2, 1788. Before it declared its independence, Georgia was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861, and was a founding member of the Confederate States of America on February 4, 1861. Following the end of the American Civil War, Georgia during Reconstruction was part of the Third Military District, which exerted some control over governor appointments and elections. Georgia was readmitted to the Union on July 25, 1868; again expelled from Congress on March 3, 1869; and again readmitted on July 15, 1870.

The Rules and Regulations of the Colony, drafted in 1776, provided for a president to serve a term of 6 months. A formal constitution was drafted in 1777, providing for a governor to serve a term of one year, but no more than one year out of every three. The term was lengthened to two years in 1789, but with no term limit. The 1865 constitution required governors to take four years off after serving two terms, but that was quickly changed in the 1868 constitution, which allowed for four-year terms with no limits. The term length was returned to the two-year term and limit of the 1865 constitution in 1877.

The 1945 constitution changed the length of terms to four years, with governors required to take four years off before running again, and it created the office of lieutenant governor, who would exercise the powers of the governor should the office become vacant. This was changed in 1983 so that the lieutenant governor fully becomes governor in that circumstance. Before the creation of the office of lieutenant governor, the president of the senate (or, before 1789, the president of the executive council) would exercise the powers of governor. The 1983 constitution also allows governors to succeed themselves once, before having to wait four years to run again.

Governors of the State of Georgia

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
7			Archibald Bulloch (1730–1777)	January 22, 1776 – February 22, 1777 (died in office)	None	—	Office did not exist
8			Button Gwinnett (1735–1777)	March 4, 1777 – May 8, 1777 (left office)	None	—
9			John A. Treutlen (1734–1782)	May 8, 1777 – January 10, 1778 (left office)	None	—
10			John Houstoun (1744–1796)	January 10, 1778 – December 29, 1778 (fled from capture)	None	—
—	Competing governments			December 29, 1778 – August 6, 1779	Government in chaos after fall of Savannah
11			John Wereat (d. 1799)	August 6, 1779 – November 1779 (left office)	None	—
12			George Walton (d. 1804)	November 1779 – January 4, 1780 (left office)	None	—
13			Richard Howly (1740–1784)	January 4, 1780 – February 5, 1780 (left office)	None	—
—			George Wells (d. 1780)	February 5, 1780 – February 16, 1780 (died in office)	None	—
14			Stephen Heard (1740–1815)	February 18, 1780 – August 18, 1781 (left office)	None	—
15			Nathan Brownson (1742–1796)	August 18, 1781 – January 3, 1782 (term-limited)	None	1781
16			John Martin (d. 1786)	January 3, 1782 – January 8, 1783 (term-limited)	None	1782
17			Lyman Hall (1724–1790)	January 8, 1783 – January 9, 1784 (term-limited)	None	1783
10			John Houstoun (1744–1796)	January 9, 1784 – January 6, 1785 (term-limited)	None	1784
18			Samuel Elbert (1740–1788)	January 6, 1785 – January 9, 1786 (term-limited)	None	1785
19			Edward Telfair (1735–1807)	January 9, 1786 – January 9, 1787 (term-limited)	None	1786
20			George Mathews (1739–1812)	January 9, 1787 – January 26, 1788 (term-limited)	None	1787
21			George Handley (1752–1793)	January 26, 1788 – January 7, 1789 (term-limited)	None	1788
12			George Walton (d. 1804)	January 7, 1789 – November 9, 1789 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	Jan. 1789
19			Edward Telfair (1735–1807)	November 9, 1789 – November 7, 1793 (lost election)	Democratic- Republican	Nov. 1789
						1791
20			George Mathews (1739–1812)	November 7, 1793 – January 15, 1796 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	1793
22			Jared Irwin (1750–1818)	January 15, 1796 – January 12, 1798 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	1795
23			James Jackson (1757–1806)	January 12, 1798 – March 3, 1801 (resigned)	Democratic- Republican	1797
						1799
24			David Emanuel (1744–1808)	March 3, 1801 – November 7, 1801 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	Succeeded from president of the Senate
25			Josiah Tattnall (d. 1803)	November 7, 1801 – November 4, 1802 (resigned)	Democratic- Republican	1801
26			John Milledge (1757–1818)	November 4, 1802 – September 23, 1806 (resigned)	Democratic- Republican	1802 (special)
						1803
						1805
22			Jared Irwin (1750–1818)	September 23, 1806 – November 10, 1809 (lost election)	Democratic- Republican	Succeeded from president of the Senate
						1807
27			David Brydie Mitchell (1766–1837)	November 10, 1809 – November 5, 1813 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	1809
						1811
28			Peter Early (1773–1817)	November 5, 1813 – November 10, 1815 (lost election)	Democratic- Republican	1813
27			David Brydie Mitchell (1766–1837)	November 10, 1815 – March 4, 1817 (resigned)	Democratic- Republican	1815
29			William Rabun (1771–1819)	March 4, 1817 – October 24, 1819 (died in office)	Democratic- Republican	Succeeded from president of the Senate
						1817
30			Matthew Talbot (1767–1827)	October 24, 1819 – November 5, 1819 (successor took office)	Democratic- Republican	Succeeded from president of the Senate
31			John Clark (1766–1832)	November 5, 1819 – November 7, 1823 (did not run)	Democratic- Republican	1819
						1821
32			George Troup (1780–1856)	November 7, 1823 – November 7, 1827 (did not run)	Troup Democratic- Republican	1823
						1825
33			John Forsyth (1780–1841)	November 7, 1827 – November 4, 1829 (did not run)	Troup Democratic- Republican	1827
34			George Rockingham Gilmer (1790–1859)	November 4, 1829 – November 9, 1831 (lost election)	Troup Democratic- Republican	1829
35			Wilson Lumpkin (1783–1870)	November 9, 1831 – November 4, 1835 (did not run)	Union (Democratic)	1831
						1833
36			William Schley (1786–1858)	November 4, 1835 – November 8, 1837 (lost election)	Union (Democratic)	1835
34			George Rockingham Gilmer (1790–1859)	November 8, 1837 – November 6, 1839 (did not run)	State Rights (Whig)	1837
37			Charles James McDonald (1793–1860)	November 6, 1839 – November 8, 1843 (did not run)	Union (Democratic)	1839
						1841
38			George W. Crawford (1798–1872)	November 8, 1843 – November 3, 1847 (did not run)	Whig	1843
						1845
39			George W. Towns (1801–1854)	November 3, 1847 – November 5, 1851 (did not run)	Democratic	1847
						1849
40			Howell Cobb (1815–1868)	November 5, 1851 – November 9, 1853 (did not run)	Constitutional Union (Democratic)	1851
41			Herschel Vespasian Johnson (1812–1880)	November 9, 1853 – November 6, 1857 (did not run)	Democratic	1853
						1855
42			Joseph E. Brown (1821–1894)	November 6, 1857 – June 17, 1865 (resigned)	Democratic	1857
						1859
						1861
						1863
43			James Johnson (1811–1891)	June 17, 1865 – December 19, 1865 (provisional term ended)	Provisional governor appointed by President
44			Charles J. Jenkins (1805–1883)	December 14, 1865 – January 13, 1868 (removed from office)	Democratic	1865
45			Thomas H. Ruger (1833–1907)	January 13, 1868 – July 4, 1868 (state readmitted)	Military occupation
46			Rufus Bullock (1834–1907)	July 4, 1868 – October 30, 1871 (resigned)	Republican	1868
47			Benjamin F. Conley (1815–1886)	October 30, 1871 – January 12, 1872 (successor took office)	Republican	President of the Senate acting
48			James Milton Smith (1823–1890)	January 12, 1872 – January 12, 1877 (did not run)	Democratic	1871 (special)
						1872
49			Alfred H. Colquitt (1824–1894)	January 12, 1877 – November 4, 1882 (did not run)	Democratic	1876
						1880
50			Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883)	November 4, 1882 – March 4, 1883 (died in office)	Democratic	1882
51			James S. Boynton (1833–1902)	March 4, 1883 – May 10, 1883 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
52			Henry Dickerson McDaniel (1836–1926)	May 10, 1883 – November 9, 1886 (did not run)	Democratic	1883 (special)
						1884
53			John B. Gordon (1832–1904)	November 9, 1886 – November 8, 1890 (term-limited)	Democratic	1886
						1888
54			William J. Northen (1835–1913)	November 8, 1890 – October 27, 1894 (term-limited)	Democratic	1890
						1892
55			William Yates Atkinson (1854–1899)	October 27, 1894 – October 29, 1898 (term-limited)	Democratic	1894
						1896
56			Allen D. Candler (1834–1910)	October 29, 1898 – October 25, 1902 (term-limited)	Democratic	1898
						1900
57			Joseph M. Terrell (1861–1912)	October 25, 1902 – June 29, 1907 (term-limited)	Democratic	1902
						1904
58			M. Hoke Smith (1855–1931)	June 29, 1907 – June 26, 1909 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1906
59			Joseph Mackey Brown (1851–1932)	June 26, 1909 – July 1, 1911 (lost election)	Democratic	1908
58			M. Hoke Smith (1855–1931)	July 1, 1911 – November 15, 1911 (resigned)	Democratic	1910
60			John M. Slaton (1866–1955)	November 15, 1911 – January 25, 1912 (successor took office)	Democratic	President of the Senate acting
59			Joseph Mackey Brown (1851–1932)	January 25, 1912 – June 28, 1913 (did not run)	Democratic	1912 (special)
60			John M. Slaton (1866–1955)	June 28, 1913 – June 26, 1915 (did not run)	Democratic	1912
61			Nathaniel Edwin Harris (1846–1929)	June 26, 1915 – June 30, 1917 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1914
62			Hugh Dorsey (1871–1948)	June 30, 1917 – June 25, 1921 (term-limited)	Democratic	1916
						1918
63			Thomas W. Hardwick (1872–1944)	June 25, 1921 – June 30, 1923 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1920
64			Clifford Walker (1877–1954)	June 30, 1923 – June 25, 1927 (term-limited)	Democratic	1922
						1924
65			Lamartine Griffin Hardman (1856–1937)	June 25, 1927 – June 27, 1931 (term-limited)	Democratic	1926
						1928
66			Richard Russell Jr. (1897–1971)	June 27, 1931 – January 10, 1933 (did not run)	Democratic	1930
67			Eugene Talmadge (1884–1946)	January 10, 1933 – January 12, 1937 (term-limited)	Democratic	1932
						1934
68			Eurith D. Rivers (1895–1967)	January 12, 1937 – January 14, 1941 (term-limited)	Democratic	1936
						1938
67			Eugene Talmadge (1884–1946)	January 14, 1941 – January 12, 1943 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1940
69			Ellis Arnall (1907–1992)	January 12, 1943 – January 14, 1947 (term-limited)	Democratic	1942
—			Eugene Talmadge (1884–1946)	Died before taking office	Democratic	1946		Thompson, Melvin E.Melvin E. Thompson
—			Herman Talmadge (1913–2002)	January 14, 1947 – March 19, 1947 (removed from office)	Democratic
70			Melvin E. Thompson (1903–1980)	March 19, 1947 – November 17, 1948 (lost nomination)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
71			Herman Talmadge (1913–2002)	November 17, 1948 – January 11, 1955 (term-limited)	Democratic	1948 (special)		Griffin, MarvinMarvin Griffin
						1950
72			Marvin Griffin (1907–1982)	January 11, 1955 – January 13, 1959 (term-limited)	Democratic	1954		Vandiver, ErnestErnest Vandiver
73			Ernest Vandiver (1918–2005)	January 13, 1959 – January 15, 1963 (term-limited)	Democratic	1958		Byrd, Garland T.Garland T. Byrd
74			Carl Sanders (1925–2014)	January 15, 1963 – January 11, 1967 (term-limited)	Democratic	1962		Geer, Peter ZackPeter Zack Geer
75			Lester Maddox (1915–2003)	January 11, 1967 – January 12, 1971 (term-limited)	Democratic	1966		Smith, George T.George T. Smith
76			Jimmy Carter (b. 1924)	January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975 (term-limited)	Democratic	1970		Maddox, LesterLester Maddox
77			George Busbee (1927–2004)	January 14, 1975 – January 11, 1983 (term-limited)	Democratic	1974		Miller, ZellZell Miller
						1978
78			Joe Frank Harris (b. 1936)	January 11, 1983 – January 14, 1991 (term-limited)	Democratic	1982
						1986
79			Zell Miller (1932–2018)	January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1999 (term-limited)	Democratic	1990		Howard, PierrePierre Howard
						1994
80			Roy Barnes (b. 1948)	January 11, 1999 – January 13, 2003 (lost election)	Democratic	1998		Taylor, MarkMark Taylor
81			Sonny Perdue (b. 1946)	January 13, 2003 – January 10, 2011 (term-limited)	Republican	2002
						2006		Cagle, CaseyCasey Cagle
82			Nathan Deal (b. 1942)	January 10, 2011 – January 14, 2019 (term-limited)	Republican	2010
						2014
83			Brian Kemp (b. 1963)	January 14, 2019 – Incumbent	Republican	2018		Duncan, GeoffGeoff Duncan
						2022		Jones, BurtBurt Jones

See also

• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Georgia
• First ladies of Georgia