Appointer Popular election Inaugural holder Trasimond Landry Succession 1st | Term length Four years Formation 1846 | |
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The Office of Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana (French: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican.
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Paul J. Hardy, who served from 1988 to 1992, was the first Republican in the position after the Reconstruction Era.
History
The office was established by the Louisiana Constitution of 1845. Prior to that, the successor to the governor in the event of his death or resignation was the President of the Louisiana State Senate. A number of state senate presidents succeeded governors before the 1845 Constitution was adopted, including Henry S. Thibodaux, Armand Beauvais and Jacques Dupre.
The lieutenant governor presided over the Louisiana Senate from 1845 until the adoption of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. Today, the lieutenant governor exercises powers delegated to him or her by the governor as provided by law. She or he also serves as governor in the event of a vacancy in the office, if the governor is unable to act as governor, or is out of state. Under the constitution, the lieutenant governor no longer serves as ex officio president of the senate, but is made an ex officio member of each committee, board and commission on which the governor serves. (Louisiana Constitution Article IV, Section 6) Additionally, the lieutenant governor serves as commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
List of lieutenant governors
Independent Democratic Republican
Living former U.S. Lieutenant Governors of Louisiana
As of January 2017, there are eight former U.S. lieutenant governors of Louisiana who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. lieutenant governor of Louisiana being James E. Fitzmorris, Jr. (served 1972–80, born 1921). The most recent death of a former U.S. lieutenant governor of Louisiana was that of Robert "Bobby" Freeman (1980-1988), who died on May 16, 2016.