Style The Honorable Inaugural holder George W. P. Hunt Deputy None | Residence No official residence Formation February 14, 1912 | |
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Term length Four years, can succeed self once; eligible again after 4-year respite | ||
The Governor of Arizona is the head of the executive branch of Arizona's state government 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 Arizona Legislature, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.
Contents
- Confederate Arizona
- Governors of the Territory of Arizona
- Governors of the State of Arizona
- Living former governors of Arizona
- References
Twenty-two people have served as governor over 26 distinct terms. All of the repeat governors were in the state's earliest years, when George W. P. Hunt and Thomas Edward Campbell alternated as governor for 17 years and, after a two-year gap, Hunt served another term. One governor, Evan Mecham, was successfully impeached, and one, Fife Symington III, resigned upon being convicted of a felony. The longest-serving governor was Hunt, who was elected seven times and served just under fourteen years. The longest single stint was that of Bruce Babbitt, who was elected to two four-year terms after succeeding to the office following the death of his predecessor, Wesley Bolin, serving nearly nine years total. Bolin had the shortest tenure, dying less than five months after succeeding as governor. Four governors were actually born in Arizona: Campbell, Sidney Preston Osborn, Rose Mofford, and Babbitt. Arizona has had four female governors, the most in the United States, and is also the only state where female governors have served in a consecutive order. Because of a string of deaths in office, resignations, and an impeachment, Arizona has not had a governor whose term began and ended because of "normal" election circumstances since Jack Williams was in office (1967–1975).
The current Governor is Doug Ducey, who was elected on November 4, 2014.
Confederate Arizona
In Tucson between April 2 and April 5, 1860, a convention of settlers from the southern half of the New Mexico Territory drafted a constitution for a provisional Arizona Territory, three years before the United States would create such a territory. This proposed territory consisted of the part of New Mexico Territory south of 33° 40' N. On April 2, they elected a governor, Lewis Owings. The provisional territory was to exist until such time as an official territory was created, but that proposal was rejected by the U.S. Congress at the time.
On March 16, 1861, soon before the American Civil War broke out, a convention in Mesilla voted that the provisional territory should secede from the Union and join the Confederate States of America. Lewis Owings remained as territorial governor.
The Confederacy took ownership of the territory on August 1, 1861, when forces led by Lieutenant Colonel John Baylor won decisive control of the territory, and Baylor proclaimed himself governor. The territory was organized on February 14, 1862. On March 20, 1862, Baylor issued an order to kill all the adult Apache and take their children into slavery. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis learned of this order, he strongly disapproved and demanded an explanation. Baylor wrote a letter December 29, 1862, to justify his decision, and after this was received, Davis relieved Baylor of his post and commission, calling his letter an "avowal of an infamous crime." By that time, the government of Confederate Arizona was in exile in San Antonio, Texas, as the territory had been effectively lost to Union forces in July 1862; no new governor was appointed.
Governors of the Territory of Arizona
For the period before Arizona Territory was formed, see the list of Governors of New Mexico Territory.Arizona Territory was formed on February 24, 1863 from New Mexico Territory, remaining a territory for 49 years. On January 18, 1867, the northwestern corner of the territory was transferred to the state of Nevada.
Governors of the State of Arizona
The state of Arizona was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912, the last of the contiguous states to be admitted.
The state constitution of 1912 called for the election of a governor every two years. The term was increased to four years by a 1968 amendment. The constitution originally included no term limit, but an amendment passed in 1992 allows governors to succeed themselves only once; before this, four governors were elected more than twice in a row. Gubernatorial terms begin on the first Monday in the January following the election. Governors who have served the two term limit can run again after four years out of office.
Arizona is one of seven states which does not have a lieutenant governor; instead, in the event of a vacancy in the office of governor, the Secretary of State, if elected, succeeds to the office. If the secretary of state was appointed, rather than elected, or is otherwise ineligible to hold the office of governor, the first elected and eligible person in the line of succession assumes the office. The state constitution specifies the line of succession to be the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction, in that order. If the governor is out of the state or impeached, the next elected officer in the line of succession becomes acting governor until the governor returns or is cleared. The line of succession has gone beyond secretary of state once, when Bruce Babbitt, as attorney general, became governor upon the death of Wesley Bolin; the secretary of state at the time, Rose Mofford, was an appointee to replace Bolin, who himself had succeeded to the office due to the resignation of his predecessor, Raul Hector Castro. Mofford would later succeed Evan Mecham as acting governor when he was impeached by the House of Representatives, and as governor when he was convicted by the Senate.
Living former governors of Arizona
There are five living former governors of Arizona, the oldest being Jane Dee Hull (served 1997–2003, born 1935). The most recent death of a former governor of Arizona was that of Rose Mofford (served 1988–1991, born 1922), who died on September 15, 2016.