List of governors of Ohio
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The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio<ref>Ohio Constitution article III, § 5.</ref> and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's military forces.<ref>Ohio Constitution article III, § 10.</ref> The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly,<ref>Ohio Constitution article II, § 16.</ref> the power to convene the legislature<ref>Ohio Constitution article III, § 8.</ref> and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.<ref>Ohio Constitution article III § 11.</ref>
There have been 64 governors of Ohio, serving 70 distinct terms. The longest term was held by Jim Rhodes, who was elected four times and served just under sixteen years in two non-consecutive periods of two terms each (1963–1971 and 1975–1983). The shortest terms were held by John William Brown and Nancy Hollister, who each served for only 11 days after the governors preceding them resigned in order to begin the terms to which they had been elected in the United States Senate; the shortest-serving elected governor was John M. Pattison, who died in office five months into his term.
The current governor is Republican Mike DeWine (R), who took office on January 14, 2019, and was re-elected in 2022. After eight years the incumbent is term-limited and ineligible to seek a third consecutive term in the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election.
List of governors
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the Ohio River, commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was organized on July 13, 1787.<ref>Northwest Ordinance Template:Webarchive, July 13, 1787; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M332, roll 9); Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774–1789, Record Group 360; National Archives.</ref> Many territories and states were split from Northwest Territory over the years, with the last portion being split between Indiana Territory and the newly admitted state of Ohio on March 1, 1803.<ref>Template:Usstat</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Throughout its 15-year history, Northwest Territory had only one governor appointed by the federal government, Arthur St. Clair. He was removed from office by President Thomas Jefferson on November 22, 1802, and no successor was named; Secretary of the Territory Charles Willing Byrd acted as governor until statehood.<ref name="smith">Template:Cite book</ref>
| Governor | Term in officeTemplate:Efn | Appointed by | |
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| File:ArthurStClairOfficialPortrait-restored.jpg | Arthur St. Clair Template:Small Template:Sfn |
October 5, 1787Template:Efn – November 22, 1802 Template:SmallTemplate:Efn |
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State of Ohio
Ohio was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803. Since then, it has had 64 governors, six of whom (Allen Trimble, Wilson Shannon, Rutherford B. Hayes, James M. Cox, Frank Lausche, and Jim Rhodes) served non-consecutive terms.
The first constitution of 1803 allowed governors to serve for two-year terms, limited to six of any eight years, commencing on the first Monday in the December following an election.<ref>Ohio Constitution article II, § 3</ref> The current constitution of 1851 removed the term limit, and shifted the start of the term to the second Monday in January following an election.<ref name="steinglass">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1908, Ohio switched from holding elections in odd-numbered years to even-numbered years, with the preceding governor (from the 1905 election) serving an extra year.<ref>Article XVII (adopted November 1905) of Constitution, section 2: "And the General Assembly shall have power to so extend existing terms of office as to effect the purpose of section 1 of this article." and section 3 : "Every elective officer holding office when this amendment is adopted shall continue to hold such office for the full term for which he was elected and until his successor shall be elected and qualified as provided by law." source: Template:Cite book</ref> A 1957 amendment<ref name="steinglass" /> lengthened the term to four years and allowed governors to only succeed themselves once, having to wait four years after their second term in a row before being allowed to run again.<ref>Ohio Constitution article III, § 2</ref> An Ohio Supreme Court ruling in 1973 clarified this to mean governors could theoretically serve unlimited terms, as long as they waited four years after every second term.<ref name="steinglass" />
See also
Notes
References
- General
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External links
Template:Governors of Ohio Template:Current U.S. governors Template:Lists of US Governors Template:US state navigation box Template:Ohio statewide elected officials