| Post: | Governor |
| Body: | Delaware |
| Insignia: | Seal of Delaware.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 110px |
| Insigniacaption: | Great Seal of the State of Delaware |
| Incumbent: | John Carney |
| Incumbentsince: | January 17, 2017 |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Department: | Government of Delaware |
| Residence: | Delaware Governor's Mansion Dover, Delaware |
| Termlength: | Four years, renewable once |
| Inaugural: | John McKinly |
| Formation: | February 12, 1777 |
| Deputy: | Lieutenant Governor of Delaware |
| Salary: | $171,000 (2013)[1] |
The governor of Delaware (known as the president of Delaware from 1776 to 1792) is the head of government of Delaware 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 Delaware Legislature, to convene the legislature,[2] and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment, and only with the recommendation of the Board of Pardons.[3]
There have been 71 people who have served as governor, over 74 distinct terms. Three (Joseph Haslet, Charles Polk Jr. and Elbert N. Carvel) served non-consecutive terms. Additionally, Henry Molleston was elected, but died before he could take office. Only four governors have been elected to two consecutive terms, with the longest-serving being Ruth Ann Minner, who was elected twice after succeeding to the office, serving a total of just over eight years. The shortest term is that of Dale E. Wolf, who served 18 days following his predecessor's resignation; David P. Buckson served 19 days under similar circumstances. The current governor is Democrat John Carney, who took office on January 17, 2017.
Before 1776, Delaware was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain, administered by colonial governors in Pennsylvania as the "Lower Counties on Delaware".
In 1776, soon after Delaware and the other Thirteen Colonies declared independence from Britain, the state adopted its first state constitution. It created the office of President of Delaware, a chief executive to be chosen by the legislature to serve a term of three years, who would be ineligible to be president again until three years had passed after leaving office.[4]
The office of President was renamed Governor by the constitution of 1792,[5] which set the commencement date of the term to the third Tuesday in the January following an election, and limited governors to serving only three out of any six years.[6] The term was lengthened to four years by the 1831 constitution, but governors were limited to a single term.[7] The current constitution of 1897 allows governors to serve two terms.[8]
The 1776 constitution stated that if the presidency were vacant, the speaker of the legislative council would be a vice-president.[9] The 1792 constitution has the speaker of the senate exercising the office when it is vacant, and the 1897 constitution created the office of lieutenant governor,[10] upon whom the office devolves in case of vacancy.[11] The offices of governor and lieutenant governor are elected at the same time but not on the same ticket.
| Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-sort-value="McKinly, John" | John McKinly [12] | [13] – September 12, 1777 | No parties | 1777 | Office did not exist | |||
| 2 | data-sort-value="McKean, Thomas" | Thomas McKean [14] | – October 20, 1777 | ||||||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Read, George" | George Read [15] | – March 31, 1778 | ||||||
| 4 | data-sort-value="Rodney, Caesar" | Caesar Rodney [16] | – November 13, 1781 | 1778 | |||||
| 5 | data-sort-value="Dickinson, John" | John Dickinson [17] | – January 13, 1783 | 1781 | |||||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Cook, John" | John Cook [18] | – February 8, 1783 | ||||||
| 7 | data-sort-value="Van Dyke, Nicholas" | Nicholas Van Dyke [19] | [20] – October 28, 1786 | 1783 | |||||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Collins, Thomas" | Thomas Collins [21] | [22] – March 29, 1789 | 1786 | |||||
| 9 | data-sort-value="Davis, Jehu" | Jehu Davis [23] | – June 2, 1789 | ||||||
| 10 | Joshua Clayton [24] | [25] – January 13, 1796 | Federalist | 1789 | |||||
| 1792 | |||||||||
| 11 | data-sort-value="Bedford, Gunning" | Gunning Bedford Sr. [26] | – September 28, 1797 | Federalist | 1795 | ||||
| 12 | data-sort-value="Rogers, Daniel" | Daniel Rogers [27] | – January 9, 1799 | Federalist | |||||
| 13 | data-sort-value="Bassett, Richard" | Richard Bassett [28] | – March 3, 1801 | Federalist | 1798 | ||||
| 14 | data-sort-value="Sykes, James" | James Sykes [29] | – January 19, 1802 | Federalist | |||||
| 15 | data-sort-value="Hall, David" | David Hall [30] | [31] – January 15, 1805 | Democratic- Republican | 1801 | ||||
| 16 | data-sort-value="Mitchell, Nathaniel" | Nathaniel Mitchell [32] | [33] – January 19, 1808 | Federalist | 1804 | ||||
| 17 | data-sort-value="Truitt, George" | George Truitt [34] | [35] – January 15, 1811 | Federalist | 1807 | ||||
| 18 | data-sort-value="Haslet, Joseph" | Joseph Haslet [36] | – January 18, 1814 | Democratic- Republican | 1810 | ||||
| 19 | data-sort-value="Rodney, Daniel" | Daniel Rodney [37] | – January 21, 1817 | Federalist | 1813 | ||||
| 20 | data-sort-value="Clark, John" | John Clark [38] | – January 15, 1820 | Federalist | 1816 | ||||
| — | data-sort-value="Molleston, Henry" | Henry Molleston | Died before taking office | Federalist | 1819 | ||||
| 21 | data-sort-value="Stout, Jacob" | Jacob Stout [39] | – January 16, 1821 | Federalist | |||||
| 22 | data-sort-value="Collins, John" | John Collins [40] | – April 16, 1822 | Democratic- Republican | 1820 | ||||
| 23 | data-sort-value="Rodney, Caleb" | Caleb Rodney [41] | – January 21, 1823 | Federalist | |||||
| 24 | data-sort-value="Haslet, Joseph" | Joseph Haslet | – June 20, 1823 | Democratic- Republican | 1822 | ||||
| 25 | data-sort-value="Thomas, Charles" | Charles Thomas [42] | – January 20, 1824 | Democratic- Republican | |||||
| 26 | data-sort-value="Paynter, Samuel" | Samuel Paynter [43] | – January 16, 1827 | Federalist | 1823 | ||||
| 27 | data-sort-value="Polk, Charles" | Charles Polk Jr. [44] | – January 19, 1830 | Federalist | 1826 | ||||
| 28 | data-sort-value="Hazzard, David" | David Hazzard [45] | – January 15, 1833 | National Republican | 1829 | ||||
| 29 | data-sort-value="Bennett, Caleb" | Caleb P. Bennett [46] | – May 9, 1836 | Democratic | 1832 | ||||
| 30 | data-sort-value="Polk, Charles" | Charles Polk Jr. | – January 17, 1837 | Whig | |||||
| 31 | data-sort-value="Comegys, Cornelius" | Cornelius P. Comegys [47] | – January 19, 1841 | Whig | 1836 | ||||
| 32 | data-sort-value="Cooper, William" | William B. Cooper [48] | – January 21, 1845 | Whig | 1840 | ||||
| 33 | data-sort-value="Stockton, Thomas" | Thomas Stockton [49] | – March 2, 1846 | Whig | 1844 | ||||
| 34 | data-sort-value="Maull, Joseph" | Joseph Maull [50] | – May 3, 1846 | Whig | |||||
| 35 | data-sort-value="Temple, William" | William Temple [51] | – January 19, 1847 | Whig | |||||
| 36 | data-sort-value="Tharp, William" | William Tharp [52] | – January 21, 1851 | Democratic | 1846 | ||||
| 37 | data-sort-value="Ross, William" | William H. H. Ross [53] | – January 16, 1855 | Democratic | 1850 | ||||
| 38 | data-sort-value="Causey, Peter" | Peter F. Causey [54] | [55] – January 18, 1859 | American | 1854 | ||||
| 39 | data-sort-value="Burton, William" | William Burton [56] | [57] – January 20, 1863 | Democratic | 1858 | ||||
| 40 | data-sort-value="Cannon, William" | William Cannon [58] | [59] – March 1, 1865 | Republican | 1862 | ||||
| 41 | Gove Saulsbury [60] | [61] – January 17, 1871 | Democratic | ||||||
| 1866 | |||||||||
| 42 | data-sort-value="Ponder, James" | James Ponder [62] | [63] – January 19, 1875 | Democratic | 1870 | ||||
| 43 | data-sort-value="Cochran, John" | John P. Cochran [64] | [65] – January 21, 1879 | Democratic | 1874 | ||||
| 44 | data-sort-value="Hall, John" | John W. Hall [66] | [67] – January 16, 1883 | Democratic | 1878 | ||||
| 45 | data-sort-value="Stockley, Charles" | Charles C. Stockley [68] | [69] – January 18, 1887 | Democratic | 1882 | ||||
| 46 | data-sort-value="Biggs, Benjamin" | Benjamin T. Biggs [70] | [71] – January 20, 1891 | Democratic | 1886 | ||||
| 47 | data-sort-value="Reynolds, Robert" | Robert J. Reynolds [72] | [73] – January 15, 1895 | Democratic | 1890 | ||||
| 48 | data-sort-value="Marvil, Joshua" | Joshua H. Marvil [74] | [75] – April 8, 1895 | Republican | 1894 | ||||
| 49 | data-sort-value="Watson, William" | William T. Watson [76] | [77] – January 19, 1897 | Democratic | |||||
| 50 | data-sort-value="Tunnell, Ebe" | Ebe W. Tunnell [78] | [79] – January 15, 1901 | Democratic | 1896 | ||||
| 51 | data-sort-value="Hunn, John" | John Hunn [80] | [81] – January 17, 1905 | Republican | 1900 | ||||
| 52 | data-sort-value="Lea, Preston" | Preston Lea [82] | [83] – January 19, 1909 | Republican | 1904 | ||||
| 53 | data-sort-value="Pennewill, Simeon" | Simeon S. Pennewill [84] | [85] – January 21, 1913 | Republican | 1908 | ||||
| 54 | data-sort-value="Miller, Charles" | Charles R. Miller [86] | [87] – January 16, 1917 | Republican | 1912 | ||||
| 55 | data-sort-value="Townsend, John" | John G. Townsend Jr. [88] | [89] – January 18, 1921 | Republican | 1916 | ||||
| 56 | data-sort-value="Denney, William" | William D. Denney [90] | [91] – January 20, 1925 | Republican | 1920 | ||||
| 57 | data-sort-value="Robinson, Robert" | Robert P. Robinson [92] | [93] – January 15, 1929 | Republican | 1924 | ||||
| 58 | C. Douglass Buck [94] | [95] – January 19, 1937 | Republican | 1928 | |||||
| 1932 | |||||||||
| 59 | data-sort-value="McMullen, Richard" | Richard McMullen [96] | [97] – January 21, 1941 | Democratic | 1936 | ||||
| 60 | Walter W. Bacon [98] | [99] – January 18, 1949 | Republican | 1940 | |||||
| 1944 | |||||||||
| 61 | data-sort-value="Carvel, Elbert" | Elbert N. Carvel [100] | [101] – January 20, 1953 | Democratic | 1948 | ||||
| 62 | J. Caleb Boggs [102] | [103] – December 30, 1960 | Republican | 1952 | |||||
| 1956 | |||||||||
| 63 | data-sort-value="Buckson, David" | David P. Buckson [104] | [105] – January 17, 1961 | Republican | Vacant | ||||
| 64 | data-sort-value="Carvel, Elbert" | Elbert N. Carvel | [106] – January 19, 1965 | Democratic | 1960 | ||||
| 65 | data-sort-value="Terry, Charles" | Charles L. Terry Jr. [107] | [108] – January 21, 1969 | Democratic | 1964 | ||||
| 66 | data-sort-value="Peterson, Russell" | Russell W. Peterson [109] | [110] – January 16, 1973 | Republican | 1968 | ||||
| 67 | data-sort-value="Tribbitt, Sherman" | Sherman W. Tribbitt [111] | [112] – January 18, 1977 | Democratic | 1972 | ||||
| 68 | Pete du Pont [113] | [114] – January 15, 1985 | Republican | 1976 | |||||
| 1980 | |||||||||
| 69 | Mike Castle [115] | [116] – January 2, 1993 | Republican | 1984 | |||||
| 1988 | |||||||||
| 70 | data-sort-value="Wolf, Dale" | Dale E. Wolf [117] | [118] – January 19, 1993 | Republican | Vacant | ||||
| 71 | Tom Carper [119] | [120] – January 3, 2001 | Democratic | 1992 | |||||
| 1996 | |||||||||
| 72 | Ruth Ann Minner [121] | [122] – January 20, 2009 | Democratic | Vacant | |||||
| 2000 | |||||||||
| 2004 | |||||||||
| 73 | Jack Markell [123] | [124] – January 17, 2017 | Democratic | 2008 | |||||
| 2012 | |||||||||
| Vacant | |||||||||
| 74 | John Carney [125] | [126] – Incumbent | Democratic | 2016 | |||||
| 2020 | |||||||||