List of governors of Utah explained

Post:	Governor
Body:	Utah
Insigniacaption:	Seal of the Governor
Incumbent:	Spencer Cox
Incumbentsince:	January 4, 2021
Style:	The Honorable
Residence:	Utah Governor's Mansion
Termlength:	Four years, renewable, no term limits
Inaugural:	Heber Manning Wells
Formation:	January 6, 1896
Deputy:	Deidre Henderson
Salary:	$150,000 (2019)^[1]

The governor of Utah is the head of government of Utah^[2] and the commander-in-chief of its military forces.^[3] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws as well as the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Utah Legislature.^[4] The governor may also convene the legislature on "extraordinary occasions".^[5]

The self-proclaimed State of Deseret, precursor to the organization of the Utah Territory, had only one governor, Brigham Young. Utah Territory had 15 territorial governors from its organization in 1850 until the formation of the state of Utah in 1896, appointed by the President of the United States. John W. Dawson had the shortest term of only three weeks and Brigham Young, the first territorial governor, had the longest term at seven years.

There have been 18 governors of the State of Utah, with the longest serving being Cal Rampton, who served three terms from 1965 to 1977. Olene Walker served the shortest term, the remaining 14 months of Mike Leavitt's term upon Leavitt's resignation to become head of the Environmental Protection Agency. At the age of 36, Heber Manning Wells was the youngest person to become governor. At the age of 70, Simon Bamberger became the oldest person to be elected, while Olene Walker, at age 72, was the oldest person to succeed to the office.

J. Bracken Lee was the most recent of three Governors of Utah who was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the other two being Simon Bamberger (1917–1921) and George Dern (1925–1933).^[6]

Currently, a term of service is set at four years, and there are no overall limits (consecutive or lifetime) to the number of terms one may be elected to serve. Elections for the office of Governor of Utah are normally held in November of the same year as the United States presidential election.

The current governor is Spencer Cox, who took office on January 4, 2021. Governor Cox was elected in November 2020.

Qualifications

Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of Utah must meet the following qualifications:^[7]

• Be at least 30 years old
• Be a resident of Utah for at least five years on the day of the election
• Be a United States citizen
• Be a qualified elector of Utah at the time of election

List of governors

The area that became Utah was part of the Mexican Cession obtained by the United States on May 19, 1848, in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican–American War.^[8]

State of Deseret

A constitutional convention was convened in Salt Lake City on March 8, 1849, to work on a proposal for federal recognition of a state or territory. The convention resulted in the provisional State of Deseret. Deseret claimed most of present-day Utah, Nevada and Arizona, with parts of California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming. Brigham Young was elected governor on March 12, 1849, and the legislature first met on July 2, 1849.^{[9] [10]} The state, having never been recognized by the federal government, was formally dissolved on April 5, 1851,^[11] several months after word of the creation of Utah Territory reached Salt Lake City.

Territory of Utah

On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, Utah Territory was organized, encompassing roughly the northern half of Deseret.^[12] The news did not reach Salt Lake City until January 1851.^[13] Governors of the Utah Territory were appointed by the president of the United States, and other than Brigham Young, they were frequently considered carpetbagger patronage appointees.

!scope="colgroup" colspan="2"

Governor	Term in office	Appointing President
1	data-sort-value="Young, Brigham"		Brigham Young	- July 11, 1857
2	data-sort-value="Cumming, Alfred"		Alfred Cumming	- May 17, 1861
3	data-sort-value="Dawson, John"		John W. Dawson	- December 31, 1861
4	data-sort-value="Harding, Stephen"		Stephen S. Harding	- June 2, 1863
5	data-sort-value="Doty, James"		James Duane Doty	- June 13, 1865
6	data-sort-value="Durkee, Charles"		Charles Durkee	- January 17, 1870
7	data-sort-value="Shaffer, John"		John Shaffer	- October 31, 1870
8	data-sort-value="Vaughan, Vernon"		Vernon H. Vaughan	- February 2, 1871
9	data-sort-value="Woods, George"		George Lemuel Woods	- February 2, 1875
10	data-sort-value="Axtell, Samuel"		Samuel Beach Axtell	- July 1, 1875
11	data-sort-value="Emery, George"		George W. Emery	- January 27, 1880
12		Eli Houston Murray	- March 16, 1886
13	data-sort-value="West, Caleb"		Caleb Walton West	- May 6, 1889
14	data-sort-value="Thomas, Arthur"		Arthur Lloyd Thomas	- May 9, 1893
15	data-sort-value="West, Caleb"		Caleb Walton West	- January 4, 1896

State of Utah

The State of Utah was admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896.

The governor has a four-year term, commencing on the first Monday of the January after an election.^[14] The Constitution of Utah originally stated that, should the office of governor be vacant, the power be devolved upon the Secretary of State,^[15] but the office of Lieutenant Governor was created in 1976, and a 1980 constitutional amendment added it to the constitution.^[16] If the office of governor becomes vacant during the first year of the term, the lieutenant governor becomes governor until the next general election; if it becomes vacant after the first year of the term, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term.^[17] The offices of governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.^[18] The Governor of Utah was formerly limited to serving three terms, but all term limit laws were repealed by the Utah Legislature in 2003; Utah is one of the few states where gubernatorial term limits are not determined by the constitution.^[19]

!scope="colgroup" colspan="3"

Governor	Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1			Heber Manning Wells ^[20]	^[21] – January 2, 1905	Republican	1895	Office did not exist
						1900
2	data-sort-value="Cutler, John"			John Christopher Cutler ^[22]	^[23] – January 4, 1909	Republican			1904
3			William Spry ^[24]	^[25] – January 1, 1917	Republican	1908
						1912
4	data-sort-value="Bamberger, Simon"			Simon Bamberger ^[26]	^[27] – January 3, 1921	Democratic			1916
5	data-sort-value="Mabey, Charles"			Charles R. Mabey ^[28]	^[29] – January 5, 1925	Republican			1920
6			George Dern ^[30]	^[31] – January 2, 1933	Democratic	1924
						1928
7			Henry H. Blood ^[32]	^[33] – January 6, 1941	Democratic	1932
						1936
8			Herbert B. Maw ^[34]	^[35] – January 3, 1949	Democratic	1940
						1944
9			J. Bracken Lee ^[36]	^[37] – January 7, 1957	Republican	1948
						1952
10			George Dewey Clyde ^[38]	^[39] – January 4, 1965	Republican	1956
						1960
11			Cal Rampton ^[40]	^[41] – January 3, 1977	Democratic	1964
						1968
						1972
12			Scott M. Matheson ^[42]	^[43] – January 7, 1985	Democratic	1976
						1980
13			Norman H. Bangerter ^[44]	^[45] – January 4, 1993	Republican	1984
						1988
14			Mike Leavitt ^[46]	^[47] – November 5, 2003	Republican	1992
						1996
						2000
15	data-sort-value="Walker, Olene"			Olene Walker ^[48]	^[49] – January 3, 2005	Republican
16			Jon Huntsman Jr. ^[50]	^[51] – August 11, 2009	Republican	2004
						2008
17			Gary Herbert ^[52]	^[53] – January 4, 2021	Republican		Vacant
						2010
						2012
						2016
18	data-sort-value="Cox, Spencer"			Spencer Cox ^[54]	^[55] – Incumbent	Republican		2020

See also

• List of Utah state legislatures
• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Utah

References

General

• Web site: Former Utah Governors . July 5, 2023 . National Governors Association.
• Book: Sobel, Robert . Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. IV . Meckler Books . 1978 . 9780930466008 . June 13, 2023.
• Book: McMullin, Thomas A. . Biographical directory of American territorial governors . 1984 . Westport, CT : Meckler . 978-0-930466-11-4 . January 19, 2023.
• Book: Kallenbach, Joseph Ernest . American State Governors, 1776-1976 . 1977 . Oceana Publications . 978-0-379-00665-0 . September 23, 2023.
• Book: Dubin, Michael J. . United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1861-1911: The Official Results by State and County . 2014 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-5646-8 . en.
• Book: Glashan, Roy R. . American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978 . 1979 . Meckler Books . 978-0-930466-17-6.
• Web site: Our Campaigns - Governor of Utah - History . 2023-07-25 . www.ourcampaigns.com.

Specific

External links

• Office of the Governor of Utah

Notes and References

1. Web site: June 25, 2013 . CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141022032437/http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/csg-releases-2013-governor-salaries . October 22, 2014 . November 23, 2014 . The Council of State Governments.
2. UT Const. art. VII, § 5
3. UT Const. art. VII, § 4
4. UT Const. art. VII, § 8
5. UT Const. art. VII, § 6
6. News: Pace . Eric . 22 October 1996 . J. Bracken Lee Is Dead at 97; Was Blunt Governor of Utah . The New York Times . 10 December 2013.
7. Web site: Governor of Utah .
8. Web site: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . May 20, 2010 . Library of Congress.
9. Book: McClintock, James H. . Mormon settlement in Arizona . State of Arizona . 1921 . Phoenix . 52 . April 28, 2010.
10. Book: Whitney, Orson Ferguson . History of Utah . George Q Cannon and Sons . 1892 . Salt Lake City . 393–395 . April 28, 2010.
11. Book: Powell, Allen Kent . Utah History Encyclopedia . University of Utah Press . 1994 . Salt Lake City . 139.
12. Web site: Thirty-First Congress. Session I Chapter LI. . May 14, 2010 . Compromise of 1850 . Library of Congress.
13. Book: Whitney, Orson Ferguson . History of Utah . George Q Cannon and Sons . 1892 . Salt Lake City . 451–452 . April 28, 2010.
14. UT Const. art. VII, § 1
15. UT Const. original art. VII, §11
16. Book: White, Jean Bickmore . The Utah State Constitution: A Reference Guide . Greenwood Press . 1998 . 9780313293511 . 98 . May 17, 2010.
17. UT Const. art. VII, § 11
18. UT Const. art. VII, § 2
19. Web site: Utah set to repeal term limits . April 28, 2010 . National Conference of State Legislatures.
20. Web site: Heber Manning Wells . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
21. News: 1896-01-07 . Heber M. Wells Now the Governor of the Peace-Born State . 1 . The Salt Lake Herald . 2023-07-12.
22. Web site: John Christopher Cutler . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
23. News: 1905-01-02 . New Governor In; Old One Is Out . 1 . Deseret News . 2023-07-12.
24. Web site: William Spry . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
25. News: 1909-01-05 . William Spry Is Governor of Utah . 1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
26. Web site: Simon Bamberger . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
27. News: 1917-01-01 . Bamberger Is Inaugurated . 17 . The Journal . 2023-07-12.
28. Web site: Charles Rendell Mabey . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
29. News: 1921-01-03 . Republicans Take Charge of State and County Offices . 1 . The Daily Herald . 2023-07-12.
30. Web site: George Henry Dern . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
31. News: 1925-01-05 . Dern Becomes Utah Governor; Mabey Retires . 1 . Salt Lake Telegram . 2023-07-12.
32. Web site: Henry Hooper Blood . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
33. News: 1933-01-03 . Utah's New Governor Takes Office Monday at Capitol Building . 1 . Cache American . 2023-07-12.
34. Web site: Herbert Brown Maw . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
35. News: 1941-01-07 . Maw Takes Oath as Eighth Utah Governor . 1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
36. Web site: Joseph Bracken Lee . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
37. News: 1949-01-04 . Lee Assumes Utah Helm Before 4000 . 1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
38. Web site: George Dewey Clyde . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
39. News: Full . Jerome K. . 1957-01-08 . Clyde Takes Governor Oath in Solemn Capitol Ceremony . 1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
40. Web site: Calvin Lewellyn Rampton . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
41. News: Malmquist . O. N. . 1965-01-05 . Rampton Takes Oath As Governor . 1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
42. Web site: Scott M. Matheson . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
43. News: Garbett . Bryson . 1977-01-04 . Matheson Takes Office, Stresses Energy, People . 1 . The Daily Utah Chronicle . 2023-07-12.
44. Web site: Norman Howard Bangerter . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
45. News: Jonsson . Dave . 1985-01-08 . Bangerter Takes Utah's Reins at Inauguration . A1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
46. Web site: Michael Okerlund Leavitt . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
47. News: Christian . Pat . 1993-01-05 . Utah's Governors Provide Potpourri of Style . B1 . The Daily Herald . 2023-07-12.
48. Web site: Olene Smith Walker . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
49. News: Harrie . Dan . 2003-11-06 . Change of Guard . A1 . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-07-12.
50. Web site: Jon Huntsman . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
51. News: Foy . Paul . 2005-01-04 . New Era for Utah . A1 . The Daily Spectrum . Associated Press . 2023-07-12.
52. Web site: Gary Herbert . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
53. News: Vergakis . Brock . 2009-08-12 . Herbert Takes the Oath . A1 . The Daily Herald . Associated Press . 2023-07-12.
54. Web site: Spencer Cox . July 11, 2023 . National Governors Association.
55. News: Stevens . Taylor . Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is sworn in as Utah’s 18th governor . en-US . The Salt Lake Tribune . 2023-10-02.