Governor of Colorado

Governor of the State of Colorado
Executive Seal
Incumbent John Hickenlooper since January 11, 2011
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Colorado Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, can succeed self once
Inaugural holder	John Long Routt
Formation	August 1, 1876
Deputy	Joseph A. Garcia
Salary	$90,000 (2013)
Website	www.colorado.gov/governor

The Governor of the State of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado'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 Colorado General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment.

Seven people served as governor of Colorado Territory over eight terms, appointed by the President of the United States. Since statehood, there have been 36 governors, serving 41 distinct terms. The longest-serving governors were Richard "Dick" Lamm and Roy Romer, who each served twelve years over three terms. The shortest term occurred on March 17, 1905, a day when the state had three governors: Alva Adams won the election, but soon after he took office, the legislature declared his opponent, James Peabody, governor, but on the condition that he immediately resign, so that his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, could be governor. Thus, Peabody served only a few minutes as governor.

The current governor is John Hickenlooper, who took office on January 11, 2011.

Governors

Governor of the Territory of Jefferson

The self-proclaimed Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on November 7, 1859. Jefferson Territory included all of present-day Colorado, but extended about 3 miles (5 km) farther east, 138 miles (222 km) farther north, and about 50 miles (80 km) farther west. The territory was never recognized by the federal government in the tumultuous days before the American Civil War. The Jefferson Territory had only one governor, Robert Williamson Steele, a pro-union Democrat elected by popular vote. He proclaimed the territory dissolved on June 6, 1861, several months after the official formation of the Colorado Territory, but only days after the arrival of its first governor.

Governors of the Territory of Colorado

For the period before Colorado Territory was formed, see the lists of Governors of New Mexico Territory, Utah Territory, Kansas Territory, and Nebraska Territory.

The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, from parts of the territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Nebraska, and the unorganized territory that was previously the western portion of Kansas Territory.

#	Portrait	Governor	Term in office	Appointed by
1		William Gilpin	March 25, 1861 – March 26, 1862	Abraham Lincoln
2		John Evans	March 26, 1862 – October 17, 1865
3		Alexander Cummings	October 17, 1865 – April 24, 1867	Andrew Johnson
4		Alexander Cameron Hunt	April 24, 1867 – June 14, 1869
5		Edward M. McCook	June 14, 1869 – Sometime in 1873	Ulysses S. Grant
6		Samuel Hitt Elbert	April 4, 1873 – Sometime in 1874
7		Edward M. McCook	June 19, 1874 – March 29, 1875
8		John Long Routt	March 29, 1875 – August 1, 1876

Governors of the State of Colorado

The State of Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876.

To serve as Governor, one must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States, and have been a resident of the state for at least two years prior to election. The state constitution of 1876 originally called for election of the governor every two years, with their term beginning on the second Tuesday of the January following the election. An amendment passed in 1956, taking effect in 1959, increased terms to four years. Originally, there was no term limit applied to the governor; a 1990 amendment allowed governors to succeed themselves only once. There is however no limit on the total number of terms one may serve as long as one who has served the two term limit is out of office for four years.

Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. If both the offices governor and lieutenant governor are vacant, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. The lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor until a 1968 amendment to the constitution made it so that they are elected on the same ticket.

Parties

      Republican (19)       Democratic (22)       People's (1)

#	Portrait	Governor		Term in office	Party	Term	Lt. Governor
1			John Long Routt	August 1, 1876 – January 14, 1879	Republican	1		Lafayette Head
2			Frederick Walker Pitkin	January 14, 1879 – January 9, 1883	Republican	2		Horace Austin Warner Tabor
						3
3			James Benton Grant	January 9, 1883 – January 13, 1885	Democratic	4		William H. Meyer
4			Benjamin Harrison Eaton	January 13, 1885 – January 11, 1887	Republican	5		Peter W. Breene
5			Alva Adams	January 11, 1887 – January 8, 1889	Democratic	6		Norman H. Meldrum
6			Job Adams Cooper	January 8, 1889 – January 13, 1891	Republican	7		William Grover Smith
7			John Long Routt	January 13, 1891 – January 10, 1893	Republican	8		William Story
8			Davis Hanson Waite	January 10, 1893 – January 8, 1895	People's	9		David Hopkinson Nichols
9			Albert Washington McIntire	January 8, 1895 – January 12, 1897	Republican	10		Jared L. Brush
10			Alva Adams	January 12, 1897 – January 10, 1899	Democratic	11
11			Charles Spalding Thomas	January 10, 1899 – January 8, 1901	Democratic	12		Francis Patrick Carney
12			James Bradley Orman	January 8, 1901 – January 13, 1903	Democratic	13		David C. Coates
13			James Hamilton Peabody	January 13, 1903 – January 10, 1905	Republican	14		Warren A. Haggott
14			Alva Adams	January 10, 1905 – March 17, 1905	Democratic	15		Arthur Cornforth
15			James Hamilton Peabody	March 17, 1905 – March 17, 1905	Republican			Jesse Fuller McDonald
16			Jesse Fuller McDonald	March 17, 1905 – January 8, 1907	Republican		Vacant
								Fred W. Parks
17			Henry Augustus Buchtel	January 8, 1907 – January 12, 1909	Republican	16		Erastus Harper
18			John F. Shafroth	January 12, 1909 – January 14, 1913	Democratic	17		Stephen R. Fitzgarrald
						18
19			Elias M. Ammons	January 14, 1913 – January 12, 1915	Democratic	19
20			George Alfred Carlson	January 12, 1915 – January 9, 1917	Republican	20		Moses E. Lewis
21			Julius Caldeen Gunter	January 9, 1917 – January 14, 1919	Democratic	21		James A. Pulliam
22			Oliver Henry Shoup	January 14, 1919 – January 9, 1923	Republican	22		George Stepham
						23		Earl Cooley
23			William Ellery Sweet	January 9, 1923 – January 13, 1925	Democratic	24		Robert F. Rockwell
24	75px		Clarence Morley	January 13, 1925 – January 11, 1927	Republican	25		Sterling Byrd Lacy
25	75px		Billy Adams	January 11, 1927 – January 10, 1933	Democratic	26		George Milton Corlett
						27
						28		Edwin C. Johnson
26			Edwin C. Johnson	January 10, 1933 – January 1, 1937	Democratic	29		Ray Herbert Talbot
						30
27	75px		Ray Herbert Talbot	January 1, 1937 – January 12, 1937	Democratic		Vacant
28	75px		Teller Ammons	January 12, 1937 – January 10, 1939	Democratic	31		Frank J. Hayes
29			Ralph Lawrence Carr	January 10, 1939 – January 12, 1943	Republican	32		John Charles Vivian
						33
30	75px		John Charles Vivian	January 12, 1943 – January 14, 1947	Republican	34		William Eugene Higby
						35
31	75px		William Lee Knous	January 14, 1947 – April 15, 1950	Democratic	36		Homer L. Pearson
						37		Walter Walford Johnson
32	75px		Walter Walford Johnson	April 15, 1950 – January 9, 1951	Democratic		Vacant
								Charles P. Murphy
33			Daniel I.J. Thornton	January 9, 1951 – January 11, 1955	Republican	38		Gordon L. Allott
						39
34			Edwin C. Johnson	January 11, 1955 – January 8, 1957	Democratic	40		Stephen L.R. McNichols
35			Stephen L.R. McNichols	January 8, 1957 – January 8, 1963	Democratic	41		Frank L. Hays
						42		Robert Lee Knous
36			John Arthur Love	January 8, 1963 – July 16, 1973	Republican	43
						44		Mark Anthony Hogan
						45		John David Vanderhoof
37			John David Vanderhoof	July 16, 1973 – January 14, 1975	Republican		Vacant
								Ted L. Strickland
38	75px		Richard "Dick" Lamm	January 14, 1975 – January 13, 1987	Democratic	46		George L. Brown
						47		Nancy E. Dick
						48
39			Roy Romer	January 13, 1987 – January 12, 1999	Democratic	49		Mike Callihan
						50
							Vacant
								Samuel H. Cassidy
						51		Gail Schoettler
40			Bill Owens	January 12, 1999 – January 9, 2007	Republican	52		Joe Rogers
						53		Jane E. Norton
41			Bill Ritter	January 9, 2007 – January 11, 2011	Democratic	54		Barbara O'Brien
42			John Hickenlooper	January 11, 2011 – Incumbent	Democratic	55		Joseph A. Garcia
						56

Living former U.S. governors of Colorado

As of May 2015, there are four former U.S. governors of Colorado who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. governor of Colorado being Roy Romer (served 1987–1999, born 1928). The most recent death of a former U.S. governor of Colorado, and also the most recently serving U.S. governor of Colorado to have died, was that of John David Vanderhoof (served 1973–1975, born 1922), who died on September 19, 2013.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Richard "Dick" Lamm	1975–1987	(1935-09-12) September 12, 1935
Roy Romer	1987–1999	(1928-10-31) October 31, 1928
Bill Owens	1999–2007	(1950-10-22) October 22, 1950
Bill Ritter	2007–2011	(1956-09-06) September 6, 1956

See also

• Outline of Colorado
• Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
  • Law and government of Colorado
    • Governor of Colorado
      • Lieutenant Governor of Colorado

References

General

Constitutions

Specific

External links

• Office of the Governor of Colorado