The governor of the United States Virgin Islands is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Territory addresses to the

Virgin Islands Legislature The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of 15 senators, elected to two- ...

, submitting the budget, and ensuring that territory public laws are enforced. The position was created through the passage of the

Elective Governor Acts of 1968 The Elective Governor Acts of 1968 are a pair of acts passed by the 90th United States Congress in 1968, which provide for the Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Governor of Guam to be popularly elected, rather than appointed as they had ...

which took effect in 1970.

Melvin Herbert Evans Melvin Herbert Evans (August 7, 1917 – November 27, 1984) was a Crucian politician, who served as the appointive, and the first elected governor of the United States Virgin Islands, serving from 1969 to 1975. After serving as governor he was de ...

was the first elected governor. The following is a list of governors of the United States Virgin Islands. For governors of the territory that is now the U.S. Virgin Islands prior to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

administration (while it was ruled by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

as the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colonization of the Americas, Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Thomas ...

), see

List of governors of the Danish West Indies This article lists the governors of the Danish West Indies ( da, Dansk Vestindien) or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands, a Denmark, Danish Danish overseas colonies, colony in the Caribbean encompassing the territory of the present-day U ...

Appointed governors (1917–1970)

Naval governors (1917–1931)

Civilian governors (1931–1970)

Elected governors (1970–present)

; Parties

Succession

Living former governors

, there are two living former governors from the U.S. Virgin Islands. The most recent and most recently serving governor to die was Roy Lester Schneider (served 1995-1999) on December 18, 2022.

References

External links

Office of the Governor

National Governors Association: Former Virgin Islands Governors
{{Lists of US Governors U.S. Virgin Islands

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...