The governor of Delaware (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
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...
, to convene the legislature, and to grant
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
s, except in cases of impeachment, and only with the recommendation of the Board of Pardons.
There have been 71 people who have served as governor, over 74 distinct terms. Three (
Joseph Haslet,
Charles Polk Jr.
Charles Polk Jr. (November 15, 1788 – October 27, 1857) was an American farmer and politician from Big Stone Beach, in Milford Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, and later the Whig Party, who served in ...
and
Elbert N. Carvel
Elbert Nostrand "Bert" Carvel (February 9, 1910 – February 6, 2005) was an American businessman and politician from Laurel, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Del ...
) served non-consecutive terms. Additionally,
Henry Molleston
Henry Molleston III (January 1, 1762November 11, 1819) was an American physician and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, and was elected Governor ...
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
Ruth Ann Minner (née Coverdale; January 17, 1935 – November 4, 2021) was an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 72nd (and, to date, only female) gov ...
, 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
David Penrose Buckson (July 25, 1920 – January 17, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician from Camden in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as the 15th Lieutenant Go ...
served 19 days under similar circumstances. The current governor is
Democrat John Carney, who took office on January 17, 2017.
Governors
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.
The office of President was renamed Governor by the
constitution of 1792,
[1792 Const. art. III, § 1] 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. The term was lengthened to four years by the
1831 constitution, but governors were limited to a single term.
[1831 Const. art III, § 3] The
current constitution of 1897 allows governors to serve two terms.
The 1776 constitution stated that if the presidency were vacant, the speaker of the legislative council would be a vice-president. 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,
[DE Const. art. III, § 19] upon whom the office devolves in case of vacancy. The offices of governor and lieutenant governor are elected at the same time but not on the same
ticket.
See also
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Delaware gubernatorial elections
*
Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Delaware
Notes
References
;General
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;Constitutions
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* Constitution of the State of Delaware (1831)
* Constitution of the State of Delaware (1792)
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;Specific
External links
Office of the Governor of DelawareDelaware Hall of Governors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware, List Of Governors Of
Delaware
Governors
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