The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The current lieutenant governor is

Billy Nungesser William Harold Nungesser (born January 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 54th lieutenant governor of Louisiana. A Republican, Nungesser is also the former president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission, having been re-elected to ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. The lieutenant governor is also the commissioner of the

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism is a state agency and department within the Office of the Lt. Governor. The department is composed of six offices, Office of the Secretary, Office of State Library, Office of State Museum, Off ...

. Paul J. Hardy, who served from 1988 to 1992, was the first

to be elected to the position since the Reconstruction Era. This was largely because of the racial suppression in state politics during the first half and more of the 20th century. Following Reconstruction, conservative white Democrats regained control of the state political power and passed legislation that disenfranchised most African Americans, who were majority Republicans. It was not until after passage of civil rights legislation that most African Americans regained their ability to vote. But party alignments changed and since the late 20th century, most conservative whites are aligned with the Republican Party in Louisiana and most African Americans with the Democratic Party.

History

The office was established by the Louisiana Constitution of 1845. Prior to that, the successor to the governor in the event of his death or resignation was the

President of the Louisiana State Senate The President of the Louisiana State Senate is the highest-ranking member of the Louisiana State Senate. The president convenes the session and calls members to order, and can designate another state senator as the presiding officer. The Louisia ...

Louisiana State Constitution of 1812 Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Article III Sect. 17th. and Louisiana State Constitution of 1845 Art. 45Louisiana. ''Report of the Secretary of State to His Excellency W.W. Heard, Governor of the State of Louisiana. May 12th, 1902.'' [Baton Rouge]: Baton Rouge news Pub. Co., State printers, 1902.
p 325 A number of state senate presidents succeeded governors before the 1845 Constitution was adopted, including Henry S. Thibodaux, Armand Beauvais and Jacques Dupre. The lieutenant governor presided over the

Louisiana Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

from 1845 until the adoption of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. Today, the lieutenant governor exercises powers delegated to him or her by the

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 ...

as provided by law. She or he also becomes governor if the previous governor dies, resigns or is removed from office via impeachment & conviction. If the governor is unable to act as governor, or is out of state, the lieutenant governor assumes the governors powers and duties as acting governor. Under the constitution, the lieutenant governor no longer serves as ex officio president of the senate, but is made an ex officio member of each committee, board and commission on which the governor serves. ( Louisiana Constitution Article IV, Section 6) Additionally, the lieutenant governor serves as commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism.

List of lieutenant governors

;Parties

1846–1860

Civil War era

Lieutenant governors of Confederate Louisiana

Lieutenant governors of Union-held territory in Louisiana

Resumption of U.S. statehood

Living former lieutenant governors

, there are five former lieutenant governors of Louisiana, the oldest being

Paul Hardy Paul Jude Hardy (born October 18, 1942) is an American attorney from Baton Rouge, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, who was the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He ser ...

(served 1988–1992, born 1942). The most recent lieutenant governor to die was

Jimmy Fitzmorris James Edward Fitzmorris Jr. (November 15, 1921 – June 30, 2021) was an American politician who served on the New Orleans City Council from 1954 to 1966 and as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lie ...

(served 1972–1980, born 1921) on June 30, 2021. The most serving lieutenant governor to die was

Kathleen Blanco Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...

(served 1996–2004, born 1942) on August 18, 2019.

References

External links

*http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/Documents/SenateMembership1880ForwardRevisedMar2011.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Lieutenant Governor Of Louisiana Lieutenant Governor 1846 establishments in Louisiana