The governor of Arizona 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, ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. As the top elected official, 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 ...

is the head of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

of the

Arizona state government Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

and is charged with faithfully executing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

bills passed by the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...

; 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 j ...

s, except in cases of

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. I ...

. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Twenty-three people have served as governor over 27 distinct terms. All of the repeat governors were in the state's earliest years, when George W. P. Hunt and Thomas Edward Campbell alternated as governor for 17 years and, after a two-year gap, Hunt served another term. One governor,

Evan Mecham Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...

, was successfully impeached, and one,

Fife Symington John Fife Symington III (; born August 12, 1945) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 19th governor of Arizona from 1991 until his resignation in 1997. A member of the Republican Party, he resigned from office following co ...

, resigned upon being convicted of a felony. The longest-serving governor was Hunt, who was elected seven times and served just under fourteen years. The longest single stint was that of

Bruce Babbitt The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

, who was elected to two four-year terms after succeeding to the office following the death of his predecessor,

Wesley Bolin Wesley Bolin (July 1, 1909 – March 4, 1978) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor. Pri ...

, serving nearly nine years total. Bolin had the shortest tenure, dying less than five months after succeeding as governor. Four governors were actually born in Arizona: Campbell,

Sidney Preston Osborn Sidney Preston Osborn (May 17, 1884 – May 25, 1948) was an American politician who was the first secretary of state of Arizona, and later the seventh governor of Arizona and is, as of , the only governor of Arizona to be elected to four cons ...

Rose Mofford Rose Mofford (née Perica; June 10, 1922September 15, 2016) was an American civil servant and politician of the Democratic Party whose career in state government spanned 51 years. Beginning her career with the State of Arizona as a secretary, Mof ...

, and Babbitt. Arizona has had four female governors, the most in the United States, and was the first—and until 2019 (when

Michelle Lujan Grisham Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham (; born October 24, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S. representative for ...

succeeded

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

in neighboring

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

) the ''only''—state where female governors served consecutively. The current governor is Republican

Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a ...

, who took office on January 5, 2015. Democratic governor-elect

Katie Hobbs Kathleen Marie Hobbs (born December 28, 1969) is an American politician and social worker who is the governor-elect of Arizona, having been elected in 2022. She has served as the 21st secretary of state of Arizona since 2019. A member of the ...

will take office on January 2, 2023. Upon her inauguration five women will have served as governor, the most of any state.

Governors

Confederate Arizona

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

between April 2 and April 5, 1860, a convention of settlers from the southern half of New Mexico Territory drafted a provisional constitution for "Arizona Territory", three years before the United States would create such a territory. This proposed territory consisted of the part of New Mexico Territory south of 33° 40' north. On April 2, they elected a governor, Dr. Lewis S. Owings. The provisional territory was to exist until such time as an official territory was created, but that proposal was rejected by the U.S. Congress at the time. On March 16, 1861, soon before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

broke out, a convention in Mesilla voted that the provisional territory should secede from the Union and join the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

. Dr. Lewis S. Owings remained on as the provisional governor of the territory. The Confederacy took ownership of the territory on August 1, 1861, when forces led by Lieutenant Colonel

John R. Baylor John R. Baylor (born John Robert Baylor; July 27, 1822 – February 6, 1894) was a US Indian agent, publisher and editor, politician, and a senior officer of the Confederate States Army. The Arizona Territory ( Confederate) was formally organized on January 18, 1862. On March 20, 1862, Baylor issued an order to kill all the adult Apache and take their children into slavery. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis learned of this order, he strongly disapproved and demanded an explanation. Baylor wrote a letter December 29, 1862, to justify his decision, and after this was received, Davis relieved Baylor of his post and commission, calling his letter an "avowal of an infamous crime". By that time, the Confederate government of Arizona Territory was

in exile In Exile may refer to: Film and television * ''In Exile'' (film) or ''Time Runner'', a 1993 science fiction film * ''In Exile'' (TV series), a 1998 UK sitcom Literature * "In Exile" (short story), an 1892 short story by Anton Chekhov *''In Exile'' ...

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, as the territory had been effectively lost to Union forces in July 1862; no new governor was appointed.

Governors of the Territory of Arizona

Arizona Territory was formed on February 24, 1863, from New Mexico Territory, remaining a territory for 49 years.

Governors of the State of Arizona

The state of Arizona was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912, the last of the contiguous states to be admitted. The state constitution of 1912 called for the election of a governor every two years.AZ Const. art 5, § 1 The term was increased to four years by a 1968 amendment.Ralph E. Hughes v. Douglas K. Martin
(PDF), (Arizona Supreme Court 2002-08-20). “Nelson involved two allegedly conflicting amendments both approved by voters in the 1968 election, to Article 5 of the Arizona Constitution. ... The other amendment, proposition 104, extended the term of offices of the executive department, including the office of state auditor, from two years to four years.” The constitution originally included no term limit,AZ Const. art. 5, old § 1 but an amendment passed in 1992 allows governors to succeed themselves only once; before this, four governors were elected more than twice in a row. Gubernatorial terms begin on the first Monday in the January following the election. Governors who have served the two term limit can run again after four years out of office. Arizona is one of seven states which does not have a

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

; instead, in the event of a vacancy in the office of governor, the secretary of state, if elected, succeeds to the office. If the secretary of state was appointed, rather than elected, or is otherwise ineligible to hold the office of governor, the first elected and eligible person in the line of succession assumes the office. The state constitution specifies the line of succession to be the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction, in that order. If the governor is out of the state or impeached, the next elected officer in the line of succession becomes acting governor until the governor returns or is cleared. In either case, any partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms. To date, the line of succession has gone beyond the secretary of state only once, when

, as attorney general, became governor upon the death of

;

, then serving as secretary of state, had been appointed to replace Bolin after Bolin succeeded to the governorship. Bolin had become governor when

Raúl Héctor Castro Raúl Héctor Castro (; June 12, 1916 – April 10, 2015) was a Mexican American politician, diplomat and judge. In 1964, Castro was selected to be U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, a position he held until 1968 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassa ...

resigned to accept appointment as

U.S. Ambassador to Argentina The United States ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Argentina. Argentina had declared its independence from Spain in 1816 and there followed a series of revolution ...

. Mofford later became acting governor after

was impeached by the House of Representatives, and succeeded to the governorship when Mecham was removed from office after his conviction by the Senate.

Notes

References

;General * * * * * ;Constitution * ;Specific

External links

Office of the Governor of Arizona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona, List Of Governors Of Lists of state governors of the United States Arizona Territory *

Governors 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 r ...

Political history of Arizona