![StateCapitolIndiana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/StateCapitolIndiana.jpg)
The
governor of Indiana
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government ...
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
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 sover ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. 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 (polity), state.
In poli ...
of
Indiana's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.
While a territory, Indiana had two governors appointed by the President of the United States. Since statehood in 1816, it has had 49 governors, serving 51 distinct terms;
Isaac P. Gray and
Henry F. Schricker are the only governors to have served non-consecutive terms. Four governors have served two four-year terms; territorial governor
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
served for over 12 years. The shortest-serving governor is
Henry Smith Lane
Henry Smith Lane (February 24, 1811 – June 19, 1881) was a United States representative, Senator, and the 13th Governor of Indiana; he was by design the shortest-serving Governor of Indiana, having made plans to resign the office should his ...
, who served two days before resigning to become a
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
. The current governor is
Eric Holcomb
Eric Joseph Holcomb (born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who is the 51st and current governor of Indiana, serving since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Indiana from 2016 to 2017 unde ...
, who took office on January 9, 2017.
Governors
Governors of the Territory of Indiana
Indiana Territory
The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...
was formed on July 4, 1800, from the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
. Despite remaining a territory for nearly 16 years, it had only two governors appointed by the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
before it became a state.
Governors of the State of Indiana
Indiana was
admitted to the Union
''Admitted'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language docudrama film directed by Chandigarh-based director Ojaswwee Sharma. The film is about Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender student at Panjab University. The role of Dhananjay Chauhan has been p ...
on December 11, 1816.
The original 1816
Constitution of Indiana
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...
provided for the election of a governor and a lieutenant governor every three years, limited to six years out of any nine-year period. The second and current constitution of 1851 lengthened terms to four years and set the commencement of the governor's term on the second Monday in the January following the election.
[IN Const. art. V, § 1] Governors were allowed to serve for four years in any eight-year period,
but a 1972 amendment permitted governors to serve for eight years in any twelve-year period. Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.
[IN Const. art. V, § 10] If the office of lieutenant governor is vacant, the president ''pro tempore'' of the
Indiana Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
becomes governor;
this has happened once, when
James B. Ray
James Brown Ray (February 19, 1794 – August 4, 1848) was an Indiana politician and the only Indiana Senate president pro tempore to be elevated to governor of the state of Indiana. Ray served during a time when the state transitioned from per ...
succeeded
William Hendricks
William Hendricks (November 12, 1782 – May 16, 1850) was a Democratic-Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1822, the third governor of Indiana from 1822 to 1825, and an Anti-Jacksonian member of the U.S. Senate from 1 ...
.
Succession
Living former governors of Indiana
As of January 2022, three former U.S. governors of Indiana are currently living, the oldest being
Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been pr ...
(served 2005–2013, born 1949). The most recent and most recently serving U.S. governor of Indiana to die was
Joe Kernan Joe Kernan or Joseph Kernan may refer to:
* Joe Kernan (baseball), 19th-century American baseball player
* Joe Kernan (Gaelic footballer) (born 1954)
* Joe Kernan (politician) (1946–2020), American politician
* Joseph D. Kernan (born 1955), Uni ...
(served 2003–2005, born 1946), on July 29, 2020.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Indiana, List Of Governors Of
Lists of state governors of the United States
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Governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...