The

governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is Ja ...

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 ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and the commander-in-chief of its

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 ...

. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the

Maine Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...

, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant pardons. There have been 71 governors of Maine since statehood, serving 75 distinct terms. Four governors served multiple non-consecutive terms (

Edward Kent Edward Kent (January 8, 1802 – May 19, 1877) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 12th and 15th Governor of Maine. He was among the last prominent members of the Whig Party in Maine before it collapsed in favor of th ...

John Fairfield John Fairfield (January 30, 1797December 24, 1847) was an attorney and politician from Maine. He served as a U.S. Congressman, governor and U.S. Senator. was born in Pepperellborough, Massachusetts (now Saco, Maine) and attended the school ...

John W. Dana John Winchester Dana (June 21, 1808 – December 22, 1867) was an American businessman, diplomat and Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Maine. He served as the 19th and 21st Governor of Maine and as Chargé d'affaires to Bolivia du ...

, and

Burton M. Cross Burton Melvin Cross (November 15, 1902 – October 22, 1998) was an American Republican businessman and politician. Cross was Maine's 61st and 63rd Governor, though his two terms were separated by just 25 hours. Biography Born in Augusta, Main ...

). The longest-serving governor was Joseph E. Brennan, who served two terms from 1979 to 1987. The shortest-serving governors were Nathaniel M. Haskell and

Richard H. Vose Richard Hampton Vose (November 8, 1803 – January 19, 1864) was an American politician and the 14th Governor of Maine for one day in 1841. This makes Vose the shortest serving state governor in American history. Early life Vose was born in N ...

, who each served only one day.

also served for one day in 1844, after the incumbent governor resigned, but was later elected to the governorship. The current governor is Democrat

Janet Mills Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2019. She previously served as the Maine Attorney General on two occasions. A member of the Democratic Party ...

, who took office on January 2, 2019.

Governors

Maine 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 March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state. Before then, it was the

District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachuse ...

, part of the state of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The

Maine Constitution The Constitution of the State of Maine established the " State of Maine" in 1820 and is the fundamental governing document of the state. It consists of a Preamble and ten Articles (divisions), the first of which is a "Declaration of Rights". T ...

of 1820 originally established a gubernatorial term of one year, to begin on the first Wednesday of January; constitutional amendments expanded this to two years in 1879 and to four years in 1957.ME Const. Amend. 84. The 1957 amendment also prohibited governors from succeeding themselves after serving two terms. The constitution does not establish an office of

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 ...

; a vacancy in the office of governor is filled by the president of the

Maine Senate The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution ...

. Prior to an amendment in 1964, the president of the senate only acted as governor.ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 14, orig.

Other high offices held

24 of Maine's governors have served higher federal offices. Seventeen have represented Maine in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, while 2 early in the state's history represented Massachusetts. There were also nine governors who served in the

U.S. Senate 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 ...

, 5 (marked with *) resigning their office as governor to enter the Senate. 1 governor,

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republican ...

, resigned his seat in the Senate to be governor (marked with †), then resigned as governor the next month to rejoin the Senate. Hamlin was also one of three governors to be ambassadors, and the only one to be

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Two other governors served in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Succession

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

; General * * * ; Constitutions * *

External links

Office of the Governor of Maine
{{Current Maine statewide political officials *

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 ...