The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the

Ohio State Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship occurred. Until 1978, lieutenant governors were elected separately but concurrently with the governor (not on a "ticket"). Thus, there were several occasions when the lieutenant governor was from a different party than the governor. This was changed by constitutional amendment. In 1974,

Richard F. Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career C ...

was the last lieutenant governor to be elected separately. In 1978,

George Voinovich George Victor Voinovich (July 15, 1936June 12, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 1999 to 2011, the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and the 54th mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989, th ...

became the first lieutenant governor to be elected on the same ticket with the governor. From 1852 to 1979, the lieutenant governor also served as the president of the

. More recently, Ohio governors have generally named the lieutenant governor to head an agency of state government. An example of this is

Bruce Edward Johnson Bruce Edward Johnson (born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and Republican politician who was appointed the State of Ohio's 63rd lieutenant governor on January 5, 2005, to complete an unexpired term. Johnson concurrently served as Director o ...

, who served as Director of the Ohio Department of Development, as did his successor,

Lee Fisher Lee Irwin Fisher (born August 7, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and academic. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Ohio, with Governor Ted Strickland, from 20 ...

. Recent Lt. Governor Mary Taylor was the director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, until she was replaced by Jillian Froment in 2017. The 28th lieutenant governor of Ohio, Warren G. Harding, later served as 29th president of the United States.

List of lieutenant governors

;Parties

Living former lieutenant governors

, there are nine living former lieutenant governors from Ohio, the oldest being

Richard Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career ...

(1975–1979, born 1937). The most recent lieutenant governor to die was

(served 1979) on June 12, 2016. The most recently serving lieutenant governor to die was

Myrl Shoemaker Myrl Howard Shoemaker (April 14, 1913 – July 30, 1985) was an American politician of the Democratic party who served as the 57th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1983 until his death in 1985. Shoemaker served for 24 years in the Ohio House of R ...

(served 1983–1985), who died in office on July 30, 1985.

References

{{Ohio statewide elected officials

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 ...

Ohio 1852 establishments in Ohio

List of lieutenant governors

Living former lieutenant governors

See also

References