The
governor of Georgia 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 ...
of
Georgia and 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 distinc ...
. The current officeholder is
Republican Brian Kemp, who assumed office on January 14, 2019.
There have officially been 77 governors of the State of Georgia, including 11 who served more than one distinct term (
John Houstoun,
George Walton,
Edward Telfair,
George Mathews,
Jared Irwin
Jared Irwin (1750 – March 1, 1818) served twice as elected Governor of Georgia (1796–1798) and (1806–1809). He first was elected to office as a reformer based on public outrage about the Yazoo land scandal. He signed a bill that nullifie ...
,
David Brydie Mitchell
David Brydie Mitchell (October 22, 1766 – April 22, 1837) was an American politician in Georgia who was elected in 1809 as governor of the state, serving two terms. He was elected again in 1815 for one term.
Mitchell moved to Georgia at ...
,
George Rockingham Gilmer
George Rockingham Gilmer (April 11, 1790 – November 16, 1859) was an American politician. He served two non-consecutive terms as the 34th Governor of Georgia, the first from 1829 to 1831 and the second from 1837 to 1839. He also served multipl ...
,
M. Hoke Smith
Michael Hoke Smith (September 2, 1855November 27, 1931) was an American attorney, politician, and newspaper owner who served as United States secretary of the interior (1893–1896), 58th governor of Georgia (1907–1909, 1911), and a United S ...
,
Joseph Mackey Brown
Joseph Mackey Brown (December 28, 1851 – March 3, 1932) was an American politician. He served two non-consecutive terms as the 59th governor of Georgia, the first from 1909 to 1911 and the second from 1912 to 1913. He has also been posthumous ...
,
John M. Slaton
John Marshall "Jack" Slaton (December 25, 1866 – January 11, 1955) served two non-consecutive terms as the 60th Governor of Georgia. His political career was ended in 1915 after he commuted the death penalty sentence of Atlanta factory boss ...
and
Eugene Talmadge, with
Herman Talmadge serving two ''de facto'' distinct terms).
The longest-serving governors are
George Busbee
George Dekle Busbee Sr. (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004), was an American politician who served as the 77th Governor of the State of Georgia from 1975 to 1983, and a senior partner at King & Spalding thereafter.
Early life
Born in Vienna, Geo ...
,
Joe Frank Harris,
Zell Miller,
Sonny Perdue and
Nathan Deal, each of whom served two full four-year terms;
Joseph E. Brown, governor during the Civil War, was elected four times, serving seven and a half years. The shortest term of the post-revolutionary period is that of
Matthew Talbot, who served 13 days after succeeding his predecessor who died in office.
Eugene Talmadge died in December 1946 before taking office in his second distinct term, leading to a
dispute in which three people claimed the office.
Governors
Succession
See also
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First ladies of Georgia
*
List of colonial governors of Georgia
Notes
References
General
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* ''A History of Georgia'', second ed. Kenneth Coleman, general editor. University of Georgia Press: 1991.
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Constitutions
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Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia, List Of Governors Of
Lists of state governors of the United States
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Governors