The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...

. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as 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 ...

. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently of the gubernatorial primary. The winners of the party primaries are then teamed together as a single ticket for the fall general election.

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

John Fetterman John Karl Fetterman (born August 15, 1969) is an American politician who is the United States senator-elect from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has also served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019. Fet ...

is the incumbent lieutenant governor. The lieutenant governor presides in the Senate and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. The office of lieutenant governor was created by the Constitution of 1873. As with the governor's position, the Constitution of 1968 made the lieutenant governor eligible to succeed himself or herself for one additional four-year term. The position's only official duties are serving as president of the state senate and chairing the Board of Pardons and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council. Lieutenant governors often work on additional projects and have a full schedule of community and speaking events. Pennsylvania is the only state that provides an official residence, State House at

Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Daup ...

, for its lieutenant governor. Constructed in 1940 and previously the governor's "summer residence", it became available for Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor in 1968 when the current governor's residence was completed in Harrisburg. Lieutenant Governor-elect Austin Davis is to take office in January 2023.

List of lieutenant governors

;Parties

List of acting lieutenant governors

Jake Corman Jacob Doyle Corman III (born September 9, 1964) is an American politician and former President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Senate 1999 to 2022, holding the same seat his father, Doyle Corman, prev ...

– From May 17, 2022, to May 23, 2022, Corman served as acting lieutenant governor while Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman had a

pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

implanted and recovered.

Living former lieutenant governors

, seven former lieutenant governors of Pennsylvania were alive, the oldest being Robert C. Jubelirer (served 2001–2003, born 1937). The most recent lieutenant governor to die was

Ernest P. Kline Ernest P. "Ernie" Kline (June 20, 1929 – May 13, 2009) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate and the 25th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1971 to 1979. Early life, career Kline was born in Allentown, Pe ...

(served 1971–1979, born 1929) on May 13, 2009. The most recently serving lieutenant governor to die was

Catherine Baker Knoll Catherine Baker Knoll (September 3, 1930 – November 12, 2008) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008, when she di ...

(served 2003–2008, born 1930), who died in office on November 12, 2008.Gurman, Sadie and Tom Barnes (13 November 2008)
"Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll Dies at Age 78"
Pittsburgh ''Post Gazette'', accessed September 21, 2016.

Vice-presidents of Pennsylvania

From 1777 to 1790 the executive branch of Pennsylvania's state government was headed by a Supreme Executive Council consisting of a representative of each county and of the City of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the Council—also known as ''the Vice-President of Pennsylvania''—held a position analogous to the modern office of Lieutenant Governor. Presidents and Vice-Presidents were elected to one-year terms and could serve up to three years—the full length of their regular term as Counsellor. Ten men served as Vice-President during the time of the Council's existence. * George Bryan 1777–1779 * Matthew Smith 1779 * William Moore 1779–1781 * James Potter 1781–1782 * James Ewing 1782–1784 * James Irvine 1784–1785 *

Charles Biddle Charles Biddle (December 24, 1745 – April 4, 1821) was a Pennsylvania statesman and a member of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early life Biddle was born to a wealthy old Quaker family on December 24, 1745, in Phi ...

1785–1787 *

Peter Muhlenberg John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly independent United States. A Lutheranism, Lutheran minis ...

1787–1788 * David Redick 1788 * George Ross 1788–1790

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieutenant Governor Of Pennsylvania