The governor of Mississippi is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

and

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 ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

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

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 m ...

, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except in cases of treason or impeachment, to grant

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

s and reprieves.MS Const. art. V, § 140-141. To be elected governor, a person must be at least 30 years old, and must have been a citizen of the United States for twenty years and a resident of Mississippi for at least five years at the time of inauguration. The

Constitution of Mississippi The Constitution of Mississippi is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Mississippi delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Mississippi's original constitution was adopted at a constituti ...

, ratified in 1890, calls for a four-year term for the governor, elected via the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

since a 2020 referendum. Prior to this, the governor was elected by an electoral college composed of the districts represented in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

, with a contingent election held in the House in the event no candidate received a majority of district electors. The governor may be reelected once (prior to a 1987 amendment to the state Constitution, governors were limited to one term).MS Const. art. V, § 116. The original Constitution of 1817 had only a two-year term for governor; this was expanded to four years in the 1868 Constitution. The lieutenant governor is elected at the same time as the governor and serves as president of the Mississippi Senate. When the office of governor becomes vacant for any reason, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term. The governor of Mississippi also appoints the members of the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees.

Qualifications

Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of Mississippi must meet the following qualifications: *Be at least 30 years old *Be a citizen of the United States for 20 years *Be a resident of the state five years

History

Since Mississippi became a U.S. state, it has had 54 governors serving 64 distinct terms, including 50 Democrats, 7 Republicans and 7 from other parties. Democrats dominated after retaking control of the state legislature; they passed a Constitution in 1890 that disenfranchised most African Americans, excluding them from the political system for nearly 70 years, effectively making it a one-party state. The state's longest-serving governor was

John M. Stone John Marshall Stone (April 30, 1830March 26, 1900) was an American politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served longer as List of Governors of Mississippi, governor of that U.S. state, state than anyone else, from 1876 to 1882 and again ...

, who served two terms over ten years (his second term was extended to six years by a transitional provision in the 1890 Constitution). The shortest-serving governor was James Whitfield, who served months from 1851 to 1852. 10 governors ( David Holmes, Gerard Brandon, Charles Lynch,

John A. Quitman John Anthony Quitman (September 1, 1798 – July 17, 1858) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. As President of the Mississippi Senate, he served one month as Acting Governor of Mississippi (from December 3, 1835, to January 7, 1836) a ...

John J. Pettus John Jones Pettus (October 9, 1813January 25, 1867) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 23rd Governor of Mississippi, from 1859 to 1863. Before being elected in his own right to full gubernatorial terms in 1859 and 1861, he ...

, Adelbert Ames,

John Marshall Stone John Marshall Stone (April 30, 1830March 26, 1900) was an American politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served longer as governor of that state than anyone else, from 1876 to 1882 and again from 1890 to 1896. He approved a new constitut ...

, Theodore G. Bilbo,

Dennis Murphree Dennis Herron Murphree (January 6, 1886February 9, 1949) was an American politician. He served three separate terms as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi and two as Governor of Mississippi. Biography He was born on January 6, 1886, the son of T ...

, and

Hugh L. White Hugh Lawson White (August 19, 1881September 20, 1965) was an American politician from Mississippi and a member of the Democratic Party. He served two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi (1936–1940, 1952–1956). Early life Whit ...

) have served non-consecutive terms. The current governor is Republican Tate Reeves, who took office January 14, 2020.

Governors of the Territory of Mississippi (1798–1817)

* Prior to the

Compact of 1802 The Compact of 1802, formally ''Articles of Agreement and Cession'', was a compact between the United States of America and the state of Georgia entered into on April 24, 1802. In it, the United States paid Georgia 1.25 million U.S. dollars for its ...

, parts of what is now Mississippi were claimed by the state of Georgia; see

List of governors of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The current officeholder is Republican Brian Kemp, who assumed office on January 14, 2019. There have officially been 77 ...

for this period. * Prior to 1813, the panhandle of Mississippi was part of the Mobile District of the Spanish territory of West Florida; see List of Colonial Governors of Florida. ; Political parties:

Governors of the U.S. state of Mississippi

; Political parties:

Succession

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional, confederate, other governorships, and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Mississippi except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Notes

References

;General
Governor Haley Barbour
" State of Mississippi. Retrieved September 5, 2009.

" National Governors Association. Retrieved September 5, 2009. ;Constitutions
Constitution of the State of Mississippi
(current, 1890 with amendments). Mississippi Secretary of State (Education and Publications). Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Constitution of the State of Mississippi
(1890). Mississippi History Now. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Constitution of the State of Mississippi
(1868). Mississippi History Now. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Constitution of the State of Mississippi
(1832). Mississippi History Now. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Constitution of the State of Mississippi
(1817). Mississippi History Now. Retrieved September 5, 2009. ;Specific {{Mississippi

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 ...