The term of the governor of Tennessee is limited by the state constitution. The first constitution, enacted in 1796, set a term of two years for the governor and provided that no person could serve as governor for more than 6 years in any 8-year period.Jonathan M. Atkins
"William Carroll"
in ''

Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'' is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002. Contents include history, geography, culture, and biography. The original print e ...

'' (online edition). Accessed January 27, 2012. The term of office was lengthened to four years, without the possibility of consecutive terms, by constitutional amendments adopted in 1953. Under the current provisions of the state constitution, as amended in 1978, the governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively. For a period of nearly five decades in the 20th century, the Tennessee Democratic Party held the Tennessee governorship continuously. Tennessee has had 50 governors, including the incumbent, Bill Lee. Seven governors (

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

, William Carroll, Andrew Johnson,

Robert Love Taylor Robert Love "Bob" Taylor (July 31, 1850March 31, 1912) was an American politician, writer, and lecturer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three terms as the 24th governor of Tennessee, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1897 to 1899, a ...

Gordon Browning Gordon Weaver Browning (November 22, 1889May 23, 1976) was an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Tennessee from 1937 to 1939, and again from 1949 to 1953. He also served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 19 ...

, Frank G. Clement, and

Buford Ellington Earl Buford Ellington (June 27, 1907 – April 3, 1972) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963, and again from 1967 to 1971. Along with his political ally, Frank G. Clement, he helped lead a ...

) have served non-consecutive terms. This tally does not include

William Blount William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...

(the territorial governor) or Robert L. Caruthers (who never took office), though the ''Blue Book'' includes them in its list of governors.Past Governors
," ''Tennessee Blue Book'' (2011–2012), pp. 547, 553. All governors are counted only once, regardless of number of terms served (e.g.,

is considered the 1st governor, rather than the 1st and 3rd governor). The ''Blue Book'' does not include Edward H. East in its list of governors.

Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, commonly called the Southwest Territory, was formed in 1790 from lands ceded by North Carolina to the United States government. The territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Tennessee in 1796. ; Parties

State of Tennessee

; Parties (6) (31) (4) (1) (10)

References

;Specific ;General * Vile, John R., and Byrnes, Mark E. ''Tennessee Government and Politics: Democracy in the Volunteer State''. 1998, Vanderbilt University Press
p. 43

External links

''Tennessee Blue Book: Historical Listings of Constitutional Officers''''Tennessee Blue Book: Past Governors of Tennessee''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee, List Of Governors Of Lists of state governors of the United States *

Governors 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 ...

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 ...