The governor of Oregon 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 gro ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and serves as 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 distinct ...

. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments. The current 38th governor of Oregon is

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 38th governor of Oregon since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th district of the ...

, who took office following the resignation of Governor

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Part ...

amid an ethics scandal. The governor's current salary was set by the 2001

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

at $93,600 annually.

Constitutional descriptions

Article V of the Oregon State Constitution sets up the legal framework of the Oregon Executive Branch.

Eligibility

Article V, Section 1 states that the governor must be a U.S. citizen, at least 30 years of age, and a resident of Oregon for at least three years before the candidate's election. Section 2 extends ineligibility as follows: Section 1 further sets the maximum number of consecutive years a governor may serve, specifying that There is no specified limit on the number of total terms.

is the only governor to have served non-consecutive terms.

, who completed Kitzhaber's final term after his resignation, was elected to an additional four-year term but was ineligible to run for a second term due to the restriction on serving more than eight years in a twelve-year span.

Elections and terms of office

Sections 4-7 of Article V outline the formal gubernatorial election procedures such as publishing the winner, ties, disputed elections, and terms of office. The formal process of certification of results of a gubernatorial election ends when the Secretary of State delivers the results to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. The Speaker then will publish the results to a joint session of the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

. Where an election results in a tie, a joint session of the next legislative session will vote on the two candidates, and declare the winner governor. Legally contested elections are also decided by the full legislature in whichever manner other laws may prescribe.

Line of succession

The gubernatorial line of succession was modified in 1920, 1946, and 1972. The current list is designated as Article V, Section 8a. It defines who may become or act as the governor of Oregon upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting governor. The new governor (or acting governor) will serve out the remainder of the previous governor's or incapacitated governor's term. A special gubernatorial election is required, if there's more than two years remaining in the previous governor's or incapacitated governor's term. Unlike many states, Oregon does not have a

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 ...

(though in 2007, legislation was proposed to establish such an office.) The current order is: Joseph Lane (2)

Transition events

Four governors have died in office, and five governors have resigned. *After

La Fayette Grover La Fayette Grover (November 29, 1823May 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician and lawyer from the U.S. state of Oregon. He was the fourth Governor of Oregon, represented Oregon in the United States House of Representatives, and served one ter ...

resigned in 1877 to become a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

, Secretary of State

Stephen F. Chadwick Stephen Fowler Chadwick (December 25, 1825 – January 15, 1895) was an American Democratic politician

took office; he completed Grover's term and did not seek re-election. *After George Chamberlain resigned in 1909 to become a

, Secretary of State Frank W. Benson took office. *After Benson fell ill in 1910, he transferred his powers to President of the Senate

Jay Bowerman Jay Bowerman (August 15, 1876 – October 25, 1957) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 13th Governor of Oregon, for the final few months of the term of Frank Benson, who retired due to illness. Early life Bo ...

, who was sworn in as Acting Governor. Bowerman then became governor upon Benson's resignation, and was defeated in the 1910 gubernatorial election. *After the death of

James Withycombe James Withycombe (March 21, 1854 – March 3, 1919) was an English-American Republican politician who served as the 15th Governor of Oregon. Biography Withycombe was born to tenant farmers Thomas and Mary Ann Withycombe in Tavistock, England, ...

in 1919, Secretary of State Ben W. Olcott took office; he completed Withycombe's term and was defeated in the 1922 general election. *After the death of Isaac L. Patterson in 1929, President of the Senate A. W. Norblad took office; he completed Patterson's term and was defeated in the 1930 Republican primary. *After the death of

Earl Snell Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of Or ...

in 1947, Speaker of the House John H. Hall took office; he lost a special election in 1948 and did not complete the term. Julius L

*After

Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...

resigned in 1952 to become

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

, President of the Senate Paul L. Patterson took office; he completed McKay's term and was elected in his own right in 1954. *After Patterson's death in 1956, President of the Senate Elmo Smith took office; he lost a special election later that year and did not complete the term. *After

resigned in 2015 amid a growing ethics scandal, Secretary of State

took office; she won a special election in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018.

State military forces

The governor is the commander-in-chief of the

Oregon Military Department The Oregon Military Department is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, which oversees the armed forces of the state of Oregon. Under the authority and direction of the governor as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsib ...

. Power is granted to the governor to mobilize and deploy state military forces.

Pardons

The power to grant pardons and reprieves and to commute sentences is granted to the governor, with limitations placed upon cases of treason. Additionally, the governor can remit fines and forfeitures. Any use of these powers, however, must be reported to the legislature. In treason cases, the governor may only grant reprieves. The final matter of pardons, commuting of sentencing, or further reprieves is referred to the legislature in these cases.

Legislative

The governor has the power to veto legislation, which can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature, and can veto particular items from an appropriations or emergency bill while leaving others intact (see

line item veto The line-item veto, also called the partial veto, is a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. Many countries have different ...

). If needed, the governor may convene a special session of the legislature by proclamation and is empowered to call for special elections to fill vacant seats. Between the vacancy and special election, the governor is able to appoint a replacement if the appropriate county boards are unable to do so within the designated time period. Annually, the governor addresses the legislature in their

State of the State address The State of the State Address is a speech customarily given once each year by the governors of each of the states of the United States, although the terminology for this speech differs for some states: in Iowa, the speech is called the Condition of ...

. In this speech the governor outlines the current conditions of the state, and makes recommendations to the assembly as to what the government's priorities ought to be.

Appointments

If the legislature is out of session, the governor may appoint replacements to fill state offices until elections are held or the legislature reconvenes (see

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the advi ...

Official residence

Mahonia Hall in Salem is the official governor's mansion. The house was built in 1924 for hops grower

Thomas A. Livesley Thomas A. Livesley (December 8, 1863 – July 22, 1947) was an American businessman and politician in the state of Oregon. A successful Hops, hop farmer and broker, Livesley was known as the "Hop King" of Oregon.Oregon Historic Photograph Collections
/ref> Governors Atiyeh and McCall lived in the 1929 Stiff-Jarman House, an English cottage-style (also characterized as

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

style)Oregon Historic Photograph Collections
/ref> residence currently located in the North Capitol Mall Historic Redevelopment area.Oregon Department of Administrative Services, New State Owned Office Space Available
/ref>North Mall Office Building, Department of Administrative Services, Sustainable State Facilities Guidelines Policy, Pilot Project Report
/ref> After the end of Atiyeh's term, the Stiff-Jarman House became the headquarters of the

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the chief regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources and managing sanitary and toxic waste disposal ...

. Today the building houses rented offices.

Provisional government (1843–1849)

Meetings at Champoeg led up to the first constitution of the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

, and a petition for U.S. territorial status. The resulting acts also created this body as a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

for the region. The first executives of this government were a three-person, elected committee known as the

Executive Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. In 1845, elections for a chief executive were held. The first person in Oregon to hold the title of governor was

George Abernethy George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...

, a prominent businessman.

Gubernatorial data

Note: These facts apply only to persons who have held the governorship under Oregon statehood.

Birthplace

*Four governors were born outside the United States: **

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. He was called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the mo ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

** Albin W. Norblad in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Of Oregon * 1859 establishments in Oregon de:Liste der Gouverneure von Oregon sl:Seznam guvernerjev Oregona