List of Governors of Maine

Seal of the Governor of Maine

The Blaine House is the official residence of the Governor of Maine. The Executive Mansion was officially declared the residence of the Governor in 1919 with the name "The Blaine House." It is located in Augusta, Maine, across the street from the Maine State House.

The Governor of Maine is the head of the executive branch of Maine's state government ^[1] and the commander-in-chief of its military forces. ^[2] The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ^[3] and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Maine Legislature, ^[4] to convene the legislature at any time, ^[5] and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant pardons. ^[6]

There have been 75 governors of Maine since statehood. 70 people have held the office; 4 of them served multiple non-consecutive terms. ^[7] The longest-serving governor was Joseph E. Brennan, who served two terms from 1979 to 1987. The shortest-serving governors were Nathaniel M. Haskell and Richard H. Vose, who each served only one day. John W. Dana also served for one day in 1844, after the incumbent governor resigned, but was later elected to the governorship. The current governor is Democrat Janet Mills, who took office on January 2, 2019.

Governors

For the period before statehood, see list of Governors of Massachusetts.

Maine was admitted to the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state. Before then, it was the District of Maine, part of the state of Massachusetts. ^[8] The Maine Constitution of 1820 originally established a gubernatorial term of one year, ^[9] to begin on the first Wednesday of January; constitutional amendments expanded this to two years in 1879 ^[10] and to four years in 1957. ^[11] The 1957 amendment also prohibited governors from succeeding themselves after serving two terms. ^[11] The constitution does not establish an office of lieutenant governor; a vacancy in the office of governor is filled by the president of the Maine Senate. ^[12] Prior to an amendment in 1964, the president of the senate only acted as governor. ^{[13] [14]}

Parties

   Democratic (23)   Democratic-Republican (6)   Greenback (1)   Independent (2)   National Republican (1)   Republican (37)   Whig (4)
(Above numbering includes repeat governors: one Whig, one Republican, and two Democrats who served two nonconsecutive terms. It also includes one governor who was a Greenback but co-nominated by the Democrats.)

#	Portrait		Governor	Party	Took office	Left office	Terms [note 1]
1			William King	Democratic-Republican	March 15, 1820	May 28, 1821	1⁄4 [note 2]
2			William D. Williamson	Democratic-Republican	May 28, 1821	December 5, 1821	1⁄4 [note 3] [note 4]
3			Benjamin Ames	Democratic-Republican	December 5, 1821	January 2, 1822	1⁄4 [note 5] [note 6]
4			Daniel Rose	Democratic-Republican	January 2, 1822	January 5, 1822	1⁄4 [note 7]
5			Albion K. Parris	Democratic-Republican	January 5, 1822	January 3, 1827	5
6			Enoch Lincoln	Democratic-Republican	January 3, 1827	October 8, 1829	21⁄3 [note 8]
7			Nathan Cutler	Democratic	October 8, 1829	January 6, 1830	1⁄3 [note 9]
8			Joshua Hall	Democratic	January 6, 1830	February 9, 1830	1⁄3 [note 5]
9			Jonathan G. Hunton	National Republican	February 9, 1830	January 5, 1831	1
10			Samuel E. Smith	Democratic	January 5, 1831	January 1, 1834	3
11			Robert P. Dunlap	Democratic	January 1, 1834	January 3, 1838	4
12			Edward Kent	Whig	January 19, 1838	January 2, 1839	1 [note 10]
13			John Fairfield	Democratic	January 2, 1839	January 12, 1841	11⁄2 [note 11]
14			Richard H. Vose	Whig	January 12, 1841	January 13, 1841	1⁄2 [note 7]
15			Edward Kent	Whig	January 13, 1841	January 5, 1842	1
16			John Fairfield	Democratic	January 5, 1842	March 7, 1843	11⁄4 [note 12]
17			Edward Kavanagh	Democratic	March 7, 1843	January 1, 1844	1⁄4 [note 3] [note 13]
18			David Dunn	Democratic	January 1, 1844	January 3, 1844	1⁄4 [note 5] [note 14]
19			John W. Dana	Democratic	January 3, 1844	January 3, 1844	1⁄4 [note 7]
20			Hugh J. Anderson	Democratic	January 3, 1844	May 12, 1847	3
21			John W. Dana	Democratic	May 12, 1847	May 8, 1850	3
22			John Hubbard	Democratic	May 8, 1850	January 5, 1853	3
23			William G. Crosby	Whig	January 5, 1853	January 3, 1855	2
24			Anson Morrill	Republican	January 3, 1855	January 2, 1856	1
25			Samuel Wells	Democratic	January 2, 1856	January 8, 1857	1
26			Hannibal Hamlin	Republican	January 8, 1857	February 25, 1857	1⁄2 [note 12]
27			Joseph H. Williams	Republican	February 25, 1857	January 6, 1858	1⁄2 [note 7]
28			Lot M. Morrill	Republican	January 6, 1858	January 2, 1861	3
29			Israel Washburn, Jr.	Republican	January 2, 1861	January 7, 1863	2
30			Abner Coburn	Republican	January 7, 1863	January 6, 1864	1
31			Samuel Cony	Republican	January 6, 1864	January 2, 1867	2
32			Joshua Chamberlain	Republican	January 2, 1867	January 4, 1871	4
33			Sidney Perham	Republican	January 4, 1871	January 7, 1874	3
34			Nelson Dingley Jr.	Republican	January 7, 1874	January 5, 1876	2
35			Seldon Connor	Republican	January 5, 1876	January 8, 1879	3
36			Alonzo Garcelon	Democratic	January 8, 1879	January 17, 1880	1
37			Daniel F. Davis	Republican	January 17, 1880	January 13, 1881	1
38			Harris M. Plaisted	Greenback / Democratic	January 13, 1881	January 3, 1883	1
39			Frederick Robie	Republican	January 3, 1883	January 5, 1887	2
40			Joseph R. Bodwell	Republican	January 5, 1887	December 15, 1887	1⁄2 [note 8]
41			Sebastian Streeter Marble	Republican	December 15, 1887	January 2, 1889	1⁄2 [note 7]
42			Edwin C. Burleigh	Republican	January 2, 1889	January 4, 1893	2
43			Henry B. Cleaves	Republican	January 4, 1893	January 2, 1897	2
44			Llewellyn Powers	Republican	January 2, 1897	January 2, 1901	2
45			John Fremont Hill	Republican	January 2, 1901	January 4, 1905	2
46			William T. Cobb	Republican	January 4, 1905	January 6, 1909	2
47			Bert M. Fernald	Republican	January 6, 1909	January 4, 1911	1
48			Frederick W. Plaisted	Democratic	January 4, 1911	January 1, 1913	1
49			William T. Haines	Republican	January 1, 1913	January 6, 1915	1
50			Oakley C. Curtis	Democratic	January 6, 1915	January 3, 1917	1
51			Carl Milliken	Republican	January 3, 1917	January 5, 1921	2
52			Frederic Hale Parkhurst	Republican	January 5, 1921	January 31, 1921	1⁄2 [note 8]
53			Percival Proctor Baxter	Republican	January 31, 1921	January 7, 1925	11⁄2 [note 15]
54			Owen Brewster	Republican	January 7, 1925	January 2, 1929	2
55			William Tudor Gardiner	Republican	January 2, 1929	January 4, 1933	2
56			Louis J. Brann	Democratic	January 4, 1933	January 6, 1937	2
57			Lewis O. Barrows	Republican	January 6, 1937	January 1, 1941	2
58			Sumner Sewall	Republican	January 1, 1941	January 3, 1945	2
59			Horace Hildreth	Republican	January 3, 1945	January 5, 1949	2
60			Frederick G. Payne	Republican	January 5, 1949	December 24, 1952	11⁄3 [note 12]
61			Burton M. Cross	Republican	December 24, 1952	January 6, 1953	1⁄3 [note 9]
62			Nathaniel M. Haskell	Republican	January 6, 1953	January 7, 1953	1⁄3 [note 16]
63			Burton M. Cross	Republican	January 7, 1953	January 5, 1955	1
64			Edmund Muskie	Democratic	January 5, 1955	January 2, 1959	11⁄2 [note 12]
65			Robert Haskell	Republican	January 2, 1959	January 7, 1959	1⁄2 [note 7]
66			Clinton Clauson	Democratic	January 7, 1959	December 30, 1959	1⁄2 [note 8]
67			John H. Reed	Republican	December 30, 1959	January 5, 1967	11⁄2 [note 15]
68			Kenneth M. Curtis	Democratic	January 5, 1967	January 2, 1975	2
69			James B. Longley	Independent	January 2, 1975	January 3, 1979	1
70			Joseph E. Brennan	Democratic	January 3, 1979	January 7, 1987	2
71			John R. McKernan Jr.	Republican	January 7, 1987	January 5, 1995	2
72			Angus King	Independent	January 5, 1995	January 8, 2003	2
73			John Baldacci	Democratic	January 8, 2003	January 5, 2011	2
74			Paul LePage	Republican	January 5, 2011	January 2, 2019	2
75			Janet Mills	Democratic	January 2, 2019	—	—

Other high offices held

Twenty-four of Maine's governors have served higher federal offices. Seventeen have represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives, while two early in the state's history represented Massachusetts. There were also nine governors who served in the U.S. Senate, five (marked with *) resigning their office as governor to enter the Senate. One governor, Hannibal Hamlin, resigned his seat in the Senate to be governor (marked with †), then resigned as governor the next month to rejoin the Senate. Hamlin was also one of three governors to be ambassadors, and the only one to be Vice President of the United States. Two other governors served in the Cabinet.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. House	U.S. Senate	Other offices held	Source
William D. Williamson	1821	H	—		[19]
Albion K. Parris	1822–1827	—	S*	U.S. Representative from Massachusetts	[20]
Enoch Lincoln	1827–1829	H	—	U.S. Representative from Massachusetts	[21]
Robert P. Dunlap	1834–1838	H	—		[22]
John Fairfield	1839–1841 1842–1843	H	S*		[23]
Edward Kavanagh	1843–1844	H	—		[24]
Hugh J. Anderson	1844–1847	H	—		[25]
Anson Morrill	1858–1861	H	—		[26]
Hannibal Hamlin	1857	H	S†*	U.S. Minister to Spain, Vice President of the United States	[27]
Lot M. Morrill	1858–1861	—	S	U.S. Secretary of the Treasury	[28]
Sidney Perham	1871–1874	H	—		[29]
Nelson Dingley, Jr.	1874–1876	H	—		[30]
Harris M. Plaisted	1881–1883	H	—		[31]
Edwin C. Burleigh	1889–1893	H	S		[32]
Llewellyn Powers	1897–1901	H	—		[33]
Bert M. Fernald	1909–1911	—	S		[34]
Owen Brewster	1925–1929	H	S		[35]
Horace A. Hildreth	1945–1949	—	—	U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan	[36]
Frederick G. Payne	1949–1952	—	S*		[37]
Edmund Muskie	1955–1959	—	S*	U.S. Secretary of State	[38]
Kenneth M. Curtis	1967–1974	—	—	U.S. Ambassador to Canada	[39]
Joseph E. Brennan	1979–1987	H	—		[40]
John R. McKernan, Jr.	1987–1995	H	—		[41]
Angus King	1995–2003	—	S
John Baldacci	2003–2011	H	—		[42]

Living former U.S. governors of Maine

As of January 2019 ^[update] , six former governors are alive, the oldest being Kenneth M. Curtis (served 1967–1975, born 1931). The most recent governor to die was John H. Reed (served 1959–1967, born 1921), on October 31, 2012. The most recently serving governor to die was James B. Longley (served 1975–1979, born 1924), on August 16, 1980.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Kenneth M. Curtis	1967–1975	(1931-02-08) February 8, 1931 (age 88)
Joseph E. Brennan	1979–1987	(1934-11-02) November 2, 1934 (age 84)
John R. McKernan, Jr.	1987–1995	(1948-05-20) May 20, 1948 (age 70)
Angus King	1995–2003	(1944-03-31) March 31, 1944 (age 75)
John Baldacci	2003–2011	(1955-01-30) January 30, 1955 (age 64)
Paul LePage	2011–2019	(1948-10-09) October 9, 1948 (age 70)

Notes

1. The fractional terms of some governors are not to be understood absolutely literally; rather, they are meant to show single terms during which multiple governors served, due to resignations, deaths and the like.
2. Resigned to take appointment as a minister to negotiate a treaty with Spain.
3. As president of the senate, acted as governor until his resignation.
4. Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.
5. As speaker of the state house, acted as governor for unexpired term.
6. Once the new Maine Senate was sworn in, Ames saw no purpose in completing the remaining three days of the gubernatorial term and resigned. ^[15]
7. As president of the senate, acted as governor for unexpired term.
8. Died in office.
9. As president of the state senate, acted as governor until his senate term expired.
10. Edward Kent won a close election, but Democrats challenged the election. He was finally declared winner by the state supreme court and sworn in on January 19, 1838. ^[16]
11. Resigned; no reason is known.
12. Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
13. Resigned due to ill health. ^[17]
14. Resigned once the new Maine Legislature was sworn in. ^[18]
15. As president of the senate, acted as governor for unexpired term, and was subsequently elected in his own right.
16. Acting governor Burton Cross had been elected to the governorship, but his Senate term ended 25 hours before his term as governor began; therefore, he could not act as governor for that day. As president of the Senate, Haskell served as acting governor until Cross's inauguration.

References

General

• "Governors of Maine". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
• "Governors of Maine". Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
• "Enacted Constitutional Amendments, 1834—". Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved January 12, 2018.

Constitutions

• "Constitution of the State of Maine, as amended". Maine Legislature. 1820. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
• "Constitution of the State of Maine" (PDF). Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. 1820. Retrieved January 12, 2018.

Specific

1. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 1.
2. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 7.
3. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 12.
4. ME Const. art. IV (Pt. III), § 3.
5. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 13.
6. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 11.
7. Governors of Maine. Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library.
8. "Mass Moments: Massachusetts Loses Maine". Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
9. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 2, orig.
10. ME Const. Amend. 23.
11. ME Const. Amend. 84.
12. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 14.
13. ME Const. Amend. 97.
14. ME Const. art. V (Pt. I), § 14, orig.
15. Hallowell Gazette (Maine): p. 2. January 9, 1822. Benjamin Ames to the Maine Legislature, January 2, 1822: "The Senators of the State of Maine, for the present political year, having been qualified to enter upon the duties of their place by having taken and subscribed the oaths required by the constitution, and chosen their President, I have no longer any authority, as I apprehend, to exercise the office of Governor, and therefore resign the same, that it may be filled according to the provisions of the constitution."
16. "Maine Governor Edward Kent". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
17. Lucey, William Leo (1946). Edward Kavanagh: Catholic, Statesman, Diplomat, from Maine 1795–1844: p. 22. College of the Holy Cross. Reprinted 2006, Kessinger Publishing. ISBN   1-4286-5468-2.
18. The Pittsfield Sun (Pittsfield, MA): p. 2. January 11, 1844. "Hon. David Dunn, as Speaker of the House for 1843, entered upon the discharge of the duties of that office on Tuesday, and continued to discharge them until he had completed the administration of the necessary oaths to the members of the Senate and House, yesterday. He then resigned that place, and took his seat in the House."
19. "Williamson, William Durkee". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress . Retrieved January 30, 2010.
20. "Maine Governor Albion Keith Parris". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
21. "Lincoln, Enoth." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
22. "Dunlap, Robert Pinckney." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
23. "Fairfield, John." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
24. "Kavanaugh, Edward". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
25. "Anderson, Hugh Johnston." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
26. "Morrill, Anson Peasley." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
27. "Hamlin, Hannibal." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
28. "Morrill, Lot Myrick." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
29. "Perham, Sydney." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
30. "Dingley, Nelson, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
31. "Plaisted, Harris Merrill." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
32. "Burleigh, Edwin Chick." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
33. "Powers, Llewellyn." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
34. "Fernald, Bert Manfred." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
35. "Brewster, Ralph Owen." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
36. "Maine Governor Horace Augustus Hildreth Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine ." National Governors Association. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
37. "Maine Governor Frederick George Payne". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
38. "Maine Governor Edmund Sixtus Muskie". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
39. "Maine Governor Kenneth M. Curtis Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine ." National Governors Association. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
40. "Brennan, Joseph Edward." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
41. "McKernan, John Rettie, Jr." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
42. "Baldacci, John Elias." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved January 25, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Maine .

• Office of the Governor of Maine