List of Governors of Nebraska

Governor of Nebraska
	Seal of Nebraska
	Incumbent; Pete Ricketts ; since January 8, 2015
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Nebraska Governor's Mansion
Inaugural holder	David Butler
Formation	Constitution of Nebraska
Salary	$105,000 (2013) [1]

Last updated April 18, 2019

The following is a list of the governors of the U.S. territory and later state of Nebraska.

United States territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters and all U.S. naval vessels. The United States asserts sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing its territory. This extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States federal government for administrative and other purposes. The United States total territory includes a subset of political divisions.

In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.

Nebraska is a state that lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. It is the only triply landlocked U.S. state.

The Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812 until August 10, 1821. In 1819, the Territory of Arkansas was created from a portion of its southern area. In 1821, a southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri, and the rest became unorganized territory for several years.

Territorial governors

See List of Governors of Missouri for the period from 1805 to 1821. Between 1821 and 1854, the land was unorganized territory.

Before statehood, governors were appointed to a four-year term by the President of the United States.^{[upper-alpha 1]}

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

Parties

Democratic (8) Republican (2)

#		Party	Took office	Left office	Notes
	William Walker (1800–1874)		July 23, 1853	October 16, 1854	Not recognized by the federal government
1	Francis Burt (1807–1854)	Democratic	October 16, 1854	October 18, 1854	Died
	Thomas B. Cuming (1827–1858)	Democratic	October 18, 1854	February 23, 1855	Acting
2	Mark W. Izard (1799–1866)	Democratic	February 23, 1855	October 25, 1857	Resigned
	Thomas B. Cuming (1827–1858)	Democratic	October 25, 1857	January 12, 1858	Acting
3	William A. Richardson (1811–1875)	Democratic	January 12, 1858	December 5, 1858	Resigned
	J. Sterling Morton (1832–1902)	Democratic	December 5, 1858	May 2, 1859	Acting
4	Samuel W. Black (1816–1862)	Democratic	May 2, 1859	February 24, 1861	Resigned
	J. Sterling Morton (1832–1902)	Democratic	February 24, 1861	March 6, 1861	Acting
	Algernon S. Paddock (1830–1897)	Republican	March 6, 1861	May 15, 1861	Acting
5	Alvin Saunders (1817–1899)	Republican	May 15, 1861	March 1, 1867

State governors

Popularly elected, beginning in 1866, to a two-year term. In 1962, the voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding terms beginning in 1966 to four years. In 1966, the voters limited the number of consecutive full terms that any one governor could serve to two (i.e. only one possible re-election while still in office after election to a full term.)^{[upper-alpha 2]}

Parties

Republican (26) Democratic (12) Fusion (Democratic/Populist) (2)

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

The People's Party was a left-wing, agrarian political party in the United States. The Populist Party emerged in the early 1890s as an important force in the Southern United States and the Western United States, but the party collapsed after it nominated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 United States presidential election. A rump faction of the party continued to operate into the first decade of the 20th century, but never matched the popularity of the party in the early 1890s.

#		Party	Took office	Left office	Lt. Governor	Notes
1	David Butler (1829–1891)	Republican	February 21, 1867	June 2, 1871	None	^[2]
	William H. James (1831–1920)	Republican	June 2, 1871	January 13, 1873	None	Secretary of State^[3]
2	Robert Wilkinson Furnas (1824–1905)	Republican	January 13, 1873	January 11, 1875	None
3	Silas Garber (1833–1905)	Republican	January 11, 1875	January 9, 1879	None Othman A. Abbott
4	Albinus Nance (1848–1911)	Republican	January 9, 1879	January 4, 1883	Edmund C. Carns
5	James W. Dawes (1844–1918)	Republican	January 4, 1883	January 6, 1887	Alfred W. Agee Hibbard H. Shedd
6	John Milton Thayer (1820–1906)	Republican	January 6, 1887	February 8, 1892	Hibbard H. Shedd George D. Meiklejohn Thomas J. Majors	^[4]
7	James E. Boyd (1834–1906)	Democratic	February 8, 1892	January 13, 1893	Thomas J. Majors	^[4]
8	Lorenzo Crounse (1834–1909)	Republican	January 13, 1893	January 3, 1895	Thomas J. Majors
9	Silas A. Holcomb (1858–1920)	Fusion (Democratic/Populist)	January 3, 1895	January 5, 1899	Robert E. Moore James E. Harris
10	William A. Poynter (1848–1909)	Fusion (Democratic/Populist)	January 5, 1899	January 3, 1901	Edward A. Gilbert
11	Charles H. Dietrich (1853–1924)	Republican	January 3, 1901	May 1, 1901	Ezra P. Savage	Resigned^[5]
12	Ezra P. Savage (1842–1920)	Republican	May 1, 1901	January 8, 1903	None	Lt-Gov.^[6]
13	John H. Mickey (1845–1910)	Republican	January 8, 1903	January 3, 1907	Edmund G. McGilton
14	George L. Sheldon (1870–1960)	Republican	January 3, 1907	January 7, 1909	Melville R. Hopewell
15	Ashton C. Shallenberger (1862–1938)	Democratic	January 7, 1909	January 5, 1911	Melville R. Hopewell
16	Chester H. Aldrich (1863–1924)	Republican	January 5, 1911	January 9, 1913	Melville R. Hopewell
17	John H. Morehead (1861–1942)	Democratic	January 9, 1913	January 4, 1917	Samuel R. McKelvie (Republican) James Pearson (Democratic)
18	Keith Neville (1884–1959)	Democratic	January 4, 1917	January 9, 1919	Edgar Howard
19	Samuel R. McKelvie (1881–1956)	Republican	January 9, 1919	January 3, 1923	Pelham A. Barrows
20	Charles W. Bryan (1867–1945)	Democratic	January 3, 1923	January 8, 1925	Fred G. Johnson (Republican)
21	Adam McMullen (1872–1959)	Republican	January 8, 1925	January 3, 1929	George A. Williams
22	Arthur J. Weaver (1873–1945)	Republican	January 3, 1929	January 8, 1931	George A. Williams
23	Charles W. Bryan (1867–1945)	Democratic	January 8, 1931	January 3, 1935	Theodore Metcalfe (Republican) Walter H. Jurgensen (Democratic)
24	Robert Leroy Cochran (1886–1963)	Democratic	January 3, 1935	January 9, 1941	Walter H. Jurgensen (Democratic) Nate M. Parsons (Democratic) William E. Johnson (Republican)
25	Dwight Griswold (1893–1954)	Republican	January 9, 1941	January 9, 1947	William E. Johnson Roy W. Johnson
26	Val Peterson (1903–1983)	Republican	January 9, 1947	January 8, 1953	Robert B. Crosby Charles J. Warner
27	Robert B. Crosby (1911–2000)	Republican	January 8, 1953	January 6, 1955	Charles J. Warner
28	Victor E. Anderson (1902–1962)	Republican	January 6, 1955	January 8, 1959	Charles J. Warner Dwight W. Burney
29	Ralph G. Brooks (1898–1960)	Democratic	January 8, 1959	September 9, 1960	Dwight W. Burney	Died.^[7]
30	Dwight W. Burney (1892–1987)	Republican	September 9, 1960	January 5, 1961	Dwight W. Burney	Lt-Gov.^[6]
31	Frank B. Morrison (1905–2004)	Democratic	January 5, 1961	January 5, 1967	Dwight W. Burney (Republican) Philip C. Sorensen (Democratic)
32	Norbert T. Tiemann (1924–2012)	Republican	January 5, 1967	January 7, 1971	John E. Everroad
33	J. James Exon (1921–2005)	Democratic	January 7, 1971	January 4, 1979	Frank Marsh (Republican) Gerald T. Whelan (Democratic)
34	Charles Thone (1924–2018)	Republican	January 4, 1979	January 6, 1983	Roland A. Luedtke
35	J. Robert Kerrey (b. 1943)	Democratic	January 6, 1983	January 9, 1987	Donald F. McGinley
36	Kay A. Orr (b. 1939)	Republican	January 9, 1987	January 9, 1991	William E. Nichol	^[8]
37	Ben Nelson (b. 1941)	Democratic	January 9, 1991	January 7, 1999	Maxine B. Moul Kim M. Robak
38	Mike Johanns (b. 1950)	Republican	January 7, 1999	January 20, 2005	David I. Maurstad David Heineman	Resigned^[9]
39	Dave Heineman (b. 1948)	Republican	January 20, 2005	January 8, 2015	Rick Sheehy Lavon Heidemann John E. Nelson	Lt-Gov.^[10]
40	Pete Ricketts (b. 1964)	Republican	January 8, 2015	Incumbent^[11]	Mike Foley

Notes

↑ "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
↑ Elected, but not inaugurated, before Nebraska's statehood. Impeached and removed from office for misappropriation of state funds; the impeachment was expunged six years later.
↑ As state secretary of state, acted as governor for unexpired term.
1 2 James Boyd won the 1890 election, and was sworn in on January 8, 1891. However, due to a question of his U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the office, he did not take office until February 8, 1892.
↑ Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
1 2 As lieutenant governor, became governor for unexpired term.
↑ Died in office.
↑ First and (as of June 2016) only female governor of Nebraska
↑ Resigned to become United States Secretary of Agriculture.
↑ As lieutenant governor, succeeded to the office of governor for Johann's unexpired term, and was later elected in his own right.
↑ Ricketts' second term began January 10, 2019, and will expire January 2023

Other high offices held

This is a table of other governorships, congressional seats and other national public offices held by governors of Nebraska. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Nebraska except where noted.

* denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

p. = Political Party; D = Democrat; R = Republican;

the footnotes ^{[P 1]}, etc., indicate the presidential administration(s) under which an unelected Federal office was held (see Appointing presidents below the table).

Name	p.	Service as Governor	U.S. Congress		Other offices held (beyond Nebraska)
Name	p.	Service as Governor	House	Senate	Other offices held (beyond Nebraska)
William A. Richardson	D	1858 (territorial)			U.S. Representative & Senator from Illinois (D, 1847–1856; 1861-1865)
J. Sterling Morton	D	1858–1859 1861 (territorial)			U.S. Secretary of Agriculture ^{[P 1]}
Algernon Paddock	R	1861 (territorial)		S
Alvin Saunders	R	1861–1867 (territorial)		S
John Milton Thayer	R	1887–1892		S	Governor of Wyoming Territory (1875-1878) ^{[P 2]}
Lorenzo Crounse	R	1893–1895	H
Charles Henry Dietrich	R	1901		S *
Ashton C. Shallenberger	D	1909–1911	H
John H. Morehead	D	1913–1917	H
Charles W. Bryan	D	1923–1925 1931–1935			1924 Democratic nominee for Vice President (lost)
Robert Leroy Cochran	D	1935–1941			Ambassador (UNRRA; Am. Mission for Aid to Greece)^{[P 3]}^{[upper-alpha 3]}
Dwight Griswold	R	1941–1947		S
Val Peterson	R	1947–1953			Ambassador to Denmark;^{[P 4]} Ambassador to Finland ^{[P 5]}
J. James Exon	D	1971–1979		S
Charles Thone	R	1979–1983	H
Bob Kerrey	D	1983–1987		S
Ben Nelson	D	1991–1999		S
Mike Johanns	R	1999–2005		S	U.S. Secretary of Agriculture * ^{[P 6]}

Appointing presidents

↑ Grover Cleveland (D, 1893-1897)
↑ Ulysses Grant (R, 1869-1877) and Rutherford B. Hayes (R, 1877-1881)
↑ Franklin Roosevelt (D, 1933-45) and Harry Truman (D, 1945-53)
↑ Dwight Eisenhower (R, 1953-1961)
↑ Richard Nixon (R, 1969-1974)
↑ George W. Bush (R, 2001-2009)

Living former governors of Nebraska

As of January 2019^[update], five former U.S. governors of Nebraska are still living. The oldest of these is Kay A. Orr (born 1939; served 1987–1991). The most recent Governor to die was Charles Thone (born 1924; served 1979–1983), on March 7, 2018.

Kay A. Orr is an American politician who was the 36th governor of Nebraska and served from 1987 to 1991. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Charles Thone was an American Republican politician. He was the 34th Governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Nebraska's 1st congressional district, from 1971 to 1979.

Name	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Bob Kerrey	1983–1987	(1943-08-27) August 27, 1943 (age 75)
Kay A. Orr	1987–1991	(1939-01-02) January 2, 1939 (age 80)
Ben Nelson	1991–1999	(1941-05-17) May 17, 1941 (age 77)
Mike Johanns	1999–2005	(1950-06-18) June 18, 1950 (age 68)
Dave Heineman	2005–2015	(1948-05-12) May 12, 1948 (age 70)

References

↑ 2012-13 Nebraska Blue Book (Nebraska State Government) Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine , page 418
↑ 2012-13 Nebraska Blue Book Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine , pages 418–419
↑ Nebraska Governor Robert Leroy (Roy) Cochran at the National Governors Association web site, retrieved May 27, 2013.

External links

Semi-Centennial History of Nebraska (1904)
Nebraska Blue Book
- specifically (in the 2012-13 Blue Book), State Executive Branch (PDF), page 421, "Nebraska Governors, 1854–2013"

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[1] "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.

[4] Elected, but not inaugurated, before Nebraska's statehood. Impeached and removed from office for misappropriation of state funds; the impeachment was expunged six years later.

[ssacted-5] As state secretary of state, acted as governor for unexpired term.

[boyd-6] 1 2 James Boyd won the 1890 election, and was sworn in on January 8, 1891. However, due to a question of his U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the office, he did not take office until February 8, 1892.

[res-senate-7] Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.

[ltacted-8] 1 2 As lieutenant governor, became governor for unexpired term.

[died-9] Died in office.

[10] First and (as of June 2016) only female governor of Nebraska

[11] Resigned to become United States Secretary of Agriculture.

[12] As lieutenant governor, succeeded to the office of governor for Johann's unexpired term, and was later elected in his own right.

[13] Ricketts' second term began January 10, 2019, and will expire January 2023

[14] Grover Cleveland (D, 1893-1897)

[15] Ulysses Grant (R, 1869-1877) and Rutherford B. Hayes (R, 1877-1881)

[16] Franklin Roosevelt (D, 1933-45) and Harry Truman (D, 1945-53)

[18] Dwight Eisenhower (R, 1953-1961)

[19] Richard Nixon (R, 1969-1974)

[20] George W. Bush (R, 2001-2009)

[2] 2012-13 Nebraska Blue Book (Nebraska State Government) Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine , page 418

[3] 2012-13 Nebraska Blue Book Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine , pages 418–419

[17] Nebraska Governor Robert Leroy (Roy) Cochran at the National Governors Association web site, retrieved May 27, 2013.

v t e Governors of Nebraska
Territorial (1854–67)	Burt Cuming Izard Cuming Richardson Morton Black Morton Paddock Saunders
State (since 1867)	Butler James Furnas Garber Nance Dawes Thayer Boyd Crounse Holcomb Poynter Dietrich Savage Mickey Sheldon Shallenberger Aldrich Morehead Neville McKelvie Bryan McMullen Weaver Bryan Cochran Griswold Peterson Crosby Anderson Brooks Burney Morrison Tiemann Exon Thone Kerrey Orr Nelson Johanns Heineman Ricketts
Italics indicate acting governors

v t e Chief executives of the United States
Federal	President of the United States
State governors (current list)	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California list Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii list Idaho Illinois list Indiana list Iowa list Kansas Kentucky list Louisiana Maine list Maryland list Massachusetts Michigan list Minnesota list Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska list Nevada New Hampshire list New Jersey list New Mexico list New York list North Carolina list North Dakota list Ohio Oklahoma list Oregon list Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina list South Dakota list Tennessee list Texas list Utah Vermont list Virginia list Washington West Virginia Wisconsin list Wyoming
Territorial (current list)	American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico list United States Virgin Islands
Defunct	Pre-state territories Panama Canal Zone Cuba Santo Domingo Philippine Islands (until 1935) Philippine Commonwealth (until 1946) Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

v t e State of Nebraska
Lincoln (capital)
Topics	History Governors Lt. Governors Legislature Speakers of the Legislature People Geography Congressional districts maps Tourist attractions	Seal of Nebraska
Society	Crime Culture Demographics Economy Education Politics
Regions	Dissected Till Plains Grand Island metropolitan area Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area Lincoln metropolitan area Omaha metropolitan area Panhandle Pine Ridge Rainwater Basin Sandhills Siouxland Wildcat Hills
Largest cities	Alliance Beatrice Bellevue Columbus Fremont Gering Grand Island Hastings Kearney La Vista Lexington Lincoln McCook Norfolk North Platte Omaha Papillion Scottsbluff South Sioux City York
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