There have been 41 individuals who held the position of Iowa governor, with two of those serving multiple distinct terms, Samuel J. Kirkwood and Terry Branstad. The current governor, Kim Reynolds, is the first woman to hold the position and was sworn in on May 24, 2017. The longest-serving is Terry Branstad, who served from 1983 to 1999 and then again from 2011 to 2017. He is the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, surpassing the previous record of 21 years set by George Clinton of New York. The shortest-serving was Robert D. Fulton, who served 16 days.
The southeast portion of Iowa Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Iowa on December 28, 1846. The first Constitution of Iowa, adopted in 1846, created the office of governor with a four-year term,[24] with no specific start date. The 1857 constitution reduced this term to two years,[25] but an amendment in 1972 increased this back to four years.[26] The 1857 constitution also set the start of the term to the second Monday in the January following the election,[27] which was moved one day later by a 1988 amendment.[28]
The office of lieutenant governor was created in the 1857 constitution, elected for the same term as the governor.[29] An amendment in 1988 specified that the lieutenant governor would be elected on the same ticket as the governor.[30] If the office becomes vacant, it devolves upon the lieutenant governor for the remainder of the term or vacancy.[31] Prior to 1857, if the office became vacant, the Secretary of State of Iowa would act as governor.[32] There is no term limit on the number of terms a governor may serve.
↑ The range given is from the date the governor was confirmed by the Senate, or appointed by the President during a Senate recess, to the date the governor left office.
↑ Atkinson was nominated on June 12, 1838,[8] and confirmed by the Senate on June 13.[9] However, he declined the post;[10] no source gives a date for when this happened, so his term is marked as having ended when his successor was confirmed.
↑ Lucas did not arrive for six weeks after the territory had been created; in the interim, territorial secretary William B. Conway acted as governor.[11]
↑ Lucas was nominated,[12] and confirmed by the Senate,[13] on July 7, 1838. He took office on August 15.[10]
↑ Lucas was out of the capital when Chambers arrived, and did not formally resign his commission until June 17, per a letter written to U.S. Secretary of StateDaniel Webster.[14]
↑ Chambers was appointed on March 25, 1841,[15] during a Senate recess; nominated on June 17;[16] and confirmed by the Senate on July 15.[17] He took office on May 13.[15] He was reappointed on July 2, 1844, during a Senate recess,[18] and reconfirmed by the Senate on December 23.[19]
↑ Clarke was appointed during a Senate recess; McMullin says it was on November 8, 1845,[20] but some sources say November 18.[21] He was formally nominated on December 23, 1845,[22] and confirmed by the Senate on February 3, 1846.[23]
↑ There is no official numbering, and different governors have interpreted it differently, depending on if they give a new number when a governor has multiple distinct terms in office.[33] This article includes numbering for every distinct term in office.
↑ The office of lieutenant governor was created in 1857.[29]
↑ Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
↑ The election schedule changed with this term, switching to odd-numbered years and shortening the term by nearly a year.
1 2 Boies' inauguration was delayed for six weeks;[77] the legislature was deadlocked in organizaing itself, so Larrabee remained in office until Boies was certified.[51]
↑ Reynold's second full term began on January 13, 2023, and will expire January 15, 2027.
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↑ "none". The Courier. February 7, 1877. p.4. Retrieved August 20, 2023. Last Thursday, at half past ten a.m., Lieut. Governor Newbold became full fledged Governor of Iowa by taking the oath as prescribed by the Constitution.
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