| Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Member of | Virginia Governor's Cabinet |
| Reports to | Governor of Virginia |
| Seat | Richmond, Virginia |
| Appointer | Governor of Virginia |
| Website | commonwealth |
The secretary of the Commonwealth is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. The office is currently held by acting secretary Kelly Gee.
In a unique twist of Virginia law, unlike other members of the Governor's Cabinet, the secretary of the Commonwealth does not resign immediately upon the inauguration of a new Governor, but remains in office for an additional week, serving a fixed term of four years, in order to ensure a smooth transition and ensure continuity in government.
Although the office has evolved over the years, the job has always involved the safekeeping of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the Virginia Constitution of 1901, the secretary of the Commonwealth was an elected post, along with the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Under Virginia's current constitution, enacted in 1971, and with the creation of the Governor's Cabinet during the administration of Governor A. Linwood Holton Jr., the secretary of the Commonwealth has been an appointed member of the Governor's Cabinet.
| Name | Tenure | Party |
|---|---|---|
| John Harvie | 1788-1800 | |
| Daniel L. Hylton | 1801-1811 | |
| William Robertson | 1811-1820 | |
| John Burfoot | 1820-1821 | |
| William H. Richardson | 1821-1852 | |
| George W. Munford | 1853-1865 | |
| Charles H. Lewis | 1865-1867 | |
| John M. Herndon | 1867-1869 | |
| Brevet Col. Garrick Mallery [1] | 1869-1870 | |
| James McDonald | 1870-1879 | |
| Thomas T. Flournoy* | 1880-1881 | |
| William C. Elam | 1882-1883 | |
| Henry W. Flournoy | 1884-1893 | |
| Joseph T. Lawless | 1894-1900 | |
| David Q. Eggleston | 1901-1910 | |
| B. O. James | 1910-1926 | |
| Martin A. Hutchinson | 1927-1929 | |
| Peter H. Saunders | 1930-1937 | |
| Raymond L. Jackson | 1938-1941 | |
| Ralph E. Wilkins | 1942-1944 | |
| Thelma Y. Gordon (acting) | 1945-1946 | |
| Jesse W. Dillon | 1946-1948 | |
| M. W. Armistead | 1948 | |
| Thelma Y. Gordon | 1948-1952 | |
| Martha Bell Conway | 1952-1970 | |
| Cynthia Newman | 1970-1974 | |
| Patricia Perkinson | 1974-1978 | |
| Stanford E. Parris | 1978 | |
| Frederick T. Gray, Jr. | 1978-1981 | |
| Marilyn Lussen (acting) | 1981-1982 | |
| Laurie Naismith | 1982-1985 | |
| H. Benson Dendy, III | 1985-1986 | |
| Sandra D. Bowen | 1986-1990 | |
| Pamela M. Womack | 1990-1993 | |
| Scott Bates | 1993 | |
| Ruby Grant Martin | 1993-1994 | |
| Betsy Davis Beamer | 1994-1998 | |
| Anne P. Petera | 1998-2002 | |
| Anita A. Rimler | 2002-2006 | |
| Daniel G. LeBlanc | 2006 | Democratic |
| Katherine Hanley | 2006-2010 | Democratic |
| Janet Vestal Kelly | 2010-2014 | Republican |
| Levar Stoney | 2014-2016 | Democratic |
| Kelly Thomasson | 2016-2022 | Democratic |
| Kay Coles James | 2022-2023 | Republican |
| Kelly Gee (acting) | 2023-present | Republican |
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