Governor of Massachusetts
Seal of the Governor
Standard of the Governor
Incumbent Charlie Baker since January 8, 2015
Style	Governor (informal) His Excellency (formal)
Status	Head of State Head of Government
Term length	Four years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	John Hancock
Formation	October 25, 1780 (238 years ago) (1780-10-25)
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Salary	$151,800 (2018)[1]
Website	Office of the Governor

The Governor of Massachusetts is the head of the executive branch of the Government of Massachusetts and serves as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces. The current governor is Charlie Baker.

Constitutional role[edit]

Part the Second, Chapter II, Section I, Article I of the Massachusetts Constitution reads,

There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be styled, The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and whose title shall be – His Excellency.

The Governor of Massachusetts is the chief executive of the Commonwealth, and is supported by a number of subordinate officers. He, like most other state officers, senators, and representatives, was originally elected annually. In 1918 this was changed to a two-year term, and since 1966 the office of governor has carried a four-year term. The Governor of Massachusetts does not receive a mansion, other official residence, or housing allowance. Instead, he resides in his own private residence. The title "His Excellency" is a throwback to the royally appointed governors of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The first governor to use the title was Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont, in 1699; since he was an Earl, it was thought proper to call him "Your Excellency." The title was retained until 1742, when an order from King George II forbade its further use. However, the framers of the state constitution revived it because they found it fitting to dignify the governor with this title.^[2]

The governor also serves as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's armed forces.

Succession[edit]

According to the state constitution, whenever the chair of the governor is vacant, the lieutenant governor shall take over as acting governor. The first time this came into use was five years after the constitution's adoption in 1785, when Governor John Hancock resigned the post, leaving Lieutenant Governor Thomas Cushing as acting governor. Most recently, Jane Swift became acting governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci. Under this system, the lieutenant governor retains his or her position and title as "lieutenant governor" and becomes acting governor, not governor.

The lieutenant governor, when acting as governor, is referred to as "the lieutenant governor, acting governor" in official documents.^[3]

The Massachusetts Constitution does not use the term "acting governor". The Massachusetts courts have found that the full authority of the office of the governor devolves to the lieutenant governor upon vacancy in the office of governor, i.e., there is no circumstance short of death, resignation, or impeachment that would relieve the acting governor from the full gubernatorial responsibilities.

When the constitution was first adopted, the Governor's Council was charged with acting as governor in the event that both the governorship and lieutenant governorship were vacant. This occurred in 1799 when Governor Increase Sumner died in office on June 7, 1799, leaving Lieutenant Governor Moses Gill as acting governor. Acting Governor Gill never received a lieutenant and died on May 20, 1800, between that year's election and the inauguration of Governor-elect Caleb Strong. The Governor's Council served as the executive for ten days; the council's chair, Thomas Dawes was at no point named governor or acting governor.

Article LV of the Constitution, enacted in 1918, created a new line of succession:

• Governor (Charlie Baker)


• 
  Lieutenant governor (Karyn Polito)


• 
  Secretary of the Commonwealth (Bill Galvin)


• 
  Attorney general (Maura Healey)


• 
  Treasurer and receiver-general (Deb Goldberg)


• 
  State auditor (Suzanne Bump)

When the governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the office of governor remains vacant for the rest of the 4-year term. The lieutenant governor does not succeed but only discharges powers and duties as acting governor. However, if a vacancy in the office of governor continues for six months, and the six months expire more than five months before the next regular biennial state election midway through the governor's term, a special election is held at that time to fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired 4-year term.^[4]

Cabinet[edit]

The governor has a 10-person cabinet, each of whom oversees a portion of the government under direct administration (as opposed to independent executive agencies). See Government of Massachusetts for a complete listing.

Traditions[edit]

The front doors of the state house are only opened when a governor leaves office, a head of state or the President of the United States comes to visit the State House, or for the return of flags from Massachusetts regiments at the end of wars. The tradition of the ceremonial door originated when departing Governor Benjamin Butler kicked open the front door and walked out by himself in 1884.

Incoming governors usually choose at least one past governor's portrait to hang in their office.

Immediately before being sworn into office, the governor-elect receives four symbols from the departing governor: the ceremonial pewter "Key" for the governor's office door, the Butler Bible, the "Gavel", and a two-volume set of the Massachusetts General Statutes with a personal note from the departing governor to his/her successor added to the back of the text. The governor-elect is then escorted by the sergeant-at-arms to the House Chamber and sworn in by the senate president before a joint session of the House and Senate.^[5]

Lone walk[edit]

Upon completion of their term, the departing governor takes a "lone walk" down the Grand Staircase, through the House of Flags, into Doric Hall, out the central doors, and down the steps of the Massachusetts State House. The governor then crosses the street into Boston Common, thereby symbolically rejoining the Commonwealth as a private citizen. Benjamin Butler started the tradition in 1884.^[6] Some walks have been modified with some past governors having their wives, friends, or staff accompany them.^[7] A 19-gun salute is offered during the walk, and frequently the steps are lined by the outgoing governor's friends and supporters.^[8]

In January 1991, outgoing Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, the first woman elected to statewide office in Massachusetts, walked down the stairs before Governor Michael Dukakis. In a break from tradition, the January 2007 inauguration of Governor Deval Patrick took place the day after outgoing Governor Mitt Romney took the lone walk down the front steps.^[8]

Governor's residence[edit]

Despite several proposals for establishing an official residence for the Governor of Massachusetts, including the Endicott Estate which was once acquired for the purpose, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not have a governor's mansion.

In 1955, Governor Foster Furcolo turned down a proposal to establish the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury, built by royal Governor William Shirley, as the official residence.^[9]

At one time, Governor John A. Volpe accepted the donation of the Endicott Estate in Dedham from the heirs of Henry Bradford Endicott. He intended to renovate the 19th-century mansion into a splendid governor's residence.^[10] After Volpe resigned to become secretary of transportation in the Nixon Administration, the plan was aborted by his successor in consideration of budgetary constraints and because the location was considered too far from the seat of power, the State House in Boston.

Prior to their early-20th century demolitions, the Province House and the Hancock Manor^[10] were also proposed as official residences.

Since the governor has no official residence, the expression "corner office," rather than "governor's mansion," is commonly used in the press as a metonym for the office of governor.

List of governors[edit]

Since 1780, 65 people have been elected governor, six to non-consecutive terms, and seven lieutenant governors have acted as governor without subsequently being elected governor. Prior to 1918 constitutional reforms, both the governor's office and that of lieutenant governor were vacant on one occasion, when the state was governed by the Governor's Council.

Colonial Massachusetts[edit]

The colonial history of Massachusetts begins with the founding first of the Plymouth Colony in 1620, and then the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628. The Dominion of New England combined these and other New England colonies into a single unit in 1686, but collapsed in 1689. In 1692 the Province of Massachusetts Bay was established, merging Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, which then included the territory of present-day Maine.

Colonial governors of Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay Colony were elected annually by a limited subset of the male population (known as freemen), while Dominion officials and those of the 1692 province were appointed by the British crown. In 1774 General Thomas Gage became the last royally appointed governor of Massachusetts. He was recalled to England after the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, by which time the Massachusetts Provincial Congress exercised de facto control of Massachusetts territory outside British-occupied Boston. Between 1775 and the establishment of the Massachusetts State Constitution in 1780 the state was governed by the provincial congress and an executive council.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1780–present[edit]

In the table below, acting governors are denoted in the leftmost column by the letter "A", and are not counted as actual governors. The longest-serving governor was Michael Dukakis, who served twelve years in office, although they were not all consecutive. The longest period of uninterrupted service by any governor was nine years, by Levi Lincoln Jr. The shortest service period by an elected governor was one year, achieved by several 19th century governors. Increase Sumner, elected by a landslide to a third consecutive term in 1799, was on his deathbed and died not long after taking the oath of office; this represents the shortest part of an individual term served by a governor. Sumner was one of four governors to die in office; seven governors resigned, most of them to assume another office.

#	Governor	Party	Years	Lt. governor	Electoral history
1	John Hancock	None	October 25, 1780 – February 17, 1785	Thomas Cushing (1780–1788)	Resigned due to claimed illness (recurring gout).
A[11]	Thomas Cushing	None	February 17, 1785 – May 27, 1785		Acted as governor for the remainder of Hancock's term. Lost election in his own right.
2	James Bowdoin	None	May 27, 1785 – May 30, 1787		Lost re-election.
3	John Hancock	None	May 30, 1787 – October 8, 1793		Died.
				Benjamin Lincoln (1788–1789)
				Samuel Adams (1789–1794)
4	Samuel Adams	None	October 8, 1793 – June 2, 1797		Acted as governor for the remainder of Hancock's term. Elected and re-elected in his own right until retirement.
				Moses Gill (1794–1800)
5	Increase Sumner	Federalist	June 2, 1797 – June 7, 1799		Died.
A[11]	Moses Gill	None	June 7, 1799 – May 20, 1800		Acted as governor for most of the remainder of Sumner's term. Died ten days before its end.
A[11]	Governor's Council	None	May 20, 1800 – May 30, 1800	None.	The council was headed by Thomas Dawes. this is the only time both the governorship and the lieutenant governorship were vacant.
6	Caleb Strong	Federalist	May 30, 1800 – May 29, 1807	Samuel Phillips Jr. (1801–1802)	Lost re-election.
				Edward Robbins (1802–1806)
7	James Sullivan	Democratic- Republican	May 29, 1807 – December 10, 1808	Levi Lincoln Sr.	Died.
A[11]	Levi Lincoln Sr.	Democratic- Republican	December 10, 1808 – May 1, 1809		Acted as governor for the remainder of Sullivan's term. Lost election in his own right.
8	Christopher Gore	Federalist	May 1, 1809 – June 10, 1810	David Cobb	Lost re-election.
9	Elbridge Gerry	Democratic- Republican	June 10, 1810 – March 4, 1812	William Gray	Lost re-election.
10	Caleb Strong	Federalist	March 4, 1812 – May 30, 1816	William Phillips Jr.	Retired.
11	John Brooks	Federalist	May 30, 1816 – May 31, 1823		Retired.
12	William Eustis	Democratic- Republican	May 31, 1823 – February 6, 1825	Levi Lincoln Jr. (1823–1824)	Died.
				Marcus Morton (1824–1825)
A[11]	Marcus Morton	Democratic- Republican	February 6, 1825 – May 26, 1825		Acted as governor for the remainder of Eustis's term. Retired.
13	Levi Lincoln Jr.	National Republican	May 26, 1825 – January 9, 1834	Thomas L. Winthrop (1826–1833)	Retired.
14	John Davis	Whig	January 9, 1834 – March 1, 1835	Samuel Turell Armstrong	Resigned to become US Senator.
A[11]	Samuel Turell Armstrong	Whig	March 1, 1835 – January 13, 1836		Acted as governor for the remainder of Davis's term. Lost nomination. lost election as independent.
15	Edward Everett	Whig	January 13, 1836 – January 18, 1840	George Hull	Lost re-election
16	Marcus Morton	Democratic	January 18, 1840 – January 7, 1841		Lost re-election.
17	John Davis	Whig	January 7, 1841 – January 17, 1843		Lost re-election.
18	Marcus Morton	Democratic	January 17, 1843 – January 9, 1844	Henry H. Childs	Lost re-election.
19	George N. Briggs	Whig	January 9, 1844 – January 11, 1851	John Reed Jr.	Lost re-election.
20	George S. Boutwell	Democratic	January 11, 1851 – January 14, 1853	Henry W. Cushman	Retired.
21	John H. Clifford	Whig	January 14, 1853 – January 12, 1854	Elisha Huntington	Retired.
22	Emory Washburn	Whig	January 12, 1854 – January 4, 1855	William C. Plunkett	Lost re-election.
23	Henry Gardner	Know-Nothing	January 4, 1855 – January 7, 1858	Simon Brown (1855–1856)	Lost re-election.
				Henry W. Benchley (1856–1858)
24	Nathaniel Prentice Banks	Republican	January 7, 1858 – January 3, 1861	Eliphalet Trask	Retired to run for president.
25	John Albion Andrew	Republican	January 3, 1861 – January 4, 1866	John Z. Goodrich (1861)	Retired.
				John Nesmith (1862)
				Joel Hayden (1863–1866)
26	Alexander H. Bullock	Republican	January 4, 1866 – January 7, 1869	William Claflin	Retired.
27	William Claflin	Republican	January 7, 1869 – January 4, 1872	Joseph Tucker (1869–1873)	Retired.
28	William B. Washburn	Republican	January 4, 1872 – April 29, 1874		Resigned to become US Senator.
				Thomas Talbot (1873–1875)
A[11]	Thomas Talbot	Republican	April 29, 1874 – January 7, 1875		Acted as governor for the remainder of Washburn's term. Lost election in his own right.
29	William Gaston	Democratic	January 7, 1875 – January 6, 1876	Horatio G. Knight	Lost re-election.
30	Alexander H. Rice	Republican	January 6, 1876 – January 2, 1879		Retired.
31	Thomas Talbot	Republican	January 2, 1879 – January 8, 1880	John Davis Long	Retired.
32	John Davis Long	Republican	January 8, 1880 – January 4, 1883	Byron Weston	Retired.
33	Benjamin F. Butler	Democratic	January 4, 1883 – January 3, 1884	Oliver Ames	Lost re-election.
34	George D. Robinson	Republican	January 3, 1884 – January 6, 1887		Retired.
35	Oliver Ames	Republican	January 6, 1887 – January 7, 1890	John Q. A. Brackett	Retired.
36	John Q. A. Brackett	Republican	January 7, 1890 – January 8, 1891	William H. Haile (1890–1893)	Lost re-election.
37	William E. Russell	Democratic	January 8, 1891 – January 4, 1894		Retired.
				Roger Wolcott (1893–1897)
38	Frederic T. Greenhalge	Republican	January 4, 1894 – March 5, 1896		Died.
39	Roger Wolcott	Republican	March 5, 1896 – January 4, 1900		Acted as governor for the remainder of Greenhalge's term. Elected and re-elected in own right until retirement.
				Winthrop Murray Crane (1897–1900)
40	Winthrop Murray Crane	Republican	January 4, 1900 – January 8, 1903	John L. Bates	Retired.
41	John L. Bates	Republican	January 8, 1903 – January 5, 1905	Curtis Guild Jr.	Retired.
42	William L. Douglas	Democratic	January 5, 1905 – January 4, 1906		Retired.
43	Curtis Guild Jr.	Republican	January 4, 1906 – January 7, 1909	Eben Sumner Draper	Retired.
44	Eben Sumner Draper	Republican	January 7, 1909 – January 5, 1911	Louis A. Frothingham	Lost re-election.
45	Eugene Noble Foss	Democratic	January 5, 1911 – January 8, 1914	Louis A. Frothingham (1911–1912)	Did not stand for renomination as Democrat. defeated as independent in general election.
				Robert Luce (1912–1913)
				David I. Walsh (1913–1914)
46	David I. Walsh	Democratic	January 8, 1914 – January 6, 1916	Edward P. Barry (1914–1915)	Lost re-election.
				Grafton D. Cushing (1915–1916)
47	Samuel W. McCall	Republican	January 6, 1916 – January 2, 1919	Calvin Coolidge	Retired.
48	Calvin Coolidge	Republican	January 2, 1919 – January 6, 1921	Channing H. Cox	Retired Vice President of the United States 1921-1923 President of the United States 1923-1929
49	Channing H. Cox	Republican	January 6, 1921 – January 8, 1925	Alvan T. Fuller	Elected in 1920 (first two-year term). Re-elected in 1922. Retired.
50	Alvan T. Fuller	Republican	January 8, 1925 – January 3, 1929	Frank G. Allen	Retired.
51	Frank G. Allen	Republican	January 3, 1929 – January 8, 1931	William S. Youngman	Lost re-election.
52	Joseph B. Ely	Democratic	January 8, 1931 – January 3, 1935	William S. Youngman (1929–1933)	Retired.
				Gaspar G. Bacon (1933–1935)
53	James Michael Curley	Democratic	January 3, 1935 – January 7, 1937	Joseph L. Hurley	Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate
54	Charles F. Hurley	Democratic	January 7, 1937 – January 5, 1939	Francis E. Kelly	Lost renomination.
55	Leverett Saltonstall	Republican	January 5, 1939 – January 4, 1945	Horace T. Cahill	Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senate
56	Maurice J. Tobin	Democratic	January 4, 1945 – January 2, 1947	Robert F. Bradford	Lost re-election.
57	Robert F. Bradford	Republican	January 2, 1947 – January 6, 1949	Arthur W. Coolidge	Elected in 1946. Lost re-election.
58	Paul A. Dever	Democratic	January 6, 1949 – January 8, 1953	Charles F. Sullivan	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Lost re-election.
59	Christian A. Herter	Republican	January 8, 1953 – January 3, 1957	Sumner G. Whittier	Elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Retired.
60	Foster Furcolo	Democratic	January 3, 1957 – January 5, 1961	Robert F. Murphy (1957–1960)	Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
61	John Volpe	Republican	January 5, 1961 – January 3, 1963	Edward F. McLaughlin Jr.	Elected in 1960. Lost re-election.
62	Endicott Peabody	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 7, 1965	Francis Bellotti	Elected in 1962. Lost renomination.
63	John Volpe	Republican	January 7, 1965 – January 22, 1969	Elliot Richardson (1965–1967)	Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966 (first four-year term). Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
				Francis Sargent (1967–1969)
64	Francis Sargent	Republican	January 22, 1969 – January 2, 1975		Acted as governor for the remainder of Volpe's term. Elected in own right in 1970. Lost re-election.
				Donald Dwight (1971–1975)
65	Michael Dukakis	Democratic	January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979	Thomas P. O'Neill III	Elected in 1974. Lost renomination.
66	Edward J. King	Democratic	January 4, 1979 – January 6, 1983		Elected in 1978. Lost renomination.
67	Michael Dukakis	Democratic	January 6, 1983 – January 3, 1991	John Kerry (1983–1985)	Elected in 1982. Elected in 1986. Retired.
				Vacant (1985–1987)
				Evelyn Murphy (1987–1991)
68	Bill Weld	Republican	January 3, 1991 – July 29, 1997	Paul Cellucci (1991–1999)	Elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1994. Resigned when nominated U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, but was not confirmed to the office.
A[11] 69	Paul Cellucci	Republican	July 29, 1997 – April 10, 2001		Acted as governor for the remainder of Weld's term. Elected in own right in 1998. Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to Canada.
				Jane Swift (1999–2003)
A[11]	Jane Swift	Republican	April 10, 2001 – January 2, 2003		Acted as governor for the remainder of Cellucci's term. Retired.
70	Mitt Romney	Republican	January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007	Kerry Healey	Elected in 2002. Retired.
71	Deval Patrick	Democratic	January 4, 2007 – January 8, 2015	Tim Murray (2007–2013)	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2010. Retired.
				Vacant
72	Charlie Baker	Republican	January 8, 2015 – present.	Karyn Polito	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2018.

Other high offices held[edit]

This is a table of notable government offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Massachusetts, except otherwise noted.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
		House	Senate
John Hancock	1787–1793 1780–1785			Delegate to the Continental Congress (including twice as President of the Continental Congress)
Thomas Cushing	1785 (acting)			Delegate to the Continental Congress
Samuel Adams	1793–1797			Delegate to the Continental Congress
Caleb Strong	1800–1807 1812–1816		Y	Delegate to the Continental Congress
James Sullivan	1807–1808			Delegate to the Continental Congress, but did not attend
Levi Lincoln Sr.	1808–1809 (acting)	Y		U.S. Attorney General
Christopher Gore	1813–1816		Y
Elbridge Gerry	1810–1812	Y		Delegate to the Continental Congress, Co-commissioner to France, Vice President of the United States
William Eustis	1823–1825	Y		Ambassador to the Netherlands, U.S. Secretary of War
Marcus Morton	1825 (acting) 1840–1841 1843–1844	Y
Levi Lincoln Jr.	1825–1834	Y
John Davis	1834–1835 1841–1843	Y	Y[a]
Edward Everett	1836–1840	Y	Y	Ambassador to Great Britain, U.S. Secretary of State
George N. Briggs	1844–1851	Y
George S. Boutwell	1851–1853	Y	Y	U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
Nathaniel Prentice Banks	1858–1861	Y		Speaker of the House
William B. Washburn	1874–1874	Y	Y[a]
Alexander H. Rice	1876–1879	Y
John Davis Long	1880–1883	Y		U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Benjamin Franklin Butler	1883–1884	Y
George D. Robinson	1884–1887	Y
Frederic T. Greenhalge	1894–1896	Y
Winthrop Murray Crane	1900–1903		Y
Curtis Guild Jr.	1906–1909			U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Empire
Eugene Noble Foss	1911–1914	Y
David I. Walsh	1914–1916		Y
Samuel W. McCall	1916–1919	Y
Calvin Coolidge	1919–1921			Vice President of the United States, President of the United States
Alvan T. Fuller	1925–1929	Y
James Michael Curley	1935–1937	Y		Mayor of Boston
Leverett Saltonstall	1939–1945		Y	Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Maurice J. Tobin	1945–1947			Mayor of Boston, U.S. Secretary of Labor
Christian A. Herter	1953–1957	Y		U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Trade Representative
Foster Furcolo	1957–1961	Y		Treasurer and Receiver General of Massachusetts
John A. Volpe	1961–1963 1965–1969			U.S. Secretary of Transportation,[a]Ambassador to Italy
Paul Cellucci	1997–2001			Ambassador to Canada[a]
Mitt Romney	2003–2007			U.S. Senator from Utah
^ abcd Resigned as governor to take office

Living former governors[edit]

As of November 2018^[update], there are five former governors or acting governors of Massachusetts who are still alive, the oldest being Michael Dukakis (served 1975–1979 and 1983–1991, born 1933). The most recent governor of Massachusetts to have died was Paul Cellucci (served 1997–1999 [acting] and 1999–2001, born 1948), on June 8, 2013.^[12]

See also[edit]

• List of colonial governors of Massachusetts


• Massachusetts Governor's Council


• Government of Massachusetts

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Office of the Governor


• Governors of Massachusetts from NNMD.com