The Governor of Idaho is the head of the executive branch of Idaho's government[2] and commander-in-chief of the state's militia.[3] The governor has the duty to see state laws are executed, power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Idaho Legislature.[3]
| Governor of Idaho | |
|---|---|
| Residence | The Idaho House |
| Term length | Four years |
| Inaugural holder | George L. Shoup |
| Formation | July 3, 1890 |
| Deputy | Brad Little |
| Salary | $110,734 (2011)[1] |
| Website | gov.idaho.gov |
The Governor of Idaho is the head of the executive branch of Idaho's government[2] and commander-in-chief of the state's militia.[3] The governor has the duty to see state laws are executed, power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Idaho Legislature.[3]
Idaho Territory had 16 territorial governors appointed by the President of the United States from the territory's organization in 1863 until the formation of the state of Idaho in 1890. Four of these never took office, resigning before reaching the territory.
Thirty individuals have held the office of governor of Idaho since the state's admission to the Union in 1890, two of whom—C. A. Bottolfsen and Cecil D. Andrus—served non-consecutive terms. The state's first governor, George Laird Shoup, had the shortest term of three months, and Cecil D. Andrus served as governor the longest at 14 years. Four governors resigned, but none has died while in office. There have been 20 Republican and 12 Democratic governors. The current governor is C. L. "Butch" Otter, who took office on January 1, 2007; his current term will expire in January 2015.[4]
Idaho Territory was created from Dakota Territory, Nebraska Territory, and Washington Territory on March 4, 1863. Initially, the territory included all of modern-day Idaho and Montana, and most of Wyoming. On May 26, 1864, Montana Territory was split from Idaho Territory, and most of the Wyoming portion was reassigned to Dakota Territory. The portion east of the 111th meridian was split off as part of the new Wyoming Territory on July 25, 1868, giving Idaho Territory its final borders.[5]
Due to the long distance between Washington, D.C. and Boise, there was often a lengthy gap between a governor being appointed and his arrival in the territory; four resigned before even arriving.
| Governor | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William H. Wallace | July 1863[6][7] | December 1863[6] | Abraham Lincoln | Resigned. [a] |
| Caleb Lyon | August 1, 1864[6][7] | April 1866[9] | Abraham Lincoln | |
| David W. Ballard | June 14, 1866[10] | July 1870[11] | Andrew Johnson | |
| Samuel Bard | Appointed March 30, 1870[12] | — | Ulysses S. Grant | Resigned without serving. [b] |
| Gilman Marston | Appointed June 7, 1870[12] | — | Ulysses S. Grant | Resigned without serving. [c] |
| Alexander H. Conner | Appointed January 12, 1871[12] | — | Ulysses S. Grant | Appointed, but declined the offer.[d] |
| Thomas M. Bowen | July 1871[13] | August 15, 1871[13] | Ulysses S. Grant | Resigned. [e] |
| Thomas W. Bennett | December 1871[14] | December 4, 1875[15] | Ulysses S. Grant | Resigned. [f] |
| David P. Thompson | April 1876[17] | May 1876[17] | Ulysses S. Grant | Resigned. [g] |
| Mason Brayman | July 1876[18] | July 24, 1880[19] | Ulysses S. Grant | Suspended in June 1878 pending appointment of Hoyt; allowed to serve remainder of term after Hoyt declined the appointment. [h] |
| John P. Hoyt | Appointed June 8, 1878[21] Appointed August 7, 1878[22] |
— | Rutherford B. Hayes | Initial appointment overturned after Hoyt took too long to respond to the offer. Second appointment declined by Hoyt. [i] |
| John Baldwin Neil | August 3, 1880[23] | March 2, 1883[24] | Rutherford B. Hayes | |
| John N. Irwin | April 1883[25] | Dec 20, 1883[25] | Chester A. Arthur | Effectively resigned in July, 1883. [j] |
| William M. Bunn | June 26, 1884[27] | July 3, 1885[28] | Chester A. Arthur | Resigned. [k] |
| Edward A. Stevenson | September 29, 1885[29] | April 1, 1889[30] | Grover Cleveland | [l] |
| George Laird Shoup | April 30, 1889[31] | July 3, 1890 | Benjamin Harrison |
Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890. Since then, the state has had 30 governors, two of whom served non-consecutive terms. The terms for governor and lieutenant governor are four years, commencing on the first Monday in the January following the election. Prior to 1946, the offices were elected to terms of two years.[32] If the office of governor is vacant or the governor is out of state or unable to discharge his duties, the lieutenant governor acts as governor until such time as the disability is removed.[33] If both the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are unable to fulfill their duties, the President pro tempore of the Idaho Senate is next in line, and then the Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives.[34] After the change to four-year terms, self-succession (re-election) was not initially allowed; newly elected Governor Smylie, formerly the state's attorney general, successfully lobbied the 1955 legislature to propose an amendment to the state constitution to allow gubernatorial re-election, which was approved by voters in the 1956 general election.[35][36] There is no limit to the number of terms a governor may serve.[37]
Democratic (12) Republican (20)
|
| #[m] | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Lt. Governor | Terms[n] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Laird Shoup | October 1, 1890 | December 18, 1890 | Republican | N. B. Willey | 1⁄2[o] | ||
| 2 | N. B. Willey | December 18, 1890 | January 2, 1893 | Republican | John S. Gray | 1⁄2[p] | ||
| 3 | William J. McConnell | January 2, 1893 | January 4, 1897 | Republican | F. B. Willis | 2 | ||
| F. J. Mills | ||||||||
| 4 | Frank Steunenberg | January 4, 1897 | January 7, 1901 | Democratic | George F. Moore[q] | 2[r] | ||
| J. H. Hutchinson[s] | ||||||||
| 5 | Frank W. Hunt | January 7, 1901 | January 5, 1903 | Democratic | Thomas F. Terrell | 1 | ||
| 6 | John T. Morrison | January 5, 1903 | January 2, 1905 | Republican | James M. Stevens | 1 | ||
| 7 | Frank R. Gooding | January 2, 1905 | January 4, 1909 | Republican | Burpee L. Steeves | 2 | ||
| Ezra A. Burrell | ||||||||
| 8 | James H. Brady | January 4, 1909 | January 2, 1911 | Republican | Lewis H. Sweetser | 1 | ||
| 9 | James H. Hawley | January 2, 1911 | January 6, 1913 | Democratic | Lewis H. Sweetser | 1 | ||
| 10 | John M. Haines | January 6, 1913 | January 4, 1915 | Republican | Herman H. Taylor | 1 | ||
| 11 | Moses Alexander | January 4, 1915 | January 6, 1919 | Democratic | Herman H. Taylor[t] | 2 | ||
| Ernest L. Parker | ||||||||
| 12 | D. W. Davis | January 6, 1919 | January 1, 1923 | Republican | Charles C. Moore | 2 | ||
| 13 | Charles C. Moore | January 1, 1923 | January 3, 1927 | Republican | H. C. Baldridge | 2 | ||
| 14 | H. C. Baldridge | January 3, 1927 | January 5, 1931 | Republican | O. E. Hailey | 2 | ||
| W. B. Kinne[u] | ||||||||
| O. E. Hailey | ||||||||
| 15 | C. Ben Ross | January 5, 1931 | January 4, 1937 | Democratic | G. P. Mix | 3 | ||
| George E. Hill | ||||||||
| G. P. Mix | ||||||||
| 16 | Barzilla W. Clark | January 4, 1937 | January 2, 1939 | Democratic | Charles C. Gossett | 1 | ||
| 17 | C. A. Bottolfsen | January 2, 1939 | January 6, 1941 | Republican | Donald S. Whitehead | 1 | ||
| 18 | Chase A. Clark | January 6, 1941 | January 4, 1943 | Democratic | Charles C. Gossett | 1 | ||
| 19 | C. A. Bottolfsen | January 4, 1943 | January 1, 1945 | Republican | Edwin Nelson | 1 | ||
| 20 | Charles C. Gossett | January 1, 1945 | November 17, 1945 | Democratic | Arnold Williams | 1⁄2[v] | ||
| 21 | Arnold Williams | November 17, 1945 | January 6, 1947 | Democratic | A. R. McCabe | 1⁄2[p] | ||
| 22 | C. A. Robins | January 6, 1947 | January 1, 1951 | Republican | Donald S. Whitehead | 1[w] | ||
| 23 | Leonard B. Jordan | January 1, 1951 | January 3, 1955 | Republican | Edson H. Deal | 1 | ||
| 24 | Robert E. Smylie | January 3, 1955 | January 2, 1967 | Republican | J. Berkeley Larsen | 3 | ||
| W. E. Drevlow[x] | ||||||||
| 25 | Don Samuelson | January 2, 1967 | January 4, 1971 | Republican | Jack M. Murphy | 1 | ||
| 26 | Cecil D. Andrus | January 4, 1971 | January 24, 1977 | Democratic | Jack M. Murphy[t] | 11⁄2[y] | ||
| John V. Evans | ||||||||
| 27 | John V. Evans | January 24, 1977 | January 5, 1987 | Democratic | William J. Murphy | 21⁄2[z] | ||
| Phil Batt[t] | ||||||||
| David H. Leroy[t] | ||||||||
| 28 | Cecil D. Andrus | January 5, 1987 | January 2, 1995 | Democratic | C.L. "Butch" Otter[t] | 2 | ||
| 29 | Phil Batt | January 2, 1995 | January 4, 1999 | Republican | C.L. "Butch" Otter | 1 | ||
| 30 | Dirk Kempthorne | January 4, 1999 | May 26, 2006 | Republican | C.L. "Butch" Otter[aa] | 11⁄2[ab] | ||
| Jack Riggs | ||||||||
| Jim Risch | ||||||||
| 31 | Jim Risch | May 26, 2006 | January 1, 2007 | Republican | Mark Ricks | 1⁄2[p] | ||
| 32 | C.L. "Butch" Otter | January 1, 2007 | Incumbent | Republican | Jim Risch | 2[ac] | ||
| Brad Little | ||||||||
Sixteen of Idaho's governors have served higher federal offices or as governors of other states. Nine have served in the U.S. Senate, eight of those representing Idaho, and three have served in the U.S. House, one representing Idaho, one New York, and one the territories of Idaho and Washington. Idaho shares a governor with Arizona Territory, and one was appointed to Washington Territory but never took office. Two governors have been U.S. Secretaries of the Interior, and one served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Six governors (marked with *) resigned to take a new office, including both territorial delegates, both Secretaries of the Interior, and two senators.
In addition, two people who were appointed governor of Idaho Territory but never took office held other high offices. Gilman Marston, appointed governor in 1870, was a representative and senator from New Hampshire,[44] and John Philo Hoyt, appointed in 1878, was Governor of Arizona Territory.[45]
All representatives and senators mentioned represented Idaho except where noted.
| Name | Gubernatorial term |
Other offices held | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| William H. Wallace | 1863–1864 | Appointed Governor of Washington Territory, but did not take office (1861), Delegate from Washington Territory (1861–1863), Delegate from Idaho Territory* (1864–1865) |
[8] |
| Caleb Lyon | 1864–1866 | Representative from New York (1853–1855) | [46] |
| Thomas M. Bowen | 1871 | Senator from Colorado (1883–1889) | [47] |
| Thomas W. Bennett | 1871–1875 | Delegate from Idaho Territory* (1875–1876) | [16] |
| David P. Thompson | 1875–1876 | Minister to the Ottoman Empire (1892–1893) | [48] |
| John N. Irwin | 1883 | Governor of Arizona Territory (1890–1892) | [49] |
| George Laird Shoup | 1889–1890 | Senator* (1890–1901) | [39] |
| William J. McConnell | 1893–1897 | Senator (1890–1891) | [50] |
| Frank R. Gooding | 1905–1909 | Senator (1921–1928) | [51] |
| James H. Brady | 1909–1911 | Senator (1913–1918) | [52] |
| Charles C. Gossett | 1945 | Senator* (1945–1946) | [53] |
| Leonard B. Jordan | 1951–1955 | Senator (1962–1973) | [54] |
| Cecil D. Andrus | 1971–1977 1987–1995 |
Secretary of the Interior* (1977–1981) | [41] |
| Dirk Kempthorne | 1999–2006 | Senator (1993–1999), Secretary of the Interior* (2006–2009) |
[43] |
| Jim Risch | 2006–2007 | Senator (2009–present) | [55] |
| C.L. "Butch" Otter | 2007–present | Representative (2001–2007) | [42] |
As of March 2013[update], five former governors were alive. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Robert E. Smylie (1955–1967), who died at age 89 on July 17, 2004. The most recently serving governor to pass away was Don Samuelson (1967–1971), at age 86 on January 13, 2000.
| Name | Term of office | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Cecil D. Andrus | 1971–1977 1987–1995 |
August 25, 1931 |
| John V. Evans | 1977–1987 | January 18, 1925 |
| Phil Batt | 1995–1999 | March 4, 1927 |
| Dirk Kempthorne | 1999–2006 | October 29, 1951 |
| Jim Risch | 2006–2007 | May 3, 1943 |
|archiveurl= requires |url= (help) on September 12, 2006. |
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