Governor of Idaho
Seal of the State of Idaho
Incumbent C. L. "Butch" Otter since January 1, 2007
Residence	The Idaho House
Term length	Four years, no term limit
Inaugural holder	George L. Shoup
Formation	July 3, 1890
Deputy	Brad Little
Salary	$117,000 (2013)[1]
Website	gov.idaho.gov

The Governor of Idaho is the head of the executive branch of Idaho's state government^[2] and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.^[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.^[4]

Governors[edit]

Governors of the Territory of Idaho[edit]

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.

Image	Governor	Term in office	Appointed by	Notes
	William H. Wallace	July 1863[6][7] – December 1863[6]	Abraham Lincoln	[a]
	Caleb Lyon	August 1, 1864[6][7] – April 1866[9]
	David W. Ballard	June 14, 1866[10] – July 1870[11]	Andrew Johnson
	Samuel Bard	Appointed March 30, 1870[12]	Ulysses S. Grant	[b]
	Gilman Marston	Appointed June 7, 1870[12]		[c]
	Alexander H. Conner	Appointed January 12, 1871[12]		[d]
	Thomas M. Bowen	July 1871[13] – August 15, 1871[13]		[e]
	Thomas W. Bennett	December 1871[14] – December 4, 1875[15]		[f]
	David P. Thompson	April 1876[17] – May 1876[17]		[g]
	Mason Brayman	July 1876[18] – July 24, 1880[19]		[h]
	John P. Hoyt	Appointed June 8, 1878[21] Appointed August 7, 1878[22]	Rutherford B. Hayes	[i]
	John Baldwin Neil	August 3, 1880[23] – March 2, 1883[24]
	John N. Irwin	April 1883[25] – December 20, 1883[25]	Chester A. Arthur	[j]
	William M. Bunn	June 26, 1884[27] – July 3, 1885[28]		[k]
	Edward A. Stevenson	September 29, 1885[29] – April 1, 1889[30]	Grover Cleveland
	George Laird Shoup	April 30, 1889[31] – July 3, 1890	Benjamin Harrison

Governors of the State of Idaho[edit]

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 vacant or both those officers 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 Robert E. 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)

#[l]	Governor			Term in office	Party	Term[m]	Lt. Governor
1			George Laird Shoup	October 1, 1890 – December 18, 1890	Republican	1890 [n]		N. B. Willey
2			N. B. Willey	December 18, 1890 – January 2, 1893	Republican			John S. Gray
3			William J. McConnell	January 2, 1893 – January 4, 1897	Republican	1892		F. B. Willis
						1894		F. J. Mills
4			Frank Steunenberg	January 4, 1897 – January 7, 1901	Democratic[o]	1896		George F. Moore[p]
						1898		J. H. Hutchinson[q]
5			Frank W. Hunt	January 7, 1901 – January 5, 1903	Democratic	1900		Thomas F. Terrell
6			John T. Morrison	January 5, 1903 – January 2, 1905	Republican	1902		James M. Stevens
7			Frank R. Gooding	January 2, 1905 – January 4, 1909	Republican	1904		Burpee L. Steeves
						1906		Ezra A. Burrell
8			James H. Brady	January 4, 1909 – January 2, 1911	Republican	1908		Lewis H. Sweetser
9			James H. Hawley	January 2, 1911 – January 6, 1913	Democratic	1910
10			John M. Haines	January 6, 1913 – January 4, 1915	Republican	1912		Herman H. Taylor[r]
11			Moses Alexander	January 4, 1915 – January 6, 1919	Democratic	1914
						1916		Ernest L. Parker
12			D. W. Davis	January 6, 1919 – January 1, 1923	Republican	1918		Charles C. Moore
						1920
13			Charles C. Moore	January 1, 1923 – January 3, 1927	Republican	1922		H. C. Baldridge
						1924
14			H. C. Baldridge	January 3, 1927 – January 5, 1931	Republican	1926		O. E. Hailey
						1928		W. B. Kinne (died October 1, 1929)
							Vacant
								O. E. Hailey (appointed October 25, 1929)
15			C. Ben Ross	January 5, 1931 – January 4, 1937	Democratic	1930		G. P. Mix
						1932		George E. Hill
						1934		G. P. Mix
16			Barzilla W. Clark	January 4, 1937 – January 2, 1939	Democratic	1936		Charles C. Gossett
17			C. A. Bottolfsen	January 2, 1939 – January 6, 1941	Republican	1938		Donald S. Whitehead
18			Chase A. Clark	January 6, 1941 – January 4, 1943	Democratic	1940		Charles C. Gossett
19			C. A. Bottolfsen	January 4, 1943 – January 1, 1945	Republican	1942		Edwin Nelson
20			Charles C. Gossett	January 1, 1945 – November 17, 1945	Democratic	1944 [s]		Arnold Williams
21			Arnold Williams	November 17, 1945 – January 6, 1947	Democratic		Vacant
								A. R. McCabe (appointed March 20, 1946)
22			C. A. Robins	January 6, 1947 – January 1, 1951	Republican	1946 [t]		Donald S. Whitehead
23			Leonard B. Jordan	January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1955	Republican	1950		Edson H. Deal
24			Robert E. Smylie	January 3, 1955 – January 2, 1967	Republican	1954		J. Berkeley Larsen
						1958		W. E. Drevlow[u]
						1962
25			Don Samuelson	January 2, 1967 – January 4, 1971	Republican	1968		Jack M. Murphy[r]
26			Cecil D. Andrus	January 4, 1971 – January 24, 1977	Democratic	1970
						1974 [v]		John V. Evans
27			John V. Evans	January 24, 1977 – January 5, 1987	Democratic		Vacant
								William J. Murphy (appointed January 28, 1977)
						1978		Phil Batt[r]
						1982		David H. Leroy[r]
28			Cecil D. Andrus	January 5, 1987 – January 2, 1995	Democratic	1986		C.L. "Butch" Otter[r] (resigned January 3, 2001)
						1990
29			Phil Batt	January 2, 1995 – January 4, 1999	Republican	1994
30			Dirk Kempthorne	January 4, 1999 – May 26, 2006	Republican	1998
							Vacant
								Jack Riggs (appointed January 30, 2001)
						2002 [w]		Jim Risch
31			Jim Risch	May 26, 2006 – January 1, 2007	Republican		Vacant
								Mark Ricks (appointed June 15, 2006)
32			C.L. "Butch" Otter	January 1, 2007 – Incumbent	Republican	2006		Jim Risch (resigned January 3, 2009)
							Vacant
								Brad Little
						2010
						2014 [x]

Other high offices held[edit]

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,^[40] and John Philo Hoyt, appointed in 1878, was Governor of Arizona Territory.^[41]

All representatives and senators mentioned represented Idaho except where noted.

Living former governors[edit]

There are four living former governors of Idaho, the oldest being Phil Batt (served 1995–1999, born 1927). The most recent death of a former governor was that of John V. Evans (served 1977–1987, born 1925), at age 89 on July 8, 2014.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

General

Constitution

Specific

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Idaho.

• Office of the Governor of Idaho