List of governors of South Carolina

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== List of Governors of South Carolina ==

The Governor of South Carolina is the head of the executive branch of the Government of South Carolina and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the South Carolina General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.

History

The position of governor has evolved significantly since the establishment of the Province of South Carolina in 1670. Initially, the governor was appointed by the Lords Proprietors who controlled the colony. After South Carolina became a royal colony in 1719, governors were appointed by the British monarch. Following the American Revolution, the state adopted its first constitution in 1776, which provided for the election of the governor by the General Assembly. The current constitution, adopted in 1895, allows for the direct election of the governor by the people.

Term and Qualifications

The governor serves a four-year term and may be re-elected once consecutively. To be eligible for the office, a candidate must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Carolina for at least five years preceding the election.

List of Governors

Below is a list of individuals who have served as Governor of South Carolina:

Colonial Governors (1670–1775)

• William Sayle (1670–1671)
• Joseph West (1671–1674, 1684–1685)
• John Yeamans (1674–1676)
• Joseph Morton (1682–1684, 1685–1686)
• James Colleton (1686–1690)
• Philip Ludwell (1691–1692)
• Thomas Smith (1693–1694)
• Joseph Blake (1694–1695, 1696–1700)
• James Moore (1700–1703)
• Nathaniel Johnson (1703–1709)
• Edward Tynte (1709–1710)
• Robert Gibbes (1710–1712)
• Charles Craven (1712–1716)
• Robert Johnson (1717–1719, 1729–1735)
• James Moore Jr. (1719–1721)
• Francis Nicholson (1721–1725)
• Arthur Middleton (1725–1730)
• Thomas Broughton (1730–1735)
• William Bull (1735–1743)
• James Glen (1743–1756)
• William Henry Lyttelton (1756–1760)
• Thomas Boone (1761–1764)
• William Bull II (1764–1766, 1768–1773)
• Charles Montagu (1766–1768)
• Lord William Campbell (1775)

State Governors (1776–present)

• John Rutledge (1776–1778, 1779–1782)
• Rawlins Lowndes (1778–1779)
• John Mathews (1782–1783)
• Benjamin Guerard (1783–1785)
• William Moultrie (1785–1787, 1792–1794)
• Thomas Pinckney (1787–1789)
• Charles Pinckney (1789–1792, 1796–1798, 1806–1808)
• Arnoldus Vanderhorst (1794–1796)
• Edward Rutledge (1798–1800)
• John Drayton (1800–1802, 1808–1810)
• James Burchill Richardson (1802–1804)
• Paul Hamilton (1804–1806)
• Henry Middleton (1810–1812)
• Joseph Alston (1812–1814)
• David Rogerson Williams (1814–1816)
• Andrew Pickens (1816–1818)
• John Geddes (1818–1820)
• Thomas Bennett Jr. (1820–1822)
• John Lyde Wilson (1822–1824)
• Richard Irvine Manning I (1824–1826)
• John Taylor (1826–1828)
• Stephen Decatur Miller (1828–1830)
• James Hamilton Jr. (1830–1832)
• Robert Y. Hayne (1832–1834)
• George McDuffie (1834–1836)
• Pierce Mason Butler (1836–1838)
• Patrick Noble (1838–1840)
• B. K. Henagan (1840–1842)
• James Henry Hammond (1842–1844)
• William Aiken Jr. (1844–1846)
• David Johnson (1846–1848)
• Whitemarsh Benjamin Seabrook (1848–1850)
• John Hugh Means (1850–1852)
• John Lawrence Manning (1852–1854)
• James Hopkins Adams (1854–1856)
• Robert Francis Withers Allston (1856–1858)
• William Henry Gist (1858–1860)
• Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1860–1862)
• Milledge Luke Bonham (1862–1864)
• Andrew Gordon Magrath (1864–1865)
• Benjamin Franklin Perry (1865)
• James Lawrence Orr (1865–1868)
• Robert Kingston Scott (1868–1872)
• Franklin J. Moses Jr. (1872–1874)
• Daniel Henry Chamberlain (1874–1877)
• Wade Hampton III (1877–1879)
• William Dunlap Simpson (1879–1880)
• Johnson Hagood (1880–1882)
• Hugh Smith Thompson (1882–1886)
• John Calhoun Sheppard (1886)
• John Peter Richardson III (1886–1890)
• Benjamin Tillman (1890–1894)
• John Gary Evans (1894–1897)
• William Haselden Ellerbe (1897–1899)
• Miles Benjamin McSweeney (1899–1903)
• Duncan Clinch Heyward (1903–1907)
• Martin Frederick Ansel (1907–1911)
• Coleman Livingston Blease (1911–1915)
• Richard Irvine Manning III (1915–1919)
• Robert Archer Cooper (1919–1922)
• Wilson Godfrey Harvey (1922–1923)
• Thomas Gordon McLeod (1923–1927)
• John Gardiner Richards Jr. (1927–1931)
• Ibra Charles Blackwood (1931–1935)
• Olin D. Johnston (1935–1939, 1943–1945)
• Burnet R. Maybank (1939–1941)
• Joseph Emile Harley (1941–1942)
• Richard Manning Jefferies (1942–1943)
• Ransome Judson Williams (1945–1947)
• Strom Thurmond (1947–1951)
• James F. Byrnes (1951–1955)
• George Bell Timmerman Jr. (1955–1959)
• Ernest F. Hollings (1959–1963)
• Donald S. Russell (1963–1965)
• Robert Evander McNair (1965–1971)
• John C. West (1971–1975)
• James B. Edwards (1975–1979)
• Richard Riley (1979–1987)
• Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (1987–1995)
• David Beasley (1995–1999)
• Jim Hodges (1999–2003)
• Mark Sanford (2003–2011)
• Nikki Haley (2011–2017)
• Henry McMaster (2017–present)

See Also

• South Carolina General Assembly
• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
• History of South Carolina
• List of South Carolina state legislatures
• South Carolina State House