List of governors of Tennessee

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List of governors of Tennessee

The Governor of Tennessee is the head of the executive branch of Tennessee's state government 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 Tennessee General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment. The current governor is Bill Lee, a member of the Republican Party, who has been in office since January 19, 2019.

Governors of Tennessee

The following is a list of individuals who have served as Governor of Tennessee:

Territorial Governors

• William Blount (1790–1796)

State Governors

• John Sevier (1796–1801, 1803–1809)
• Archibald Roane (1801–1803)
• Willie Blount (1809–1815)
• Joseph McMinn (1815–1821)
• William Carroll (1821–1827, 1829–1835)
• Sam Houston (1827–1829)
• Newton Cannon (1835–1839)
• James K. Polk (1839–1841)
• James C. Jones (1841–1845)
• Aaron V. Brown (1845–1847)
• Neill S. Brown (1847–1849)
• William Trousdale (1849–1851)
• William B. Campbell (1851–1853)
• Andrew Johnson (1853–1857)
• Isham G. Harris (1857–1862)
• Andrew Johnson (1862–1865) (Military Governor)
• William G. Brownlow (1865–1869)
• Dewitt Clinton Senter (1869–1871)
• John C. Brown (1871–1875)
• James D. Porter (1875–1879)
• Albert S. Marks (1879–1881)
• Alvin Hawkins (1881–1883)
• William B. Bate (1883–1887)
• Robert Love Taylor (1887–1891, 1897–1899)
• John P. Buchanan (1891–1893)
• Peter Turney (1893–1897)
• Benton McMillin (1899–1903)
• James B. Frazier (1903–1905)
• John I. Cox (1905–1907)
• Malcolm R. Patterson (1907–1911)
• Ben W. Hooper (1911–1915)
• Tom C. Rye (1915–1919)
• Albert H. Roberts (1919–1921)
• Alfred A. Taylor (1921–1923)
• Austin Peay (1923–1927)
• Henry Hollis Horton (1927–1933)
• Hill McAlister (1933–1937)
• Gordon Browning (1937–1939, 1949–1953)
• Prentice Cooper (1939–1945)
• Jim Nance McCord (1945–1949)
• Frank G. Clement (1953–1959, 1963–1967)
• Buford Ellington (1959–1963, 1967–1971)
• Winfield Dunn (1971–1975)
• Ray Blanton (1975–1979)
• Lamar Alexander (1979–1987)
• Ned McWherter (1987–1995)
• Don Sundquist (1995–2003)
• Phil Bredesen (2003–2011)
• Bill Haslam (2011–2019)
• Bill Lee (2019–present)

See also

• Tennessee General Assembly
• List of lieutenant governors of Tennessee
• List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee
• List of United States senators from Tennessee
• List of United States representatives from Tennessee