Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His, or Her, Honor.

The Constitution of Massachusetts provides that when a 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 discharges powers and duties as "Acting Governor."

The constitution further states, 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 his post five months before the inauguration of his successor, Governor James Bowdoin. 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 never becomes governor – only acting governor.

The lieutenant governor serves in place of the governor when he is outside the borders of Massachusetts. Historically also a one-year term, the office of lieutenant governor now carries a four-year term the same as that of the governor. Noted in the article above are religious, property, and residency requirements for both the office of governor and lieutenant governor, of which only the residency requirement remains in effect. To be eligible for either office, a candidate must have lived in Massachusetts for at least seven years immediately preceding his election, and originally also had to be a Christian owning at least £1,000 worth of real property.

Constitutional role

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

"There shall be annually elected a lieutenant governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose title shall be, His Honor and who shall be qualified, in point of religion, property, and residence in the commonwealth, in the same manner with the governor: and the day and manner of his election, and the qualifications of the electors, shall be the same as are required in the election of a governor."

List of Lieutenant Governors

*Thomas Cushing (1780-1788; Acting Governor in 1785)
*Benjamin Lincoln (1788-1789)
*Samuel Adams (1789–1794; Acting Governor from 1793)
*Moses Gill (1794-1800; Acting Governor from 1799)
*(Office Vacant, 1800-1801)
*Samuel Phillips, Jr. (1801-1802)
*Edward Robbins (1802-1806)
*Levi Lincoln, Sr. (1807-1809; Acting Governor from 1808)
*David Cobb (1809-1810)
*William Gray (1810-1812)
*William Phillips, Jr. (1812-1823)
*Levi Lincoln, Jr. (1823-1824)
*Marcus Morton (1824-1825; Acting Governor in 1825)
*Thomas L. Winthrop (1826-1833)
*Samuel T. Armstrong (1833-1836; Acting Governor from 1835)
*George Hull (1836-1843)
*Henry H. Childs (1843-1844)
*John Reed, Jr. (1844-1851)
*Henry W. Cushman (1851-1853)
*Elisha Huntington (1853-1854)
*William C. Plunkett (1854-1855)
*Simon Brown (1855-1856)
*Henry W. Benchley (1856-1858)
*Eliphalet Trask (1858-1861)
*John Z. Goodrich (1861)
*John Nesmith (1862)
*Joel Hayden (1863-1866)
*William Clafin (1866-1869)
*Joseph Tucker (1869-1873)
*Thomas Talbot (1873-1875; Acting Governor from 1874)
*Horatio G. Knight (1875-1879)
*John D. Long (1879-1880)
*Calvin Coolidge (1916-1919)
*Francis X. Bellotti (1963-1965)
*Elliot Richardson (1965-1967)
*Francis W. Sargent (1967-1971; Acting Governor from 1969)
*Donald R. Dwight (1971–1975)
*Thomas P. O'Neill III (1975–1983)
*John Kerry (1983-1985)
*(Office Vacant, 1985-1987)
*Evelyn Murphy (1987-1991)
*Paul Cellucci (1991-1999; Acting Governor from 1997)
*Jane M. Swift (1999-2003; Acting Governor from 2001)
*Kerry Healey (2003-2007)
*Tim Murray (2007-present)

ee also

* List of Governors of Massachusetts
* Government of Massachusetts
* Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2006
* Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002

External links

* [http://www.mass.gov/gov Office of the Governor]
* [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/MA/G/00/ CNN.com 2006 election results]
* [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=751 OurCampaigns.com]