List of lieutenant governors of Tennessee

The following is a list of people who have served as Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (formal title: Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate) since the current Tennessee State Constitution was adopted in 1870. The title of Lieutenant Governor was formally added in 1951; however, the Speaker of the Senate has been the designated successor to the Governor of Tennessee since Tennessee achieved statehood in 1796. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey (who served 2007-2017) was the first Republican to hold this office since the adoption of the current constitution, all previous ones having been Democrats.

Parties

  Democratic   Republican

Lieutenant Governors of the State of Tennessee
Order	Name	Term	Party	Governor(s) served under	Life
1	Dorsey B. Thomas	1869–1871	Democratic	None	1823–1897
2	John C. Vaughn	1871–1873	Democratic		1824–1875
3	A. T. Lacey	1873–1875	Democratic		1821–1878
4	Thomas H. Paine	1875–1877	Democratic		1836–1903
5	Hugh M. McAdoo	1877–1879	Democratic		1838–1894
6	John R. Neal	1879–1881	Democratic		1836–1889
7	George H. Morgan	1881–1883	Democratic		1841–1900
8	Benjamin F. Alexander	1883–1885	Democratic		1849–1911
9	Cabell R. Berry	1885–1887	Democratic		1848–1910
10	Z. W. Ewing	1887–1889	Democratic		1843–1909
11	Benjamin J. Lea	1889–1891	Democratic		1833–1894
12	William C. Dismukes	1891–1895	Democratic		1850–1903
13	Ernest Pillow	1895–1897	Democratic		1856–1904
14	John Thompson	1897–1899	Democratic		1852–1919
15	Seid Waddell	1899–1901	Democratic		1849–1921
16	Newton H. White	1901–1903	Democratic		1860–1931
17	E. T. Seay	1903–1905	Democratic		1868-1941
18	John I. Cox	1905	Democratic		1855–1946
19	Ernest Rice	1905–1907	Democratic		1872-1950
20	E. G. Tollett	1907–1909	Democratic		1864–1926
21	William Kinney	1909–1911	Democratic		1863–1928
22	Nathaniel Baxter, Jr.	1911–1913	Democratic	1844–1913
23	Newton H. White	1913–1915	Democratic	1860–1931
24	Hugh C. Anderson	1915	Democratic	1851–1915
25	Albert E. Hill	1915–1917	Democratic	1870–1933
26	W. R. Crabtree	1917–1919	Democratic	1867–1920
27	Andrew L. Todd Sr.	1919–1921	Democratic	1872–1945
28	William West Bond	1921–1923	Democratic	1884–1975
29	Eugene J. Bryan	1923–1925	Democratic	1888–1958
30	Lucius D. Hill	1925–1927	Democratic	1856–1933
31	Henry Hollis Horton	1927	Democratic	1866–1934
32	Sam R. Bratton	1929–1931	Democratic	1864–1936
33	Scott Fitzhugh	1931	Democratic	1888–1956
34	Ambrose B. Broadbent	1931–1933	Democratic	1885–1952
35	Albert F. Officer	1933–1935	Democratic	1899–1965
36	William P. Moss	1935–1936	Democratic	1897–1985
37	Bryan Pope	1936–1939	Democratic	1893–1973
38	Blan R. Maxwell	1939–1943	Democratic	1899–1943
39	Joseph H. Ballew	1943–1945	Democratic	1886–1972
40	Larry Morgan	1945–1947	Democratic	1896–1965
41	George Oliver Benton	1947–1949	Democratic	1915–2001
42	Walter M. Haynes	1949–1953	Democratic	Gordon Browning	1897–1967
43	Jared Maddux	1953–1959	Democratic	Frank G. Clement	1912–1971
44	William D. Baird	1959–1962	Democratic	Buford Ellington	1906–1987
45	James L. Bomar, Jr.	1963–1965	Democratic	Frank G. Clement	1914–2001
46	Jared Maddux	1965–1967	Democratic	Frank G. Clement	1912–1971
47	Frank Gorrell	1967–1971	Democratic	Buford Ellington	1927–1994
48	John S. Wilder	1971–2007	Democratic	Winfield Dunn Ray Blanton Lamar Alexander Ned McWherter Don Sundquist Phil Bredesen	1921–2010
49	Ron Ramsey	2007–2017	Republican	Phil Bredesen Bill Haslam	b. 1955
50	Randy McNally	2017–present	Republican	Bill Haslam Bill Lee	b. 1944

¹ John I. Cox became governor of Tennessee on March 21, 1905 when Governor James B. Frazier arranged his own appointment to a vacant United States Senate seat and then resigned as governor.

² Henry H. Horton became governor of Tennessee on October 3, 1927 upon the death of Governor Austin Peay. The legislature at the time met on a biennial basis, so the position of Speaker of the Senate remained vacant until January 1929. During this period, the designated successor to the governor was Selden Maiden, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Pre-1870

President of the Council of the Southwest Territory[1]
President	Term	Party	Life	Notes
Griffith Rutherford	1794–1796		1721–1805	The council dissolved upon the territory's admission as a state

Speakers of the Tennessee Senate, 1796–1869[2]
Name	Term	Party	Life	Notes
James Winchester	1796–1797		1752–1826
James White	1797–1798		1747–1821
William Blount	1798–1799	Democratic-Republican	1749–1800
Alexander Outlaw	1799–1801		1738–1826
James White	1801–1805		1747–1821
Joseph McMinn	1805–1811	Democratic-Republican	1758–1824
Thomas Henderson	1811–1813	Democratic-Republican	1742 –1832
Robert Coleman Foster	1813–1815	Whig	1769–1844
Edward Ward	1815–1819		d. 1837
Robert Weakley	1819–1821	Democratic-Republican	1764–1845
Sterling Brewer	1821–1823		1766–1852
Robert Weakley	1823–1825	Democratic-Republican	1764–1845
Robert C. Foster	1825–1827	Whig	1796–1871
William Hall	1827–1829	Democratic	1775–1856	Became governor upon the resignation of Sam Houston
Joel Walker	1829–1831	Whig	1789–1844
Burchet Douglas	1831–1833	Whig	1793–1849
David Burford	1833–1835	Democratic	1791–1864
Jonathan Webster	1835–1837	Whig	1779–1849
Terry H. Cahal	1837–1839	Whig	1802–1851
Thomas Love	1839	Democratic	1766–1844
Levin H. Coe	1839–1841	Democratic	1807–1850
Samuel Turney	1841–1843	Democratic	c. 1795–1863
Josiah M. Anderson	1843–1845	Whig	1807–1861
Harvey M. Watterson	1845–1847	Democratic	1811–1891
Josiah M. Anderson	1847–1849	Whig	1807–1861
John F. Henry	1849–1851	Whig	1808–1884
Munson R. Hill	1851–1853	Whig	1821–1867
Edwin Polk	1853–1855	Democratic	1818–1854
Edward S. Cheatham	1855–1857	Whig	1818–1878
John C. Burch	1857–1859	Democratic	1827–1881
Tazewell W. Newman	1859–1861	Democratic	1827–1867
Burton L. Stovall	1861	Democratic	1812–1879
Edward S. Cheatham	1861–1862	Whig	1818–1878	The state government was replaced by a military government in 1862
Samuel R. Rodgers	1865	Unionist	1798–1866
Joshua B. Frierson	1865–1867	Unionist	1806–1876
Dewitt Clinton Senter	1867–1869	Republican	1830–1898	Became governor upon the resignation of William G. Brownlow
Philip P.C. Nelson	1869	Republican	1828–1880

References

1. The five-man council was the upper chamber of the territorial legislature. Its members were appointed by the President of the United States, and the council president was elected by the five members. The council president was not the first in line of succession (this role fell to the Territorial Secretary).
2. Historical Constitutional Officers of Tennessee, 1796 - Present, Territory South of the River Ohio, 1790 - 1796. Retrieved: 29 November 2012.

External links

• Tennessee Blue Book