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Governor of Massachusetts

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

There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be styled, The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and whose title shall be -- His Excellency. With the writing of that sentence in 1780, the executive branch of the new Commonwealth came into being. The Governor of Massachusetts is the chief executive of the Commonwealth, and is supported by a number of subordinate officers. He, like most other state officers, senators, and representatives, was originally elected annually. Eventually this was changed to a two-year term, and currently rests at a four-year term. The Governor of Massachusetts does not receive a palace, other official residence, or housing allowance. Instead, he continues to reside in his private residence. The title of "His Excellency" is a throwback to the executives of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Province of New England, and Royal Colony of Massachusetts, all of whom as royal appointees were afforded this title. The governor also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth's armed forces, a position the power of which has declined as the states of the United States have become less individual nations and more subnational units.

Succession

According to the constitution, whenever the chair of the governor is vacant, the lieutenant governor shall take over as governor. The first time this came into use was five years after the constitution's adoption, when in 1785 Governor Hancock resigned his post with five months remaining before the inauguration of Governor Bowdoin.

No Single Governor

Whenever both the governor and his lieutenant left their offices vacant, the Governor's Council was charged with acting as governor. Governor Sumner died in office on June 7, 1799, leaving Lt. Governor Moses Gill as Governor of the Commonwealth. Governor Gill never received a lieutenant, and died himself on May 20, 1800.

For the ten days between Governor Gill's death and Governor Strong's inauguration, the Governor's Council became the executive arm of the Commonwealth's government. Its chair, Thomas Dawes, was the closest person to governor during this time, but was at no point named governor.

New and Current Line of Succession

Article LV of the Constitution annulled this line of succession and created a new line that did not entrust the governorship to an eight-member council. The new and current line of succession is as follows:

Governor (Mitt Romney)
Lieutenant Governor (Kerry Healey)
Secretary of the Commonwealth (William Francis Galvin)
Attorney General (Thomas C. Reilly)
Treasurer and Receiver-General (Tim Cahill)
Auditor (A. Joseph DeNucci)

List of Massachusetts Governors

Colonial governors can be found at page for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Governor	Took Office	Left Office	Party
John Hancock	1780	1785	None
Thomas Cushing	1785	1785	None
James Bowdoin	1785	1787	None
John Hancock	1787	1793	None
Samuel Adams	1794	1797	None
Increase Sumner	1797	1799	Federalist
Moses Gill	1799	1800	None
Caleb Strong	1800	1807	Federalist
James Sullivan	1807	1808	Democratic-Republican
Levi Lincoln	1808	1809	Democratic-Republican
Christopher Gore	1809	1810	Federalist
Elbridge Gerry	1810	1812	Democratic-Republican
Caleb Strong	1812	1816	Federalist
John Brooks	1816	1823	Federalist
William Eustis	1823	1825	Democratic-Republican
Marcus Morton	1825	1825	Democratic-Republican
Levi Lincoln	1825	1834	Democratic-Republican
John Davis	1834	1835	Whig
Samuel Armstrong	1835	1836	Whig
Edward Everett	1836	1840	Whig
Marcus Morton	1840	1841	Democrat
John Davis	1841	1843	Whig
Marcus Morton	1843	1844	Democrat
George N. Briggs	1844	1851	Whig
George S. Boutwell	1851	1853	Democrat
John H. Clifford	1853	1854	Whig
Emory Washburn	1854	1855	Whig
Henry J. Gardner	1855	1858	Know-Nothing
Nathaniel P. Banks	1858	1861	Republican
John A. Andrew	1861	1866	Republican
Alexander H. Bullock	1866	1869	Republican
William Claflin	1869	1872	Republican
William B. Washburn	1872	1874	Republican
Thomas Talbot	1874	1875	Republican
William Gaston	1875	1876	Democrat
Alexander H. Rice	1876	1879	Republican
Thomas Talbot	1879	1880	Republican
John D. Long	1880	1883	Republican
Benjamin Franklin Butler	1883	1884	Democrat
George D. Robinson	1884	1887	Republican
Oliver Ames	1887	1890	Republican
John Q. A. Brackett	1890	1891	Republican
William E. Russell	1891	1894	Democrat
Frderic T. Greenhalge	1894	1896	Republican
Roger Wolcott	1896	1900	Republican
Winthrop Murray Crane	1900	1903	Republican
John L. Bates	1903	1905	Republican
William L. Douglas	1905	1906	Democrat
Curtis Guild, Jr.	1906	1909	Republican
Ebenezer S. Draper	1909	1911	Republican
Eugene N. Foss	1911	1914	Democrat
David I. Walsh	1914	1916	Democrat
Samuel W. McCall	1916	1919	Republican
Calvin Coolidge	1919	1921	Republican
Channing H. Cox	1921	1925	Republican
Alvan T. Fuller	1925	1929	Republican
Frank G. Allen	1929	1931	Republican
Joseph B. Ely	1931	1935	Democrat
James Michael Curley	1935	1937	Democrat
Charles F. Hurley	1937	1939	Democrat
Leverett Saltonstall	1939	1945	Republican
Maurice J. Tobin	1945	1947	Democrat
Robert F. Bradford	1947	1949	Republican
Paul A. Dever	1949	1953	Democrat
Christian Herter	1953	1957	Republican
Foster Furcolo	1957	1961	Democrat
John A. Volpe	1961	1963	Republican
Endicott Peabody	1963	1965	Democrat
John A. Volpe	1965	1969	Republican
Francis W. Sargent	1969	1975	Republican
Michael Dukakis	1975	1979	Democrat
Edward J. King	1979	1983	Republican
Michael Dukakis	1983	1991	Democrat
William F. Weld	1991	1997	Republican
Argeo Paul Cellucci	1997	2001	Republican
Jane M. Swift	2001	2003	Republican
Willard Mitt Romney	2003	-	Republican