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.
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 the office of governor carries a four-year term. The Governor of Massachusetts does not receive a palace, other official residence, or housing allowance. Instead, he resided in his own private residence. The title of "His Excellency" is a throwback to the royally-appointed governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Province of New England, and Royal Colony of Massachusetts, all of whom were afforded this title.
The governor also serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Commonwealth's armed forces. The power of this position has declined as the states of the Vereinigte Staaten have become less individual nations and more subnational units.
The lieutenant governor serves in place of the governor when he is away from the State House. 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.
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.
Succession
According to the constitution, 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, when in 1785 Governor John Hancock resigned his post with five months remaining before the inauguration of Gov. James Bowdoin. Most recently, Jane Swift became Acting Governor upon the resignation of Paul Cellucci. It is important to note that under the system in place, the lieutenant governor never becomes governor -- only Acting Governor.
No Single Governor
Whenever both the governor and his lieutenant left their offices vacant, the Governor's Council was charged with acting as governor. Gov. Increase Sumner died in office on June 7, 1799, leaving Lt. Gov. 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 Gov. Caleb 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 created a new line of succession that did not entrust the governorship to an eight-member council.
The new and current line of succession is as follows:
At least once during the Romney administration (2003-present), both the governor and lieutenant-governor were out of the state on vacation. While never needing to act in this capacity, Secretary of the CommonwealthBill Galvin officially assumed the role of Acting Governor of Massachusetts.
List of Governors
This is a complete list of Govenors of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Acting governors are included for historic significance.
