List of governors of Tennessee


This is a list of people who have served as Governor of Tennessee.
The governor's term in office is limited by the Tennessee state constitution. The first constitution, enacted in 1796, set a term of two years for the governor and provided that no person could serve as governor for more than 6 years in any 8-year period. The term of office was lengthened to four years, without the possibility of consecutive terms, by constitutional amendments adopted in 1953. Under the current provisions of the state constitution, as amended in 1978, the governor is elected to a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively. For a period of nearly five decades in the 20th century, the Tennessee Democratic Party held the Tennessee governorship continuously.
Tennessee has had 50 governors, including the incumbent, Bill Lee. Seven governors have served non-consecutive terms. This tally does not include William Blount or Robert L. Caruthers, though the Blue Book includes them in its list of governors. All governors are counted only once, regardless of number of terms served. The Blue Book does not include Edward H. East in its list of governors.

Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, commonly called the Southwest Territory, was formed in 1790 from lands ceded by North Carolina to the United States government. The territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Tennessee in 1796.
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State of Tennessee

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Other high offices held by governors

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Tennessee except where noted. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Living former Governors of Tennessee

, there are five former governors who are currently living, the oldest being Winfield Dunn. The most recent death of a former Tennessee governor was that of Ned McWherter, on April 4, 2011, who is also the most recently serving governor to have died.
GovernorGubernatorial termDate of birth
Winfield Dunn1971–1975
Lamar Alexander1979–1987
Don Sundquist1995–2003
Phil Bredesen2003–2011
Bill Haslam2011–2019