List of governors of Missouri

The governor of Missouri is the head of government of the U.S. state of Missouri and the commander-in-chief of the Missouri National Guard. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Missouri Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.

Governor of Missouri
State seal
Incumbent Mike Kehoe since January 13, 2025
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Missouri Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once[1]
Precursor	Governor of Missouri Territory
Inaugural holder	Alexander McNair
Formation	September 18, 1820 (204 years ago) (1820-09-18) Constitution of Missouri
Succession	Line of succession
Deputy	Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
Salary	$137,167 (2022)[2]
Website	governor.mo.gov

The current governor is Republican Mike Kehoe, who took office on January 13, 2025.

List of governors

Louisiana was purchased from France in 1803, with it being proclaimed in St. Louis in Upper Louisiana on March 10, 1804, by Amos Stoddard, who remained as military commander of the region until October 1, 1804, when Orleans Territory was split from it. The remainder was designated the District of Louisiana and placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory and its governor, William Henry Harrison.^[3][4]

Louisiana Territory and Missouri Territory

The District of Louisiana was organized as Louisiana Territory on July 4, 1805;^[5] it was renamed Missouri Territory on June 4, 1812, after the admission of the state of Louisiana.^[6] It had four governors appointed by the president of the United States, including both Meriwether Lewis and William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Governors of Louisiana and Missouri Territory

No.	Governor		Term in office[a]	Appointed by
1		James Wilkinson (1757–1825) [7]	July 4, 1805[b] – March 3, 1807 (successor appointed)[c]	Thomas Jefferson
2		Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) [12]	March 3, 1807[d] – October 11, 1809 (died in office)[e]	Thomas Jefferson
3		Benjamin Howard (1760–1814) [16]	April 18, 1810[f] – October 31, 1812 (resigned)[g]	James Madison
4		William Clark (1770–1838) [19]	July 1, 1813[h] – September 18, 1820 (lost election)	James Madison
				James Monroe

State of Missouri

Missouri was admitted to the union on August 10, 1821.^[25]

The original constitution of 1820 created the offices of governor^[26] and lieutenant governor,^[27] to serve terms of four years^[28] without being able to succeed themselves.^[29] Terms were shortened to 2 years in 1865,^[30] with a limit of serving no more than four out of every six years.^[31] They were returned in 1875 to the four-year term and limit on succession of the 1820 constitution,^[32] and the term limit changed to two terms in 1965.^[33] Originally, the lieutenant governor would act as governor in the event of a vacancy;^[34] a 1968 amendment made it so that the lieutenant governor becomes governor in that situation.^[33]

A group including the governor, lieutenant governor, and members of the Missouri General Assembly, proclaimed Missouri's secession from the Union on October 31, 1861,^[35] and it was admitted to the Confederate States of America on November 28, 1861.^[36] The Confederate government elected two governors, but only had any control in the south of the state, and was forced into exile in Marshall, Texas, after the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862.

Governors of the State of Missouri

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[i]
1			Alexander McNair (1775–1826) [37][38]	September 18, 1820[39] – November 17, 1824 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic- Republican[41]	1820		William Henry Ashley
2			Frederick Bates (1777–1825) [42][43]	November 17, 1824[k] – August 4, 1825 (died in office)	Democratic- Republican[41]	1824		Benjamin Harrison Reeves (resigned July 1825)
							Vacant
3			Abraham J. Williams (1781–1839) [45][46]	August 4, 1825[47] – January 20, 1826 (successor took office)	Democratic- Republican[41]	President of the Senate acting
4			John Miller (1781–1846) [48][49]	January 20, 1826[50] – November 21, 1832 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	1825 (special)[l]
						1828		Daniel Dunklin
5			Daniel Dunklin (1790–1844) [51][52]	November 21, 1832[53] – September 30, 1836 (resigned)[m]	Democratic[n]	1832		Lilburn Boggs
6			Lilburn Boggs (1796–1860) [56][57]	September 30, 1836[58] – November 18, 1840 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	Lieutenant governor acting		Acting as governor
						1836		Franklin Cannon
7			Thomas Reynolds (1796–1844) [59][60]	November 18, 1840[61] – February 9, 1844 (died in office)	Democratic[41]	1840		Meredith Miles Marmaduke
8			Meredith Miles Marmaduke (1791–1864) [62][63]	February 9, 1844[64] – November 20, 1844 (successor took office)	Democratic[41]	Lieutenant governor acting		Acting as governor
9			John Cummins Edwards (1804–1888) [65][66]	November 20, 1844[67] – December 27, 1848 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	1844		James Young
10			Austin Augustus King (1802–1870) [68][69]	December 27, 1848[70] – January 3, 1853 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	1848		Thomas Lawson Price
11			Sterling Price (1809–1867) [71][72]	January 3, 1853[73] – January 5, 1857 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	1852		Wilson Brown (died August 27, 1855)
							Vacant
12			Trusten Polk (1811–1876) [74][75]	January 5, 1857[76] – February 27, 1857 (resigned)[o]	Democratic[41]	1856		Hancock Lee Jackson
13			Hancock Lee Jackson (1796–1876) [77][78]	February 27, 1857[79] – October 22, 1857 (successor took office)	Democratic[41]	Lieutenant governor acting		Acting as governor
14			Robert Marcellus Stewart (1815–1871) [80][81]	October 22, 1857[82] – January 3, 1861 (term-limited)[j]	Democratic[41]	1857 (special)[p]		Hancock Lee Jackson
15			Claiborne Fox Jackson (1806–1862) [83][84]	January 3, 1861[85] – July 31, 1861 (office declared vacant)[q]	Democratic[41]	1860		Thomas Caute Reynolds
16			Hamilton Rowan Gamble (1798–1864) [87][88]	July 31, 1861[86] – January 31, 1864 (died in office)	Union[41]	Provisional governor elected by convention		Willard Preble Hall
17			Willard Preble Hall (1820–1882) [89][90]	January 31, 1864[91] – January 2, 1865 (successor took office)	Union[41]	Lieutenant governor acting		Acting as governor
18			Thomas Clement Fletcher (1827–1899) [92][93]	January 2, 1865[94] – January 12, 1869 (term-limited)[r]	Republican[41]	1864		George Smith
19			Joseph W. McClurg (1818–1900) [96][97]	January 12, 1869[98] – January 9, 1871 (lost election)	Republican[41]	1868		Edwin O. Stanard
20			Benjamin Gratz Brown (1826–1885) [99][100]	January 9, 1871[101] – January 8, 1873 (did not run)[s]	Liberal Republican[41]	1870		Joseph J. Gravely (died April 28, 1872)
							Vacant
21			Silas Woodson (1819–1896) [102][103]	January 8, 1873[104] – January 12, 1875 (did not run)	Democratic[t]	1872		Charles Phillip Johnson
22			Charles Henry Hardin (1820–1892) [105][106]	January 12, 1875[107] – January 8, 1877 (did not run)[105]	Democratic[u]	1874		Norman Jay Colman
23			John S. Phelps (1814–1886) [108][109]	January 8, 1877[110] – January 10, 1881 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1876		Henry Clay Brockmeyer
24			Thomas Theodore Crittenden (1832–1909) [112][113]	January 10, 1881[114] – January 12, 1885 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1880		Robert Alexander Campbell
25			John S. Marmaduke (1833–1887) [115][116]	January 12, 1885[117] – December 28, 1887 (died in office)	Democratic[41]	1884		Albert P. Morehouse
26			Albert P. Morehouse (1835–1891) [118][119]	December 28, 1887[120] – January 14, 1889 (lost nomination)[121]	Democratic[41]	Lieutenant governor acting		Acting as governor
27			David R. Francis (1850–1927) [122][123]	January 14, 1889[124] – January 9, 1893 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1888		Stephen Hugh Claycomb
28			William J. Stone (1848–1918) [125][126]	January 9, 1893[127] – January 11, 1897 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1892		John Baptiste O'Meara
29			Lawrence Vest Stephens (1858–1923) [128][129]	January 11, 1897[130] – January 14, 1901 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1896		August Henry Bolte
30			Alexander Monroe Dockery (1845–1926) [131][132]	January 14, 1901[133] – January 9, 1905 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1900		John Adams Lee (resigned April 25, 1903)
								Thomas L. Rubey (appointed April 25, 1903)
31			Joseph W. Folk (1869–1923) [134][135]	January 9, 1905[136] – January 11, 1909 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1904		John C. McKinley
32			Herbert S. Hadley (1872–1927) [137][138]	January 11, 1909[139] – January 13, 1913 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[41]	1908		Jacob F. Gmelich
33			Elliott Woolfolk Major (1864–1949) [140][141]	January 13, 1913[142] – January 8, 1917 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1912		William Rock Painter
34			Frederick D. Gardner (1869–1933) [143][144]	January 8, 1917[145] – January 10, 1921 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1916		Wallace Crossley
35			Arthur M. Hyde (1877–1947) [146][147]	January 10, 1921[148] – January 12, 1925 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[41]	1920		Hiram Lloyd
36			Sam Aaron Baker (1874–1933) [149][150]	January 12, 1925[151] – January 14, 1929 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[41]	1924		Philip Allen Bennett
37			Henry S. Caulfield (1873–1966) [152][153]	January 14, 1929[154] – January 9, 1933 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[41]	1928		Edward Henry Winter
38			Guy Brasfield Park (1872–1946) [155][156]	January 9, 1933[157] – January 11, 1937 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1932		Frank Gaines Harris (died December 30, 1944)
39			Lloyd C. Stark (1886–1972) [158][159]	January 11, 1937[160] – February 26, 1941 (term-limited)[v]	Democratic[41]	1936
40			Forrest C. Donnell (1884–1980) [161][162]	February 26, 1941[w] – January 8, 1945 (term-limited)[v]	Republican[41]	1940
							Vacant
41			Phil M. Donnelly (1891–1961) [164][165]	January 8, 1945[166] – January 10, 1949 (term-limited)[x]	Democratic[41]	1944		Walter Naylor Davis
42			Forrest Smith (1886–1962) [168][169]	January 10, 1949[170] – January 12, 1953 (term-limited)[x]	Democratic[41]	1948		James T. Blair Jr.
43			Phil M. Donnelly (1891–1961) [164][165]	January 12, 1953[171] – January 14, 1957 (term-limited)[x]	Democratic[41]	1952
44			James T. Blair Jr. (1902–1962) [172][173]	January 14, 1957[174] – January 9, 1961 (term-limited)[x]	Democratic[41]	1956		Edward V. Long (resigned September 23, 1960)
							Vacant
45			John M. Dalton (1900–1972) [175][176]	January 9, 1961[177] – January 11, 1965 (term-limited)[x]	Democratic[41]	1960		Hilary A. Bush
46			Warren E. Hearnes (1923–2009) [178][179]	January 11, 1965[180] – January 8, 1973 (term-limited)[y]	Democratic[41]	1964		Thomas Eagleton (resigned December 27, 1968)
							Vacant
						1968		William S. Morris
47			Kit Bond (b. 1939) [182][183]	January 8, 1973[184] – January 10, 1977 (lost election)	Republican[41]	1972		Bill Phelps
48			Joseph P. Teasdale (1936–2014) [182][185]	January 10, 1977[186] – January 12, 1981 (lost election)	Democratic[185]	1976
49			Kit Bond (b. 1939) [182][183]	January 12, 1981[187] – January 14, 1985 (did not run)	Republican[183]	1980		Ken Rothman
50			John Ashcroft (b. 1942) [188]	January 14, 1985[189] – January 11, 1993 (term-limited)[y]	Republican[188]	1984		Harriett Woods
						1988		Mel Carnahan
51			Mel Carnahan (1934–2000) [190]	January 11, 1993[191] – October 16, 2000 (died in office)[z]	Democratic[190]	1992		Roger B. Wilson
						1996
52			Roger B. Wilson (b. 1948) [192]	October 16, 2000[aa] – January 8, 2001 (did not run)	Democratic[192]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
								Joe Maxwell (appointed November 15, 2000)
53			Bob Holden (b. 1949) [194]	January 8, 2001[195] – January 10, 2005 (lost nomination)[ab]	Democratic[194]	2000
54			Matt Blunt (b. 1970) [196]	January 10, 2005[197] – January 12, 2009 (did not run)	Republican[196]	2004		Peter Kinder
55			Jay Nixon (b. 1956) [198]	January 12, 2009[199] – January 9, 2017 (term-limited)[y]	Democratic[198]	2008
						2012
56			Eric Greitens (b. 1974) [200]	January 9, 2017[201] – June 1, 2018 (resigned)[ac]	Republican[200]	2016		Mike Parson
57			Mike Parson (b. 1955) [203]	June 1, 2018[204] – January 13, 2025 (term-limited)[y]	Republican[203]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
								Mike Kehoe (appointed June 18, 2018)
						2020
58			Mike Kehoe (b. 1962) [205]	January 13, 2025[206] – Incumbent[ad]	Republican[205]	2024		David Wasinger

Confederate governors

Thomas Caute Reynolds, 2nd Confederate governor of Missouri

During the Civil War, after the capture of Jefferson City by the Union, a constitutional convention declared the office then held by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson to be vacant.^[86] In October, Jackson, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Caute Reynolds, and some members of the General Assembly, organized at Neosho and passed an Ordinance of Secession. This Confederate government never displaced the government in Jefferson City, and Missouri remained in the Union through the entire war. Jackson continued on as governor until his death on December 6, 1862, at which time Reynolds took over, serving until he fled to Mexico in June 1865 after the end of the war.^[207]

See also

• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Missouri
• List of Missouri General Assemblies

Notes

1. The range given is from the date the governor was confirmed by the Senate, or appointed by the President during a Senate recess, to the date the governor left office.
2. Wilkinson was appointed on March 11, 1805, during a Senate recess, for a term to begin July 4.^[8] He was formally nominated on December 20, 1805;^[9] confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 1806;^[10] and confirmation was communicated to the president on January 30.^[11]
3. Wilkinson left the territory August 16, 1806, after which point Secretary of the Territory Joseph Brown acted as governor.^[7]
4. Lewis was nominated on February 28, 1807;^[13] confirmed by the Senate on March 2;^[14] and confirmation and communicated to the president on March 3.^[15] He arrived in the territory on March 8, 1808.^[12]
5. Lewis died in Tennessee while en route to Washington to answer complaints about his actions as governor; it is unknown if he was murdered or died by suicide.^[12] Secretary of the Territory Frederick Bates acted as governor until his successor arrived.^[16]
6. Howard was nominated on April 17, 1810,^[17] confirmed by the Senate on April 18,^[18] and arrived in the territory on September 17.^[16]
7. Howard resigned to accept a commission as brigadier general in the United States Army.^[16]
8. Clark was nominated on May 31, 1813;^[20] though his nomination notes that he had been appointed during a Senate recess, no specifics on that appointment have been found. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 2,^[21] and the confirmation was communicated to the president on June 16.^[22] He was reconfirmed by the Senate on January 21, 1817,^[23] and on January 24, 1820.^[24]
9. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
10. Under the 1820 constitution, governors were ineligible for four years after the end of their term.^[40]
11. Modern sources tend to say Bates took office on November 15; however, while this was the date McNair delivered his farewell address, Bates was not sworn in until November 17.^[44]
12. Special election to fill the remainder of Frederick Bates' term.
13. Dunklin resigned to be Surveyor General for Missouri and Illinois.^[51]
14. Most sources label Dunklin a Democrat,^[54][41][51] but Glashan labels him a Democratic-Republican.^[55]
15. Polk resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.^[74]
16. Special election to fill the remainder of Trusten Polk's term.
17. Jackson was pro-Confederate, and fled Jefferson City on June 17, 1861, after the Battle of Boonville in which Union forces gained control of the capital. The pro-Union constitutional convention declared his office vacant, and elected a new provisional governor, on July 31.^[86] Jackson would soon establish a Confederate-aligned government in Neosho, Missouri.
18. Under the 1865 constitution, governors were ineligible to serve more than four years in six.^[95]
19. Brown instead ran unsuccessfully for Vice President of the United States.^[99]
20. Woodson also represented the Liberal Republican Party.^[55]
21. Hardin also represented the Liberal Republican Party.^[55]
22. Under the 1875 constitution, governors were ineligible to be re-elected as their own successor.^[111]
23. The election was very close, and the House of Representatives refused to certify Donnell's election until February 26, 1941, after being ordered to do so by the Missouri Supreme Court.^[161][163]
24. Under the 1945 constitution, governors were ineligible to be re-elected as their own successor.^[167]
25. Under a 1965 amendment to the constitution, governors are ineligible to be elected more than twice.^[181]
26. Carnahan died in a plane crash while campaigning for a seat in the United States Senate.^[190]
27. The plane crash that killed Carnahan occurred on October 16; his body was not identified until October 18, and shortly thereafter Wilson was sworn in.^[193]
28. Holden lost the Democratic nomination to Claire McCaskill.
29. Greitens resigned due to allegations of sexual assault and campaign finance impropriety.^[202]
30. Kehoe's term will expire on January 8, 2029.