Lieutenant Governor of Alabama | |
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![]() | |
Government of Alabama | |
Style | The Honorable |
Term length | Four years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Andrew J. Applegate |
Formation | 1868 |
Salary | $68,556 |
Website | ltgov |
The lieutenant governor of Alabama is the president of the Alabama Senate, elected to serve a four-year term. The office was created in 1868,[1] abolished in 1875,[2] and recreated in 1901.[3] According to the current constitution, should the governor be out of the state for more than 20 days, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor, and if the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office (via impeachment), the lieutenant governor ascends to the governorship.[4] Earlier constitutions said the powers of the governor devolved upon the successor, rather than them necessarily becoming governor,[5] but the official listing includes these as full governors.[6] The governor and lieutenant governor are not elected on the same ticket.
In 1868, the state of Alabama issued a constitution which provided for the office of lieutenant governor. The document prescribed that the officer was to serve as the president of the State Senate and cast tie-breaking votes in that body, and made them first in line of succession to the governor's office.[7] Andrew J. Applegate was the first person to serve as lieutenant governor.[8] In 1875, conservative Democrats determined the content of a new constitution which abolished the office in an attempt to reduce the size of state government. Alabama convened another constitutional convention in 1901. During its session, the incumbent governor died. Partly motivated by the lack of a clearly delineated line of gubernatorial succession, the delegates reestablished the office of lieutenant governor with responsibilities similar to those it previously held. Its constitutional responsibilities have been little altered since.[7]
Since the office's inception, 31 people have served as lieutenant governor of Alabama. Of those, only two have served two terms or more. The first woman to hold the office, Lucy Baxley, served from 2003 to 2007.[7]
The lieutenant governor serves as president of the State Senate and assumes the office of governor in the event the gubernatorial office becomes vacant.[9] Senate rules empower the lieutenant governor to determine the composition of Senate committees and refer bills to committees of their choosing. As a result, the lieutenant governor typically exercises significant influence over the progress of legislation in the body.[7]
The state constitution does not provide any remedy in the event the lieutenant governor's office becomes vacant.[7] In such an instance, their role as the presiding officer of the State Senate is assumed by the Senate president pro tempore.[10]
No. | Lieutenant Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Governor[a] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Andrew J. Applegate (1833–1870) |
July 13, 1868 – August 21, 1870 (died in office) |
Republican | 1868 | William Hugh Smith | |||
— | Vacant | August 21, 1870 – November 26, 1870 |
— | ||||||
2 | ![]() |
Edward H. Moren (1825–1886) |
November 26, 1870 – November 17, 1872 (lost election) |
Democratic | 1870 | Robert B. Lindsay | |||
3 | ![]() |
Alexander McKinstry (1822–1879) |
November 17, 1872 – November 24, 1874 (lost election) |
Republican | 1872 | David P. Lewis | |||
4 | ![]() |
Robert F. Ligon (1823–1901) |
November 24, 1874 – November 28, 1876 (office abolished) |
Democratic | 1874 | George S. Houston | |||
— | Office did not exist from November 28, 1876, to January 19, 1903 | ||||||||
5 | ![]() |
Russell McWhortor Cunningham (1855–1921) |
January 19, 1903 – January 14, 1907 (lost nomination for governor) |
Democratic | 1902 [b] |
William D. Jelks | |||
6 | ![]() |
Henry B. Gray (1867–1919) |
January 14, 1907 – January 17, 1911 (did not run) |
Democratic | 1906 | B. B. Comer | |||
7 | ![]() |
Walter D. Seed Sr. (1864–1959) |
January 17, 1911 – January 18, 1915 (lost nomination for governor) |
Democratic | 1910 | Emmet O'Neal | |||
8 | ![]() |
Thomas Kilby (1865–1943) |
January 18, 1915 – January 20, 1919 |
Democratic | 1914 | Charles Henderson | |||
9 | ![]() |
Nathan Lee Miller (1866–1933) |
January 20, 1919 – January 15, 1923 |
Democratic | 1918 | Thomas Kilby | |||
10 | ![]() |
Charles S. McDowell (1871–1943) |
January 15, 1923 – January 17, 1927 |
Democratic | 1922 [c] |
William W. Brandon | |||
11 | ![]() |
William C. Davis (1867–1934) |
January 17, 1927 – January 19, 1931 |
Democratic | 1926 | Bibb Graves | |||
12 | ![]() |
Hugh Davis Merrill (1877–1954) |
January 19, 1931 – January 14, 1935 |
Democratic | 1930 | Benjamin M. Miller | |||
13 | ![]() |
Thomas E. Knight (1898–1937) |
January 14, 1935 – May 17, 1937 |
Democratic | 1934 [d] |
Bibb Graves | |||
— | Vacant | May 17, 1937 – January 17, 1939 |
— | ||||||
14 | ![]() |
Albert A. Carmichael (1895–1952) |
January 17, 1939 – January 19, 1943 |
Democratic | 1938 | Frank M. Dixon | |||
15 | ![]() |
Leven H. Ellis (1881–1968) |
January 19, 1943 – January 20, 1947 |
Democratic | 1942 | Chauncey Sparks | |||
16 | ![]() |
James C. Inzer (1887–1967) |
January 20, 1947 – January 15, 1951 |
Democratic | 1946 | Jim Folsom | |||
17 | ![]() |
James Allen (1912–1978) |
January 15, 1951 – January 17, 1955 |
Democratic | 1950 | Gordon Persons | |||
18 | ![]() |
William G. Hardwick (1910–1993) |
January 17, 1955 – January 19, 1959 |
Democratic | 1954 | Jim Folsom | |||
19 | ![]() |
Albert Boutwell (1904–1978) |
January 19, 1959 – January 14, 1963 |
Democratic | 1958 | John Malcolm Patterson | |||
20 | ![]() |
James Allen (1912–1978) |
January 14, 1963 – January 16, 1967 |
Democratic | 1962 | George Wallace | |||
21 | ![]() |
Albert Brewer (1928–2017) |
January 16, 1967 – May 7, 1968 |
Democratic | 1966 [e] |
Lurleen Wallace | |||
— | Vacant | May 7, 1968 – January 18, 1971 |
— | Albert Brewer | |||||
22 | Jere Beasley (b. 1935) |
January 18, 1971 – January 15, 1979 |
Democratic | 1970 [f] |
George Wallace | ||||
1974 | |||||||||
23 | ![]() |
George McMillan (b. 1943) |
January 16, 1979 – January 17, 1983 |
Democratic | 1978 | Fob James | |||
24 | ![]() |
Bill Baxley (b. 1941) |
January 17, 1983 – January 18, 1987 |
Democratic | 1982 | George Wallace | |||
25 | ![]() |
Jim Folsom Jr. (b. 1949) |
January 18, 1987 – April 22, 1993 |
Democratic | 1986 | H. Guy Hunt[g] | |||
1990 [h] | |||||||||
— | Vacant | April 22, 1993 – January 16, 1995 |
— | Jim Folsom Jr. | |||||
26 | ![]() |
Don Siegelman (b. 1946) |
January 16, 1995 – January 18, 1999 |
Democratic | 1994 | Fob James[g] | |||
27 | ![]() |
Steve Windom (b. 1949) |
January 18, 1999 – January 20, 2003 |
Republican | 1998 | Don Siegelman[i] | |||
28 | ![]() |
Lucy Baxley (1937–2016) |
January 20, 2003 – January 15, 2007 |
Democratic | 2002 | Bob Riley[g] | |||
29 | ![]() |
Jim Folsom Jr. (b. 1949) |
January 15, 2007 – January 17, 2011 |
Democratic | 2006 | ||||
30 | ![]() |
Kay Ivey (b. 1944) |
January 17, 2011 – April 10, 2017 |
Republican | 2010 | Robert J. Bentley | |||
2014 [j][k] | |||||||||
— | Vacant | April 10, 2017 – January 14, 2019 |
— | Kay Ivey | |||||
31 | ![]() |
Will Ainsworth (b. 1981) |
January 14, 2019 – Incumbent |
Republican | 2018 2022 |