From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Governor of North Carolina is the top
executive of the government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Bev Perdue, the current governor, is North Carolina's
first female governor.
Powers
Among other responsibilities, the governor heads the Council of State. The
Governor of North Carolina was the last state chief executive to
receive veto power; the Governor
did not have this power until 1996. The Governor of North Carolina
has extensive powers of appointment of executive branch officials,
some judges, and members of boards and commissions. Nevertheless,
the office has a lower-than-average amount of institutional power
compared to governors in other states, according to a 2007
study.[1]
History
Originally, under the first North Carolina
Constitution, the office was very weak, and was elected by the
legislature (the North Carolina General
Assembly) for a one-year term. Edward B. Dudley
became the first governor elected by the people in 1836. Governors
served two-year terms from 1836 until a new constitution was
adopted in 1868; since then, all governors are elected for
four-year terms.
Well into the twentieth century, the North Carolina state
constitution made the state's governor one of the weakest in the
nation.[2] Until
an amendment was added to the state constitution in 1971, North
Carolina Governors could only serve a single four-year term and
could not run for re-election. After the amendment was passed, in
1980 James B. Hunt became
the first governor in state history to be re-elected to a second
term. Governors are still limited to only two consecutive four-year
terms, but they may run for further non-consecutive terms. Governor
Hunt did just that, winning election to a third and fourth term in
1992 and 1996 after being out of the office for the eight years
between 1984 and 1992. The Lieutenant
Governor is also limited to two consecutive four-year terms.
North Carolina was also the last state in the Union to give its
governors veto power over legislation, this was not
added to the state constitution until a referendum in 1996[3]. Much
of North Carolina's traditional resistance to strong executive
power came from the harsh treatment the state suffered from British
Royal Governors in the colonial period before the American
Revolution. After the state gained its independence from
Britain, the state constitution deliberately weakened the executive
branch of state government and strengthened the legislative branch.
Since the end of Reconstruction
in the 1870s the overwhelming majority of the state's governors
have been Democrats. The only Republican to be elected Governor
between 1876 and 1972 was Daniel L.
Russell, who served from 1897-1901. As Republican strength grew
in North Carolina in the 1950s and 1960's the state's gubernatorial
elections became increasingly competitive, and in 1972 James
Holshouser became the state's first Republican governor of the
twentieth century. Even so, Republicans have still had difficulty
in winning gubernatorial elections in North Carolina, and the
office has usually remained in Democratic hands.
The Governor lives in the North Carolina Executive
Mansion, a Queen Anne style Victorian house in
downtown Raleigh, which was completed in
1891.[4] His or
her principal office is located in the North Carolina State
Capitol.
List of Governors,
1776-present
Notes
- ^
Stateline.org
- ^
Charlotte Observer column by
Jack Betts, September 2007
- ^
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/LDD/
- ^
State Capitol / Visitor
Services: North Carolina Office of Archives & History
- ^
Son of a previous governor, Samuel Ashe; elected by the
legislature, but died before taking office.
See also
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