List of Governors of Oregon

The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The current Governor of Oregon is Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat.

The term governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments.

Governors of the State of Oregon (1859-Present)


# Name Party Term
1 John Whiteaker Democratic 1859–1862
2 A. C. Gibbs Republican 1862–1866
3 George L. Woods Republican 1866–1870
4 La Fayette Grover Democratic 1870–1877
5 Stephen F. Chadwick Democratic 1877–1878
6 W. W. Thayer Democratic 1878–1882
7 Z. F. Moody Republican 1882–1887
8 Sylvester Pennoyer Democratic-Populist 1887–1895
9 William Paine Lord Republican 1895–1899
10 T. T. Geer Republican 1899–1903
11 George E. Chamberlain Democratic 1903–1909
12 Frank W. Benson Republican 1909–1910
13 Jay Bowerman Republican 1910–1911
14 Oswald West Democratic 1911–1915
15 James Withycombe Republican 1915–1919
16 Ben W. Olcott Republican 1919–1923
17 Walter M. Pierce Democratic 1923–1927
18 I. L. Patterson Republican 1927–1929
19 A. W. Norblad Republican 1929–1931
20 Julius L. Meier Independent 1931–1935
21 Charles H. Martin Democratic 1935–1939
22 Charles A. Sprague Republican 1939–1943
23 Earl Snell Republican 1943–1947
24 John H. Hall Republican 1947–1949
25 Douglas McKay Republican 1949–1952
26 Paul L. Patterson Republican 1952–1956
27 Elmo Smith Republican 1956–1957
28 Robert D. Holmes Democratic 1957–1959
29 Mark Hatfield Republican 1959–1967
30 Tom McCall Republican 1967–1975
31 Robert W. Straub Democratic 1975–1979
32 Victor G. Atiyeh Republican 1979–1987
33 Neil Goldschmidt Democratic 1987–1991
34 Barbara Roberts Democratic 1991–1995
35 John Kitzhaber Democratic 1995–2003
36 Ted Kulongoski Democratic 2003—

Governors of the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory (1843-1848)

Meetings at Champoeg led up to the first constitution of Oregon, and a petition for U.S. territorial status. The resulting acts also created this body as a provisional government for the territory. The first executives of this government were a three-person, elected committee known as the Executive Committee. In 1845, elections for a chief executive were held.


# Name Term
1 First Executive Committee 1843–1844
2 Second Executive Committee 1844–1845
3 George Abernethy 1845–1848

Governors of the U.S. Oregon Territory (1848-1859)

Oregon became a U.S. Territory in 1848. Like most other U.S. territorial governments, Oregon's territorial governor was appointed by the President of the United States. As transportation and communications were not as reliable and fast as today's methods, there were times when a departing governor left office, but a new governor could not yet take over. This resulted in several local individuals acting as territorial governor until the new executive was appointed and arrived to take office.


# Name Party Term Appointed By
1 Joseph Lane Democratic 1848–1850 James Polk
2 Kintzing Prichette Democratic 1850 Acting Governor
3 John P. Gaines Whig 1850–1853 Zachary Taylor
4 Joseph Lane Democratic 1853 Acting Governor
5 George Law Curry Democratic 1853 Acting Governor
6 John W. Davis Democratic 1853–1854 Franklin Pierce
7 George Law Curry Democratic 1854–1859 Franklin Pierce
de:Liste der Gouverneure von Oregon