List of governors of Tennessee

The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee.

Tennessee has had 50 governors, including the incumbent, Bill Lee. Seven governors (John Sevier, William Carroll, Andrew Johnson, Robert Love Taylor, Gordon Browning, Frank G. Clement, and Buford Ellington) have served non-consecutive terms. This tally does not include William Blount (the territorial governor) or Robert L. Caruthers (who never took office), though the Blue Book includes them in its list of governors. All governors are counted only once, regardless of number of terms served (e.g., John Sevier is considered the 1st governor, rather than the 1st and 3rd governor). The Blue Book does not include Edward H. East in its list of governors.

Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the Ohio River, commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was organized on May 26, 1790.

Throughout its 6-year history, Southwest Territory had only one governor appointed by the federal government, William Blount.

State of Tennessee
Southwest Territory was admitted to the Union as Tennessee on June 1, 1796.

The first constitution of Tennessee, 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.