Governor of Virginia
At the beginning of every regular session, they must report the state of the Commonwealth to the Virginia General Assembly (both the House of Delegates and the Senate).[4] The position of Governor of Virginia dates back to the 1607 first permanent English settlement in America, at Jamestown on the north shore of the James River upstream from Hampton Roads harbor at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.Edward Maria Wingfield was the first president of the council in residence in the new province, making him the first to exercise the actual authority of governing Virginia.The Virginia Company soon abandoned governance by council two years after the landing on May 23, 1609, and replacing it with a governor, John Smith (1580–1631).Virginia became an independent sovereign state and Commonwealth during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), with Patrick Henry (1736–1799, served 1776–1779 and 1786–1789) as its first governor (and also later sixth).In 1874, Virginia regained its right to self-governance and elected James L. Kemper (1823–1895), a Democrat and temporary Conservative Party member and former Confederate general as governor.However, in 1881 William E. Cameron was elected governor under the banner of the Readjuster Party, a coalition of Republicans and populist Democrats.
Commonwealth sealState flagGlenn YoungkinGovernment of VirginiaGovernorHead of stateHead of governmentResidenceVirginia Executive MansionTerm lengthPatrick HenryLieutenant Governor of VirginiaVirginiaVirginia Constitutioncitizen of the United StatesWilliam SmithMills Godwinseceded from the UnionJames MonroeGeorge William SmithVirginia Militiaspecial sessionsline-item vetoConstitution of VirginiaLieutenant GovernorWinsome SearsAttorney GeneralJason MiyaresSpeaker of the House of DelegatesDon ScottGovernor's PalaceWilliamsburg, VirginiaEnglishAmericaJamestownJames RiverHampton RoadsChesapeake BayVirginia Company of LondonLondonEdward Maria WingfieldJohn SmithKing James IHouse of Stuartcrown colonyEnglish Civil WarProtectorateRichard CromwellOliver CromwellCommonwealth of EnglandEnglish RestorationCharles IIExecutive Mansion of Virginia (Governor's Mansion)RichmondVirginia State Capitolsouthern ConfederacyAmerican Civil WarCommonwealthAmerican Revolutionary WarRevolutionGeneral Assembly of Virginiacommonwealth/state legislatureFrancis Harrison PierpontWest VirginiaReconstruction eraPresidentU.S. CongressRadical RepublicansJames L. KemperDemocratConservative PartyConfederateRepublicanA. Linwood Holton Jr.William E. CameronReadjuster PartypopulistDouglas WilderAfrican Americanoff-yearsmidterm-electionBill ClintonGeorge W. BushTerry McAuliffeBarack ObamaTim KaineWilliamsburgExcellencyList of colonial governors of VirginiaList of governors of VirginiaVirginia Governor's CouncilColony of VirginiaVirginia CompanyWingfieldRatcliffeScrivenerT. West (De La Warr)YeardleyArgallF. WestHarveyJ. WestBerkeleyJeffreysBennettDiggesMathewsColepeperChicheleyHoward of EffinghamAndrosNicholsonJeningsHunterOrkneySpotswoodDrysdale"King" CarterAlbemarleDinwiddieLoudounFauquierAmherstBotetourtW. NelsonDunmore