| Governor | Took office | Left office | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson | March 10, 1821 | December 31, 1821 | James Monroe |
Florida Territory was organized on March 30, 1822, combining East and West Florida
| Governor | Took office | Left office | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Pope Duval | April 17, 1822 | April 24, 1834 | James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson |
| John Eaton | April 24, 1834 | March 16, 1836 | Andrew Jackson |
| Richard K. Call | March 16, 1836 | December 2, 1839 | Andrew Jackson |
| Robert R. Reid | December 2, 1839 | March 19, 1841 | Martin Van Buren |
| Richard K. Call | March 19, 1841 | August 11, 1844 | William Henry Harrison John Tyler |
| John Branch | August 11, 1844 | June 25, 1845 | John Tyler |
Governors of the State of Florida The State of Florida was admitted to the Union on March 3, 1845. It seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861, as a founding member; there was no Union government in exile, so there was a single line of governors. Following the end of the American Civil War, it was part of the Third Military District. Florida was readmitted to the Union on June 25, 1868. The first Florida Constitution, ratified in 1838, provided that a governor be elected every four years, who was not allowed to serve consecutive terms. The secessionist constitution of 1861 would have reduced this to two years and removed the term limit, but the state fell to the Union before the first election under that constitution. The rejected constitution of 1865 and the ratified constitution of 1868 maintained the four-year term, though without the earlier term limit, which was reintroduced in the 1885 constitution. The current constitution of 1968 states that should the governor serve, or would have served had they not resigned, more than six years in two consecutive terms, he cannot be elected to the succeeding term. The start of a term was set in 1885 at the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the January following the election, where it has remained. Originally, the president of the state senate acted as governor should that office be vacant. The 1865 and 1868 constitutions created the office of lieutenant governor, who would similarly act as governor. This office was abolished in 1885, with the president of the senate again taking on that duty. The 1968 constitution recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who now becomes governor in the absence of the governor.The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket. Florida was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War, electing only candidates from the Democratic and Whig parties. It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 78 years passed before voters chose another Republican. Democratic (34) Whig (1) Provisional (1) Republican (7) Prohibition (1)
| Governor | Term start | Term end | Party | Lt. Governor | Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Dunn Moseley | June 25, 1845 | October 1, 1849 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Thomas Brown | October 1, 1849 | October 3, 1853 | Whig | None | 1 |
| James E. Broome | October 3, 1853 | October 5, 1857 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Madison Starke Perry | October 5, 1857 | October 7, 1861 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| John Milton | October 7, 1861 | April 1, 1865 | Democratic | None | 1/2 |
| Abraham K. Allison | April 1, 1865 | May 19, 1865 | Democratic | None | 1/2 |
| William Marvin | July 13, 1865 | December 20, 1865 | Provisional | None | |
| David S. Walker | December 20, 1865 | July 4, 1868 | Democratic | William W. J. Kelly | |
| Harrison Reed | July 4, 1868 | January 7, 1873 | Republican |
William Henry Gleason Edmund C. Weeks Samuel T. Day |
1 |
| Ossian B. Hart | January 7, 1873 | March 18, 1874 | Republican | Marcellus Stearns | 1/2 |
| Marcellus Stearns | March 18, 1874 | January 2, 1877 | Republican | Vacant | 1/2 |
| George Franklin Drew | January 2, 1877 | January 4, 1881 | Democratic | Noble A. Hull | 1 |
| William D. Bloxham | January 4, 1881 | January 7, 1885 | Democratic | Livingston W. Bethel | 1 |
| Edward A. Perry | January 7, 1885 | January 8, 1889 | Democratic | Milton H. Mabry | 1 |
| Francis P. Fleming | January 8, 1889 | January 3, 1893 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Henry L. Mitchell | January 3, 1893 | January 5, 1897 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| William D. Bloxham | January 5, 1897 | January 8, 1901 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| William Sherman Jennings | January 8, 1901 | January 3, 1905 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Napoleon B. Broward | January 3, 1905 | January 5, 1909 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Albert W. Gilchrist | January 5, 1909 | January 7, 1913 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Park Trammell | January 7, 1913 | January 2, 1917 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Sidney Johnston Catts | January 2, 1917 | January 4, 1921 | Prohibition | None | 1 |
| Cary A. Hardee | January 4, 1921 | January 6, 1925 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| John W. Martin | January 6, 1925 | January 8, 1929 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Doyle E. Carlton | January 8, 1929 | January 3, 1933 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| David Sholtz | January 3, 1933 | January 5, 1937 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Fred P. Cone | January 5, 1937 | January 7, 1941 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Spessard Holland | January 7, 1941 | January 2, 1945 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Millard F. Caldwell | January 2, 1945 | January 4, 1949 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Fuller Warren | January 4, 1949 | January 6, 1953 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Daniel T. McCarty | January 6, 1953 | September 28, 1953 | Democratic | None | 1/3 |
| Charley Eugene Johns | September 28, 1953 | January 4, 1955 | Democratic | None | 1/3 |
| LeRoy Collins | January 4, 1955 | January 3, 1961 | Democratic | None | 1/3+1 |
| C. Farris Bryant | January 3, 1961 | January 5, 1965 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| W. Haydon Burns | January 5, 1965 | January 3, 1967 | Democratic | None | 1 |
| Claude R. Kirk, Jr. | January 3, 1967 | January 5, 1971 | Republican | None Ray C. Osborne |
1 |
| Reubin Askew | January 5, 1971 | January 2, 1979 | Democratic |
Thomas Burton Adams, Jr. Jim Williams |
2 |
| Bob Graham | January 2, 1979 | January 3, 1987 | Democratic | Wayne Mixson | 11/2 |
| Wayne Mixson | January 3, 1987 | January 6, 1987 | Democratic | Vacant | 1/2 |
| Bob Martinez | January 6, 1987 | January 8, 1991 | Republican | Bobby Brantley | 1 |
| Lawton Chiles | January 8, 1991 | December 12, 1998 | Democratic | Buddy MacKay | 11/2 |
| Buddy MacKay | December 12, 1998 | January 5, 1999 | Democratic | Vacant | 1/2 |
| Jeb Bush | January 5, 1999 | January 2, 2007 | Republican |
Frank Brogan Toni Jennings |
2 |
| Charlie Crist | January 2, 2007 | January 4, 2011 | Independant | Jeff Kottkamp | 1 |
Fourteen of Florida's governors have served higher federal offices, including one President of the United States, two U.S. Cabinet secretaries, and one ambassador. One served as Governor of North Carolina, and all fourteen were elected to the U.S. Congress, though only nine represented Florida, and only seven actually took their seats. One died before taking office, and the other was refused his seat by the U.S. Senate shortly after the American Civil War, because Florida had not yet been reconstructed. One governor (marked with *) resigned to take his seat in the Senate.
| Governor | Gubernatorial Term | Other offices held |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Jackson | 1821 (military) |
U.S. Representative and Senator from Tennessee President of the United States |
| William Pope Duval | 1822–1834 (territorial) | U.S. Representative from Kentucky |
| John Eaton | 1834–1836 (territorial) |
U.S. Senator from Tennessee Minister to Spain, U.S. Secretary of War |
| Richard K. Call | 1836–1839, 1841–1844 (territorial) | Territorial Delegate from Florida Territory |
| Robert R. Reid | 1839–1841 (territorial) |
U.S. Representative from Florida U.S. Representative from Georgia |
| John Branch | 1844–1845 (territorial) |
U.S. Representative and Senator from North Carolina Governor of North Carolina U.S. Secretary of the Navy |
| William Marvin | 1865 | Elected to the U.S. Senate but was refused seat |
| Napoleon B. Broward | 1905–1909 | Elected to the U.S. Senate but died before taking office |
| Park Trammell | 1913–1917 | U.S. Senator from Florida |
| Spessard Holland | 1941–1945 | U.S. Senator from Florida |
| Millard F. Caldwell | 1945–1949 | U.S. Representative from Florida |
| Bob Graham* | 1979–1987 | U.S. Senator from Florida |
| Lawton Chiles | 1991–1998 | U.S. Senator from Florida |
| Buddy MacKay | 1998–1999 | U.S. Representative from Florida |