List of governors of South Carolina

The Governor of the State of South Carolina is the head of state for the state of South Carolina. Under the South Carolina Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the South Carolina executive branch.

Governor of South Carolina
Seal of the Governor
Incumbent Henry McMaster since January 24, 2017
Style	His Excellency
Residence	South Carolina Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively; afterwards, the officeholder must sit out for one term before being eligible again
Inaugural holder	John Rutledge (as State, 1776) William Sayle (as Colony, 1670)
Formation	Constitution of South Carolina
Salary	$106,078 (2013)
Website	www.governor.sc.gov

Outer part of the governor's office in the South Carolina State House in Columbia

The governor is the ex officio commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal use. The governor's responsibilities include making yearly "State of the State" addresses to the South Carolina General Assembly, submitting an executive budget and ensuring that state laws are enforced.

Henry McMaster is the Governor of South Carolina since January 2017.

The only female governor in South Carolina is Nikki Haley.

This is a list of South Carolina governors.

Colonial period (1670–1775)

Further information: List of colonial governors of South Carolina

Statehood period (1776–present)

Presidents under the Articles of Confederation

The General Assembly chose the President for a term of two years.

Parties

  No party

#	President		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
31		John Rutledge	March 26, 1776	March 5, 1778	Henry Laurens	No party	1st time, Resigned
32		Rawlins Lowndes	March 6, 1778	January 9, 1779	James Parsons	No party	British prisoner during Revolutionary War

Governors under the Articles of Confederation

The General Assembly chose the Governor for a term of two years.

Parties

  No party

#	Governor		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
		John Rutledge	January 9, 1779	January 31, 1782	Thomas Bee Christopher Gadsden	No party	2nd time
33		John Mathews	January 31, 1782	February 4, 1783	Richard Hutson	No party
34		Benjamin Guerard	February 4, 1783	February 11, 1785	Richard Beresford William Moultrie William Moultrie	No party
35		William Moultrie	February 11, 1785	February 20, 1787	Charles Drayton	No party	1st time
36		Thomas Pinckney	February 20, 1787	January 26, 1789	Thomas Gadsden	Federalist
37		Charles Pinckney	January 26, 1789	December 5, 1792	Alexander Gillon	Federalist	1st time

Governors under the Constitution of 1790

The General Assembly chose the Governor for a term of two years.

Parties

  Democratic   Federalist   Democratic-Republican

#	Governor		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
		William Moultrie	December 5, 1792	December 17, 1794	James Ladson	Federalist	2nd time
38		Arnoldus Vanderhorst	December 17, 1794	December 8, 1796	Lewis Morris	Federalist
		Charles Pinckney	December 8, 1796	December 18, 1798	Robert Anderson	Democratic-Republican	2nd time
39		Edward Rutledge	December 18, 1798	January 23, 1800	John Drayton	Federalist	Died in office
40		John Drayton	January 23, 1800	December 8, 1802	Richard Winn	Democratic-Republican	1st time
41		James Burchill Richardson	December 8, 1802	December 7, 1804	Ezekiel Pickens	Democratic-Republican
42		Paul Hamilton	December 7, 1804	December 9, 1806	Thomas Sumter, Jr.	Democratic-Republican
		Charles Pinckney	December 9, 1806	December 10, 1808	John Hopkins	Democratic-Republican	3rd time
		John Drayton	December 10, 1808	December 8, 1810	Frederick Nance	Democratic-Republican	2nd time
43		Henry Middleton	December 8, 1810	December 10, 1812	Samuel Farrow	Democratic-Republican
44		Joseph Alston	December 10, 1812	December 10, 1814	Eldred Simkins	Democratic-Republican
45		David Rogerson Williams	December 10, 1814	December 5, 1816	Robert Creswell	Democratic-Republican
46		Andrew Pickens	December 5, 1816	December 8, 1818	John A. Cuthbert	Democratic-Republican
47		John Geddes	December 8, 1818	December 7, 1820	William Youngblood	Democratic-Republican
48		Thomas Bennett, Jr.	December 7, 1820	December 7, 1822	William Pinckney	Democratic-Republican
49		John Lyde Wilson	December 7, 1822	December 3, 1824	Henry Bradley	Democratic-Republican
50		Richard Irvine Manning I	December 3, 1824	December 9, 1826	William Bull	Democratic-Republican
51		John Taylor	December 9, 1826	December 10, 1828	James Witherspoon	Democratic-Republican
52		Stephen Decatur Miller	December 10, 1828	December 9, 1830	Thomas Williams	Democratic (Nullifier)
53		James Hamilton, Jr.	December 9, 1830	December 10, 1832	Patrick Noble	Democratic (Nullifier)
54		Robert Young Hayne	December 10, 1832	December 9, 1834	Charles Cotesworth Pinckney	Democratic (Nullifier)
55		George McDuffie	December 9, 1834	December 10, 1836	Whitemarsh B. Seabrook	Democratic
56		Pierce Mason Butler	December 10, 1836	December 7, 1838	William DuBose	Democratic
57		Patrick Noble	December 7, 1838	April 7, 1840	Barnabas Kelet Henagan	Democratic	Died in office
58		Barnabas Kelet Henagan	April 7, 1840	December 9, 1840	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
59		John Peter Richardson II	December 9, 1840	December 8, 1842	William K. Clowney	Democratic
60		James Henry Hammond	December 8, 1842	December 7, 1844	Isaac D. Witherspoon	Democratic
61		William Aiken, Jr.	December 7, 1844	December 8, 1846	J.F. Ervin	Democratic
62		David Johnson	December 8, 1846	December 12, 1848	William Cain	Democratic
63		Whitemarsh B. Seabrook	December 12, 1848	December 13, 1850	William Henry Gist	Democratic
64		John Hugh Means	December 13, 1850	December 9, 1852	Joshua John Ward	Democratic
65		John Lawrence Manning	December 9, 1852	December 11, 1854	James Irby	Democratic
66		James Hopkins Adams	December 11, 1854	December 9, 1856	Richard de Treville	Democratic
67		Robert F.W. Allston	December 9, 1856	December 10, 1858	Gabriel Cannon	Democratic
68		William Henry Gist	December 10, 1858	December 14, 1860	M. E. Carn	Democratic
69		Francis Wilkinson Pickens	December 14, 1860	December 17, 1862	W.W. Harllee	Democratic
70		Milledge Luke Bonham	December 17, 1862	December 18, 1864	Plowden Weston	Democratic
71		Andrew Gordon Magrath	December 18, 1864	May 25, 1865	Robert McCaw	Democratic	Deposed by the Union Army
72		Benjamin Franklin Perry	June 30, 1865	November 29, 1865	vacant	Unionist Democrat	Appointed by President Andrew Johnson

Governors under the Constitution of 1865

First Constitution of South Carolina to provide for the direct election of the Governor.

Parties

  No party

#	Governor		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
73		James Lawrence Orr	November 29, 1865	July 6, 1868	W.D. Porter	No party (Democratic)	1st popularly elected Governor

Governors under the Constitution of 1868

Parties

  Democratic   Republican

#	Governor		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
74		Robert Kingston Scott	July 6, 1868	December 7, 1872	Lemuel Boozer Alonzo J. Ransier	Republican
75		Franklin J. Moses, Jr.	December 7, 1872	December 1, 1874	Richard Howell Gleaves	Republican
76		Daniel Henry Chamberlain	December 1, 1874	December 14, 1876	Richard Howell Gleaves	Republican	Claimed Governorship after 1876 election
77		Wade Hampton III	December 14, 1876	February 26, 1879	William Dunlap Simpson	Democratic	Resigned
78		William Dunlap Simpson	February 26, 1879	September 1, 1880	John D. Kennedy	Democratic	Not elected
79		Thomas Bothwell Jeter	September 1, 1880	November 30, 1880	vacant	Democratic
80		Johnson Hagood	November 30, 1880	December 1, 1882	John D. Kennedy	Democratic
81		Hugh Smith Thompson	December 1, 1882	July 10, 1886	John Calhoun Sheppard	Democratic	Resigned
82		John Calhoun Sheppard	July 10, 1886	November 30, 1886	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
83		John Peter Richardson III	November 30, 1886	December 4, 1890	William Mauldin	Democratic
84		Benjamin Ryan Tillman	December 4, 1890	December 4, 1894	Eugene Gary W.H. Timmerman	Democratic
85		John Gary Evans	December 4, 1894	January 18, 1897	W.H. Timmerman	Democratic

Governors under the Constitution of 1895

Parties

  Democratic (27)   Republican (6)

#	Governor		Took Office	Left Office	Lt. Governor	Party	Notes
86		William Haselden Ellerbe	January 18, 1897	June 2, 1899	Miles Benjamin McSweeney	Democratic	Died in office
87		Miles Benjamin McSweeney	June 2, 1899	January 20, 1903	Robert B. Scarborough	Democratic
88		Duncan Clinch Heyward	January 20, 1903	January 15, 1907	James Tillman John Sloan	Democratic
89		Martin Frederick Ansel	January 15, 1907	January 17, 1911	Thomas Gordon McLeod	Democratic
90		Coleman Livingston Blease	January 17, 1911	January 14, 1915	Charles Aurelius Smith	Democratic	Resigned
91		Charles Aurelius Smith	January 14, 1915	January 19, 1915	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
92		Richard Irvine Manning III	January 19, 1915	January 21, 1919	Andrew Bethea	Democratic
93		Robert Archer Cooper	January 21, 1919	May 20, 1922	J.T. Liles Wilson Godfrey Harvey	Democratic	Resigned
94		Wilson Godfrey Harvey	May 20, 1922	January 16, 1923	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
95		Thomas Gordon McLeod	January 16, 1923	January 18, 1927	E.B. Jackson	Democratic
96		John Gardiner Richards, Jr.	January 18, 1927	January 20, 1931	Thomas Bothwell Butler	Democratic	1st to be elected to a four-year term
97		Ibra Charles Blackwood	January 20, 1931	January 15, 1935	James Sheppard	Democratic
98		Olin D. Johnston	January 15, 1935	January 17, 1939	Joseph Emile Harley	Democratic	1st time
99		Burnet R. Maybank	January 17, 1939	November 4, 1941	Joseph Emile Harley	Democratic	Resigned
100		Joseph Emile Harley	November 4, 1941	February 27, 1942	vacant	Democratic	Not elected, Died in office
101		Richard Manning Jefferies	February 27, 1942	January 19, 1943	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
98		Olin D. Johnston	January 19, 1943	January 2, 1945	Ransome Judson Williams	Democratic	2nd time, Resigned
102		Ransome Judson Williams	January 2, 1945	January 21, 1947	vacant	Democratic	Not elected
103		Strom Thurmond	January 21, 1947	January 16, 1951	George Bell Timmerman, Jr.	Democratic
104		James Francis Byrnes	January 16, 1951	January 18, 1955	George Bell Timmerman, Jr.	Democratic
105		George Bell Timmerman, Jr.	January 18, 1955	January 20, 1959	Ernest Hollings	Democratic
106		Ernest Hollings	January 20, 1959	January 15, 1963	Burnet R. Maybank Jr.	Democratic
107		Donald Stuart Russell	January 15, 1963	April 22, 1965	Robert Evander McNair	Democratic	Resigned
108		Robert Evander McNair	April 22, 1965	January 19, 1971	vacant John C. West	Democratic
109		John C. West	January 19, 1971	January 21, 1975	Earle Morris, Jr.	Democratic
110		James B. Edwards	January 21, 1975	January 10, 1979	W. Brantley Harvey, Jr.	Republican
111		Richard Riley	January 10, 1979	January 14, 1987	Nancy Stevenson Michael R. Daniel	Democratic	1st elected to two consecutive four-year terms
112		Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.	January 14, 1987	January 11, 1995	Nick Theodore (Democratic)	Republican
113		David Beasley	January 11, 1995	January 13, 1999	Bob Peeler	Republican
114		Jim Hodges	January 13, 1999	January 15, 2003	Bob Peeler	Democratic
115		Mark Sanford	January 15, 2003	January 12, 2011	André Bauer	Republican
116		Nikki Haley	January 12, 2011	January 24, 2017	Ken Ard Glenn F. McConnell J. Yancey McGill (Democratic) Henry McMaster	Republican	Resigned to become UN Ambassador
117		Henry McMaster	January 24, 2017	Incumbent	Kevin L. Bryant	Republican

Number of Governors by Party
Colonial Governors	30
No party	6
Federalist	4
Democratic-Republican	13
Democratic	55
Republican	9

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, other governorships, and other high offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented South Carolina except where noted. *denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
		House	Senate
John Rutledge	1776–1778 1779–1782			Delegate to Philadelphia Convention and signer of the United States Constitution; Associate and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Thomas Pinckney	1787–1789	H		United States Minister to Great Britain
Charles Pinckney	1789–1792 1796–1798 1806–1808	H	S	Delegate to Philadelphia Convention and signer of the United States Constitution; United States Minister to Spain
Paul Hamilton	1804–1806			United States Secretary of the Navy
Henry Middleton	1810–1812	H		United States Minister to Russia
David Rogerson Williams	1814–1816	H
Richard Irvine Manning I	1824–1826	H
John Taylor	1826–1828	H	S
Stephen Decatur Miller	1828–1830	H	S
James Hamilton, Jr.	1830–1832	H
Robert Y. Hayne	1832–1834		S
George McDuffie	1834–1836	H	S
John Peter Richardson II	1840–1842	H
James Henry Hammond	1842–1844	H	S
William Aiken, Jr.	1844–1846	H
Francis Wilkinson Pickens	1860–1862	H		United States Minister to Russia
Milledge Luke Bonham	1862–1864	H		Confederate Representative
James Lawrence Orr	1865–1868	H		Confederate Senator; United States Minister to Russia; Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Wade Hampton III	1877–1879		S*	United States Railroad Commissioner
William Dunlap Simpson	1879–1880			Confederate Representative
Hugh Smith Thompson	1882–1886			United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury*; United States Civil Service Commissioner
Benjamin Tillman	1890–1894		S
Coleman Livingston Blease	1911–1915		S
Olin D. Johnston	1935–1939 1943–1945		S*
Burnet R. Maybank	1939–1941		S*
Strom Thurmond	1947–1951		S
James F. Byrnes	1951–1955	H	S	Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; United States Secretary of State
Ernest Hollings	1959–1963		S	United States Senate 1966-2005
Donald S. Russell	1963–1965		S*
John C. West	1971–1975			United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
James B. Edwards	1975–1979			United States Secretary of Energy
Richard Riley	1979–1987			United States Secretary of Education
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.	1987–1995	H
David Beasley	1995-1999			Executive Director of the World Food Programme
Mark Sanford	2003–2011	H
Nikki Haley	2011–2017			United States Ambassador to the United Nations*

Living former U.S. governors of South Carolina

As of January 2017, there are six former U.S. governors of South Carolina who are currently living at this time, the oldest U.S. governor of South Carolina being Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (served 1959–1963, born 1922). The most recent U.S. governor of South Carolina to die was James Burrows Edwards (served 1975–1979, born 1927), on December 26, 2014. The most recently serving governor to die was Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. (served 1987–1995, born 1940) on December 7, 2005.

Governor	Party	Gubernatorial term	Birth
Ernest "Fritz" Hollings	Democratic	1959–1963	(1922-01-01) January 1, 1922
Richard Riley	Democratic	1979–1987	(1933-01-02) January 2, 1933
David Beasley	Republican	1995–1999	(1957-02-26) February 26, 1957
Jim Hodges	Democratic	1999–2003	(1956-11-19) November 19, 1956
Mark Sanford	Republican	2003–2011	(1960-05-28) May 28, 1960
Nikki Haley	Republican	2011–2017	(1972-01-20) January 20, 1972

Related pages

• Governor of South Carolina
• List of lieutenant governors of South Carolina