List of governors of the United States Virgin Islands

Governor of Virgin Islands
Seal of the U.S. Virgin Islands
File:Governor Albert Bryan Jr..jpg Incumbent Albert Bryan since January 7, 2019
Style	Governor (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Type	Head of government
Residence	U.S. Virgin Islands Governor's Mansions
Term length	Four-year term, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands Elective Governor Acts of 1968
Formation	1917 (as Naval Governor) 1931 (as Civilian Governor) 1970 (as elected Governor)
First holder	Melvin Herbert Evans
Deputy	Tregenza Roach
Salary	$150,690
Website	www.vi.gov

The governor of the United States Virgin Islands is the head of government of the United States Virgin Islands whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Territory addresses to the Virgin Islands Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that territory public laws are enforced. The position was created through the passage of the Elective Governor Acts of 1968 which took effect in 1970. Melvin Herbert Evans was the first elected governor.

The following is a list of governors of the United States Virgin Islands. For governors of the territory that is now the U.S. Virgin Islands prior to United States administration (while it was ruled by Denmark as the Danish West Indies), see List of governors of the Danish West Indies.

Appointed governors (1917–1970)

Naval governors (1917–1931)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Appointed by
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
–		Captain Edwin Taylor Pollock (1870–1943) Acting	March 31, 1917	April 20, 1917		Woodrow Wilson
1		Rear Admiral James Harrison Oliver (1857–1928)	April 20, 1917	April 8, 1919		Woodrow Wilson
2		Rear Admiral Joseph Wallace Oman (1864–1941)	April 8, 1919	April 26, 1921		Woodrow Wilson
3	100px	Rear Admiral Sumner Ely Wetmore Kittelle (1867–1950)	April 26, 1921	September 16, 1922		Warren G. Harding
4	100px	Captain Henry Hughes Hough (1871–1943)	September 16, 1922	December 3, 1923		Warren G. Harding
5		Captain Philip Williams (1869–1942)	December 3, 1923	September 11, 1925		Calvin Coolidge
6	100px	Captain Martin Edward Trench (1869–1927)	September 12, 1925	January 6, 1927 †		Calvin Coolidge
7		Captain Waldo A. Evans (1869–1936)	January 19, 1927	March 18, 1931		Calvin Coolidge

Civilian governors (1931–1970)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Party		Appointed by
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	100px	Paul Martin Pearson (1871–1938)	March 18, 1931	July 23, 1935			Republican	Herbert Hoover
–		Robert Herrick (1868–1938) Acting	July 23, 1935	August 21, 1935			Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt
2	100px	Lawrence William Cramer (1897–1978)	August 21, 1935	December 14, 1940			Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt
–	100px	Robert Morss Lovett (1870–1956) Acting	December 14, 1940	February 3, 1941			Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt
3		Charles Harwood (1880–1950)	February 3, 1941	May 17, 1946			Democratic	Franklin D. Roosevelt
4	100px	William H. Hastie (1904–1976)	May 17, 1946	October 21, 1949			Democratic	Harry S. Truman
5	100px	Morris Fidanque de Castro (1902–1966)	October 21, 1949	March 4, 1950			Democratic	Harry S. Truman
			March 4, 1950	April 9, 1954
6	100px	Archie Alexander (1888–1958)	April 9, 1954	August 18, 1955			Republican	Dwight D. Eisenhower
–		Charles Kenneth Claunch (1899–1978) Acting	August 18, 1955	October 17, 1955			Republican	Dwight D. Eisenhower
7	100px	Walter A. Gordon (1894–1976)	October 17, 1955	September 25, 1958			Republican	Dwight D. Eisenhower
8		John David Merwin (1921–2013)	September 25, 1958	April 5, 1961			Republican	Dwight D. Eisenhower
9	100px	Ralph Moses Paiewonsky (1907–1991)	April 5, 1961	February 12, 1969			Democratic	John F. Kennedy
–		Cyril King (1921–1978) Acting	February 12, 1969	July 1, 1969			Independent Citizens Movement	Richard Nixon
10		Melvin H. Evans (1917–1984)	July 1, 1969	November 1, 1970			Republican	Richard Nixon

Elected governors (1970–present)

Parties

      Republican (1)       Independent Citizens Movement (1)       Democratic (4)       Independent (3)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Party		Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Melvin H. Evans (1917–1984)	November 1, 1970	January 6, 1975			Republican	1970
2	[1]	Cyril King (1921–1978)	January 6, 1975	January 2, 1978			Independent Citizens Movement	1974
3	100px	Juan Francisco Luis (1940–2011)	January 2, 1978	January 5, 1987			Independent Citizens Movement (until 1979)	1978 1982
							Independent (1979 onward)
4		Alexander Farrelly (1923–2002)	January 5, 1987	January 2, 1995			Democratic	1986 1990
5	100px	Roy Schneider (1939–2022)	January 2, 1995	January 4, 1999			Independent	1994
6	100px	Charles Wesley Turnbull (1935–2022)	January 4, 1999	January 1, 2007			Democratic	1998 2002
7	100px	John de Jongh (born 1957)	January 1, 2007	January 5, 2015			Democratic	2006 2010
8	100px	Kenneth Mapp (born 1955)	January 5, 2015	January 7, 2019			Independent	2014
9	100px	Albert Bryan (born 1968)	January 7, 2019	Incumbent			Democratic	2018 2022

Succession

Main article: Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States § U.S. Virgin Islands

External links

• Office of the Governor
• National Governors Association: Former Virgin Islands Governors