List of Governors of Maryland

List Of Governors Of Maryland

The following is a list of the Governors of Maryland from independence to the present day. The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Maryland and is commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. He or she is the highest ranking official in the state, and the constitutional powers of Maryland's Governors make them among the most powerful in the United States.

Since the American Revolution, Maryland has had a number of state constitutions that have specified different terms of office and methods of selection of its Governors. Under the constitution of 1776, the Governors were appointed by the legislature to one year terms. An 1838 constitutional amendment allowed the direct election of Governors to three-year terms, although the Governors came from rotating election districts. The terms were lengthened to four years in the 1851 Constitution and the election districts were abolished in the 1864 version.