The Office of
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana is the second highest state office in
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The current Lieutenant Governor is
Jay DardenneJohn Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
, a
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He was elected in a special election on November 2, 2010 to replace
Mitch LandrieuMitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
, who
was electedThe New Orleans mayoral election of 2010 is an election for Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. The first round of voting took place on December 9 through December 11, 2009, and the election occurred on February 6, 2010...
to the office of Mayor of New Orleans on February 6, 2010 and resigned as Lieutenant Governor to assume the mayoral office on May 3, 2010. As prescribed in the
Louisiana ConstitutionThe Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
, Governor
Bobby JindalPiyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
had appointed Scott Angelle to serve as the interim Lieutenant Governor until the special election could be held.
Paul J. Hardy, who served from 1988 to 1992, was the first
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in the position after the Reconstruction Era.
History
The office was first hatched by the Louisiana Constitution of 1845. Prior to that, the successor to the Governor in the event of his death or resignation was the President of the Louisiana Senate. A number of State Senate Presidents succeeded Governors before the 1845 Constitution was adopted, including
Henry S. ThibodauxHenry Schuyler Thibodaux was the fourth Governor of Louisiana briefly. Born in Albany, New York the son of Alexis Thibodeaux of Canada, he was orphaned and adopted by General Philip Schuyler - American Revolutionary War hero and father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton...
,
Armand BeauvaisArmand Julie Beauvais was a Justice of the Peace, a Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, President of the Louisiana Senate and the seventh Governor of Louisiana.He was born September 6, 1783 in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana...
and
Jacques DupreJacques Dupré was a Louisiana State Representative, State Senator and the eighth Governor.Born in New Orleans the eldest son of Laurent Dupré de Terrebonne and Marie Josephine Fontenot, Dupré grew up in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana...
.
The Lieutenant Governor presided over the Louisiana Senate from 1845 until the adoption of the
Louisiana Constitution of 1974The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
. Today, the Lieutenant Governor exercises powers delegated to him by the
Governor as provided by law. [He] also serves as governor in the event of a vacancy in the office, if the Governor is unable to act as governor, or is out of state. Under the constitution, the Lieutenant Governor no longer serves as ex-officio president of the Senate, but he is made an ex-officio member of each committee, board and commission on which the Governor serves. (Louisiana Constitution Article IV, Section 6) Additionally, the Lieutenant Governor serves as Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.
1846-1860
| No. | |Lt. Governor | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Notes |
| 1 |
Trasimond Landry |
|
1846 |
1849 |
|
[ Calhoun, Milburn, and Bernie McGovern. Louisiana Almanac, 2002-2003 Edition. Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub. Co, 2001. PP 462-63 ] |
| 2 |
Jean Baptiste PlaucheJean Baptiste Plauché was a Louisiana soldier and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, from 1850 - 1853. In the Battle of New Orleans, Major Plauché headed the New Orleans uniformed militia companies.He was married to Mathilde St...
|
 |
1850 |
1852 |
|
|
| 3 |
William Wood Farmer |
|
1853 |
1854 |
Democratic |
|
| 4 |
Robert C. WickliffeRobert Charles Wickliffe was Lieutenant Governor and the 15th Governor of Louisiana from 1856-60.-Early life and education:...
|
 |
1854 |
1856 |
Democratic |
|
| 5 |
Charles Homer Mouton |
|
1856 |
|
Democratic |
|
| 6 |
William F. Griffin |
|
1857 |
1859 |
Democratic |
|
Lieutenant Governors of Confederate Louisiana
| No. | |Lt. Governor | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Notes |
| 7 |
Henry M. Hyams |
|
1860 |
1864 |
Democratic The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
|
|
| 8 |
Benjamin W. Pearce |
|
1864 |
1866 |
Democratic |
|
Lieutenant Governors of Union-held territory in Louisiana
| No. | |Lt. Governor | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Notes |
| 9 |
James M. Wells |
 |
1862 |
1864 |
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
|
|
| 10 |
Albert Voorhies |
|
1864 |
1866 |
Republican |
|
Resumption of U.S. Statehood
| No. | |Lt. Governor | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Notes |
| 11 |
Oscar J. Dunn |
|
1868 |
1872 |
Republican |
|
| 12 |
P. B. S. PinchbackPinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was the first non-white and first person of African American descent to become governor of a U.S. state...
|
 |
1872 |
1873 |
Republican |
|
| 13 |
C.C. Antoine |
|
1873 |
1877 |
Republican |
|
| 14 |
Louis A. Wiltz Louis Alfred Wiltz was an American politician from the state of Louisiana. He served as 29th Governor of Louisiana from 1880 to 1881 and before that time was mayor of New Orleans, lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.Wiltz was born in New Orleans...
|
 |
1877 |
1880 |
Democratic |
|
| 15 |
Samuel D. McEnery Samuel Douglas McEnery served as the 30th Governor of Louisiana from 1881 until 1888, and as a United States Senator from 1897 until 1910....
|
 |
1880 |
1881 |
Democratic |
|
| 16 |
W.A. Robertson Dr. William A. Robertson was President of the Louisiana State Senate and Acting Lieutenant Governor for two and a half months in 1881.-Political career:...
|
|
1881 |
1881 |
Democratic |
|
| 17 |
George L. Walton George L. Walton was President of the Louisiana State Senate and Acting Lieutenant Governor from 1881 - 1884.-Early life and Civil War:Walton married Amanda Miller in 1855....
|
|
1882 |
1884 |
Democratic |
|
| 18 |
Clay Knobloch Henry Clay Kobloch, also spelled Knoblock, was Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1885 - 1889.-Early life and Civil War:...
|
|
1884 |
1888 |
Democratic |
|
| 19 |
James Jeffries |
|
1888 |
1892 |
Democratic |
|
| 20 |
Charles Parlange Charles Parlange was a Louisiana state senator, United States Attorney, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor, Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court and United States federal judge.-Early life:...
|
|
1892 |
1893 |
Democratic |
|
| 21 |
Hiram R. Lott |
|
1893 |
1895 |
Democratic |
|
| 22 |
Robert H. Snyder Robert H. Snyder was a Democratic politician from St. Joseph, the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana....
|
|
1895 |
1900 |
Democratic |
|
| 23 |
Albert Estopinal Albert Estopinal, Sr. , was a sugar cane planter from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature between 1876 and 1900 and in the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 1st congressional district from 1908 until his...
|
 |
1900 |
1903 |
Democratic |
|
| 24 |
H. C. Cage |
|
1903 |
1904 |
Democratic |
|
| 25 |
Jared Y. Sanders |
 |
1904 |
1908 |
Democratic |
|
| 26 |
Paul M. Lambremont |
|
1908 |
1911 |
Democratic |
|
| 27 |
Thomas C. Barret |
|
1912 |
1916 |
Democratic |
|
| 28 |
Fernand Mouton |
|
1916 |
1920 |
Democratic |
|
| 29 |
Hewitt Bouanchaud |
|
1920 |
1924 |
Democratic |
|
| 30 |
Delos R. Johnson |
|
1924 |
1924 |
Democratic |
|
| 31 |
Oramel H. Simpson Oramel Hinckley Simpson was an American politician from the US state of Louisiana. He became the 39th Governor of Louisiana in 1926, upon the death of his predecessor, Henry L. Fuqua...
|
 |
1924 |
1926 |
Democratic |
|
| 32 |
Philip H. Gilbert -Early years:Philip H. Gilbert was born on October 25, 1870, the son of Pierre J. Gilbert of Louisiana. From his youth up he was a faithful son of the Roman Catholic Church and did much for its support....
|
|
1926 |
1928 |
Democratic |
|
| 33 |
Paul N. Cyr Paul Narcisse Cyr was the elected lieutenant governor in the Huey Pierce Long, Jr., gubernatorial administration who quarreled with the self-designated "Kingfish" throughout most of their tenure...
|
|
1928 |
1931 |
Democratic |
|
| 34 |
Alvin Olin KingAlvin Olin King was a Louisiana politician allied with the popular Long faction of the state Democratic Party....
|
 |
1931 |
1932 |
Democratic |
|
| 35 |
John B. Fournet John Baptiste Fournet was a Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, lieutenant governor of his state, and associate justice and Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court...
|
|
1932 |
1935 |
Democratic |
|
| 36 |
James A. Noe James Albert Noe, Sr. of Monroe served for three and a half months as the 43rd Governor of Louisiana after the death of Oscar K. Allen on January 28, 1936....
|
 |
1935 |
1936 |
Democratic |
|
| 37 |
Earl K. Long |
 |
1936 |
1939 |
Democratic |
|
| 38 |
Coleman Lindsey Isaac Coleman Lindsey, known as Coleman Lindsey , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, a district judge, and from 1939 to 1940, the lieutenant governor under Governor Earl Kemp Long....
|
|
1939 |
1940 |
Democratic |
|
| 39 |
Marc M. Mouton Marc M. Mouton served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1940 until 1944 during the administration of Governor Sam Houston Jones. He graduated from the medical department of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana....
|
|
1940 |
1944 |
Democratic |
|
| 40 |
J. Emile Verret J. Emile Verret was the Democratic lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1944 to 1948, having served under the first of the two nonconsecutive gubernatorial terms of James Houston "Jimmie" Davis. Verret defeated former Governor Earl Kemp Long in the party's runoff election for the second-ranking...
|
|
1944 |
1948 |
Democratic |
|
| 41 |
William J. Dodd |
|
1948 |
1952 |
Democratic |
|
| 42 |
Charles E. (Cap) Barham |
|
1952 |
1956 |
Democratic |
|
| 43 |
Lether Frazar Lether Edward Frazar was the Democratic lieutenant governor of Louisiana under Governor Earl Kemp Long from 1956-1960, who had earlier, as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Beauregard Parish, authored the state teacher retirement law...
|
|
1956 |
1960 |
Democratic |
|
| 44 |
C. C. "Taddy" Aycock |
|
1960 |
1972 |
Democratic |
|
| 45 |
James E. Fitzmorris, Jr. James Edward "Jimmy" Fitzmorris, Jr. , is a New Orleans businessman and civic leader who was the Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1972–1980...
|
|
1972 |
1980 |
Democratic |
|
| 46 |
Robert "Bobby" Freeman |
|
1980 |
1988 |
Democratic |
|
| 47 |
Paul HardyPaul Jude Hardy is a Baton Rouge attorney who was the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction...
|
|
1988 |
1992 |
Republican |
|
| 48 |
Melinda Schwegmann Melinda B. Schwegmann was the lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1992–1996 – the first woman to hold the position. She made an unsuccessful run for governor of Louisiana in 1995...
|
|
1992 |
1996 |
Democratic |
|
| 49 |
Kathleen BlancoKathleen Babineaux Blanco was the 54th Governor of Louisiana, having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana....
|
 |
1996 |
2004 |
Democratic |
|
| 50 |
Mitch LandrieuMitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
|
 |
2004 |
2010 |
Democratic |
|
| 51 |
Scott Angelle Scott Anthony Angelle is a former lieutenant governor of Louisiana. He was appointed to the position by Governor Bobby Jindal and confirmed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2010, when Mitch Landrieu resigned the lieutenant governorship to become mayor of New Orleans...
|
|
2010 |
2010 |
Democratic |
|
| 2010 |
2010 |
Republican |
|
| 52 |
Jay DardenneJohn Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
|
|
2010 |
|
Republican |
|