Previous Governors of Arizona
Governors who previously held office in Arizona, with term dates and party affiliation.
Kathleen Marie Hobbs is an American politician serving since 2023 as the 24th governor of Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, she served from 2019 to 2023 as Arizona's Secretary of State and from 2011 to 2019 as a member of the Arizona Legislature.
Douglas Anthony Ducey is an American businessman and Republican politician who served as the 23rd governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 as well as Arizona State Treasurer from 2011 to 2015. He also was CEO of the ice cream parlor chain Cold Stone Creamery from 1995 to 2007.
Janice Kay Brewer is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015, as a member of the Republican Party. Prior to this, Brewer was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, Arizona Senate, and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and served as Secretary of State of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.
Janet Ann Napolitano is an American politician and lawyer. She is on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, since 2015.
Jane Dee Hull was an American politician and educator. She was the 20th governor of Arizona, serving from 1997 to 2003. She ascended to the office following the resignation of Fife Symington; Hull was elected in her own right in the 1998 Arizona gubernatorial election over Paul Johnson and served one term before being constitutionally term-limited in 2002, succeeded by Janet Napolitano. She was the first woman formally elected as Governor of Arizona, and the second woman to serve in the office, after Rose Mofford. She was a member of the Republican Party.
John Fife Symington III is an American businessman and politician who served as the 19th governor of Arizona from 1991 until his resignation in 1997 following convictions on charges of extortion and bank fraud, which were later overturned. A member of the Republican Party, Symington served in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona prior to entering politics. Linked to the Symington family, He is the son of J. Fife Symington Jr., the United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago during the Nixon administration, the cousin of Stuart Symington, a United States Senator from Missouri, and the younger brother of Martha Frick Symington Sanger, an author.
Rose Mofford was an American civil servant and politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 18th governor of Arizona from 1988 to 1991. Her career in state government spanned 51 years, beginning as a secretary and working her way up the ranks to become the state's first female secretary of state, serving from 1977 to 1988, and the state's first female governor.
Evan Mecham was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was an automotive dealership owner and occasional newspaper publisher.
Bruce Edward Babbitt is an American attorney and politician who served as the 47th United States secretary of the interior from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as the 16th governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987 and was a candidate for President of the United States in the 1988 Democratic primaries.
Harvey Wesley Bolin was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor. Prior to ascending to the Governorship, Bolin was the longest serving Secretary of State of Arizona, serving 28 years from 1949 until he succeeded to the governorship in 1977 following the resignation of his predecessor.