Previous Governors of Connecticut
Governors who previously held office in Connecticut, with term dates and party affiliation.
Edward Miner Lamont Jr. is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1987 to 1989 as a Greenwich selectman, and was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 2006, losing to Independent incumbent Joe Lieberman.
Dannel Patrick Malloy is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. He is currently Chancellor of the University of Maine System, a position he has held since July 2019.
Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell, known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004 under Governor John G. Rowland, and became governor after Rowland resigned from office. To date, Rell is the last Republican and last woman to serve as Governor of Connecticut.
John Grosvenor Rowland is an American former politician, author, and radio host who served as the 86th governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004.
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator, and the 85th governor of Connecticut.
William Atchison O'Neill was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 84th governor of Connecticut from 1980 to 1991. He was the second longest-serving governor in Connecticut history, with just over 10 years in office.
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after rejecting past offers of candidacies for Senate and governor. She was the first woman elected governor in Connecticut and the fourth woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state. She is also the first female governor to not be the spouse or widow of a former governor. She resigned as governor due to her battle with ovarian cancer.
Thomas Joseph Meskill Jr. was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served as the 82nd governor of Connecticut, as a United States representative from Connecticut, and as the mayor of New Britain, Connecticut. He is noted as having served in all three branches of government and at the local, state and federal levels of government during his career of public service.
John Noel Dempsey was an American politician who was the 81st governor of Connecticut. He was a Democrat, and began his political career at the age of 21 serving on the Putnam City Council. He later served as mayor of Putnam, before being elected to Governor of Connecticut.
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American politician from the U.S. state of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and was the 80th governor of Connecticut and secretary of health, education, and welfare in President John F. Kennedy's cabinet. He was Connecticut's first and to date only Jewish governor.