Previous Governors of Nebraska
Governors who previously held office in Nebraska, with term dates and party affiliation.
James Douglas Pillen is an American politician, veterinarian, and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents from 2013 to 2023.
John Peter Ricketts is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023.
David Eugene Heineman is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th lieutenant governor of Nebraska from 2001 to 2005 under governor Mike Johanns. Heineman took over the governorship after Johanns resigned to become the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Michael Owen Johanns is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 2009 to 2015. He served as the 38th governor of Nebraska from 1999 until 2005, and was chair of the Midwestern Governors Association in 2002. In 2005, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the secretary of agriculture, where he served from 2005 to 2007, becoming the fourth Nebraskan to hold that position.
Earl Benjamin Nelson is an American politician, attorney, and businessman who served as a United States senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999. As of 2026, he is the last Democrat to have won or held statewide office in Nebraska.
Kay Avonne Orr is an American politician who served as the 36th governor of Nebraska from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, she was the state's first and to date only female governor.
Joseph Robert Kerrey is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001.
Charles Thone was an American Republican politician. He was the 34th governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Nebraska's 1st congressional district, from 1971 to 1979.
John James Exon was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a United States senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Exon never lost an election, and was the only Democrat ever to hold Nebraska's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat. He was elected governor in 1970, re-elected in 1974, elected to the Senate in 1978, and re-elected to that seat in 1984 and 1990.
Norbert Theodore "Nobby" Tiemann was an American Republican politician from Wausa, Nebraska, and was the 32nd governor of Nebraska, serving from 1967 to 1971.