Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

The Lieutenant Governor of Maryland is the second highest-ranking official in the executive branch of the state government of Maryland in the United States. He or she is elected on the same ticket as the Governor of Maryland and must meet the same qualifications.

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
Coat of arms of the state of Maryland
Incumbent Boyd Rutherford since January 21, 2015
Style	Lieutenant Governor (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Term length	Four years, renewable once, but renewable again after a 4-year respite.
Inaugural holder	Blair Lee III
Formation	January 1971
Website	Office of the Lieutenant Governor

The current Lieutenant Governor is Boyd Rutherford.

History

The position was first created by the Maryland Constitution of 1864. Under that system of government, the lieutenant governor served as president of the Senate and would assume the office of governor if the incumbent should die, resign, be removed, or be disqualified.

The state's present constitution, adopted in 1867, abolished the lieutenant governorship. However, the position was re-established by a constitutional amendment ratified on November 3, 1970.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the 1970 amendment, the Lieutenant Governor "shall have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor." Maryland's lieutenant governorship is thus weaker than the office in several, but not all, other states that have one. For instance, in many states, including Texas, the lieutenant governor is the president of the state's Senate and in California the Lieutenant Governor assumes all of the Governor's powers when he or she is out of the state. In both of those states, as in some others, the lieutenant governor is elected in his or her own right, independently of the state's governor.

In practice, Maryland's lieutenant governor attends cabinet meetings, chairs various task forces and commissions, represents the state at ceremonial functions and at events with or without the governor, and advises the governor. If the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office (via impeachment), the lieutenant governor becomes governor. A vacancy in the lieutenant governorship is filled by a person nominated by the governor and confirmed by a majority vote of the General Assembly voting in joint session.

List of lieutenant governors

Parties

  Unionist (1)   Democratic (6)   Republican (2)

Lieutenant Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1864

#	Image	Lt. Governor	Party	Term
1		Christopher C. Cox	Unionist	1865–1868

Lieutenant Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1867

Constitution amended November 4, 1970 to create the office of Lieutenant Governor.

#	Image	Lt. Governor	Party	Term start	Term end	Governor
2		Blair Lee III	Democrat	20 January 1971	17 January 1979	Marvin Mandel
3		Samuel W. Bogley	Democrat	17 January 1979	19 January 1983	Harry Hughes
4		J. Joseph Curran, Jr.	Democrat	19 January 1983	21 January 1987
5		Melvin A. Steinberg	Democrat	21 January 1987	18 January 1995	William D. Schaefer
6		Kathleen Kennedy Townsend	Democrat	18 January 1995	15 January 2003	Parris Glendening
7		Michael Steele	Republican	15 January 2003	17 January 2007	Bob Ehrlich
8		Anthony G. Brown	Democrat	17 January 2007	21 January 2015	Martin O'Malley
9		Boyd Rutherford	Republican	21 January 2015	Incumbent	Larry Hogan

Living former Lieutenant Governors of Maryland

As of January 2019, there are six former lieutenant governors of Maryland who are currently living at this time, the oldest lieutenant governor of Maryland being J. Joseph Curran, Jr. (served 1983–1987, born 1931). The most recent death of a former lieutenant governor of Maryland was that of Blair Lee III (served 1971–1979, born 1916), on October 25, 1985.

Lt. Governor	Lt. Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Samuel W. Bogley	1979–1983	(1941-11-16) November 16, 1941
J. Joseph Curran Jr.	1983–1987	(1931-07-07) July 7, 1931
Melvin A. Steinberg	1987–1995	(1933-10-04) October 4, 1933
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend	1995–2003	(1951-07-04) July 4, 1951
Michael S. Steele	2003–2007	(1958-10-24) October 24, 1958
Anthony G. Brown	2007–2015	(1961-11-21) November 21, 1961

See also

• Governor of Maryland
• Government of Maryland
• Lieutenant Governor (United States)

References

• Maryland State Archives. (October 20, 2017). Maryland Manual On-Line: A Guide to Maryland Government. "Lieutenant Governor". Retrieved August 15, 2020.