The lieutenant governor of New Jersey is an elected constitutional officer in the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

of the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in the United States. The lieutenant governor is the second highest-ranking official in the state government and is elected concurrently on a

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

with the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

for a four-year term. The position itself does not carry any powers or duties other than to be next in the

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.cabinet-level A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

administrative agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

within the governor's administration, other than the position of Attorney General. Prior to 2010, New Jersey was one of a few states in the United States that did not have a

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

to succeed to the governorship in the event of a vacancy in that office. For most of the state's (and previously the colony's) history, a vacancy in the position of governor was filled by the president of the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

(called the " Legislative Council" from 1776 to 1844), or during the colonial era by the president of the royal governor's Provincial Council. After several episodes during which the state had multiple "

acting governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an a ...

s" in the span of a few years following the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

s of Governor

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...

in 2001 and Governor James E. McGreevey in 2004, popular sentiment and political pressure from the state's residents and news media outlets sought a permanent and tenable solution to the issue of gubernatorial succession. A referendum put before the state's voters authorized the

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

of the state's constitution in 2006. This amendment provided for the state's first lieutenant governor to be elected in the state's 2009 gubernatorial election. Republican Kim Guadagno was the first to serve in the post. Guadagno, previously the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transl ...

in Monmouth County, was chosen by Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, Lobbying in the United States, lobbyist, and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New J ...

to be his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

on the Republican Party ticket in the 2009 election. In 2017, Democratic New Jersey Assemblywoman and former Speaker of the Assembly

Sheila Oliver Sheila Y. Oliver (born July 14, 1952) is an American politician serving as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey since 2018. She previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2018, where she represented the 34th legi ...

was elected lieutenant governor as the running mate of

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germany ...

; she was sworn in as the state's second lieutenant governor on January 16, 2018.

Gubernatorial succession (1776–2001)

College Avenue Gymnasium, New Brunswick, NJ

Prior to the creation of the modern lieutenant governor position, the only state-wide, non-federal, elected official was the

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

. New Jersey was one of eight states without a lieutenant governor and one of four states without any other state-wide elected official (including county prosecutors). Further, the state constitution does not provide for elections for state-wide

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

-level positions—it grants the governor the power to appoint the "principal department heads" for the executive branch. For these reasons, New Jersey's governor was considered the most powerful elected chief executive in the United States. In the event of a vacancy in the governor's office, the state constitution specified that the president of the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

, the upper chamber of the state legislature, would assume the role of acting governor without relinquishing needing to resign from state senate. Further, if the acting governorship filled by the state senate president were vacated or that person could not assume the office, the governor would be succeeded by the speaker of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

, the state legislature's lower chamber.Acker, Carolyn
"Gov. Kean's Proposals With Lieutenant Governor, N.J. Would Join 43 States"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', January 16, 1986. Retrieved August 28, 2013. This order of succession was included in the first state constitution in 1776, reinstated in the subsequent 1844 constitution, and kept in the 1947 Constitution until the 2006 amendment. On several occasions in the state's history, proposals for a lieutenant governor were raised and rejected. Governor Alfred E. Driscoll backed a proposal to create the office in 1947 as the state was rewriting its constitution at a constitutional convention held at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Driscoll's proposal was not approved. In 1986, Gov.

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

proposed the creation of the office in a move seen at the time as a political maneuver "apparently to preclude the possibility of a Democratic successor", as Kean was being considered as a viable presidential or senatorial candidate in the 1988 election, and the senate president was a Democrat. Kean's proposal was not successful.Shure, John
"The People Should Choose Who Fills the Shoes"
New Jersey Policy Perspective, September 10, 2004. Retrieved November 12, 2013.

Creation of the office (2001–present)

Resignations and succession controversies (2001–2006)

New Jersey had two recent periods during which several politicians assumed the governorship within the span of a few years. In 2001, Governor

resigned after being appointed by George W. Bush to the position of administrator of the federal

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale ...

. Senate President

Donald DiFrancesco Donald Thomas DiFrancesco (born November 20, 1944) is a retired American politician who served as the 51st governor of New Jersey from 2001 to 2002. He succeeded Christine Todd Whitman after her resignation to become Administrator of the Environm ...

became acting governor following Whitman's resignation on January 31, 2001, and remained in office until he retired from the state senate on January 8, 2002.Mansnerus, Laura
"New Jersey to have 4 Chief Executives over 8 jumbled days"
''The New York Times'', January 7, 2002. In an unusual political circumstance, the 2001 legislative elections returned a senate with equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, with each party having 20 senators.Kocieniewski, David

''The New York Times'', January 12, 2002. Retrieved August 30, 2013. Both sides negotiated to choose two senators from their respective parties to serve as co-presidents. Because of an 8-day gap between the seating of the new state legislature and the inauguration of Governor-elect

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

, four men held the position of acting governor: * Outgoing Senate President Donald DiFrancesco continued to serve until 12:00 noon on January 8, 2002, until the new senate session was convened. * New Jersey's Attorney General John J. Farmer, Jr. was acting governor for 90 minutes on January 8, 2002, while awaiting the swearing in of the next senate president. * Senate co-President John O. Bennett, a Republican, served as acting governor from January 8–12, 2002. * Senate co-President Richard Codey, a Democrat, served as acting governor from January 12, 2002, until McGreevey was sworn in as governor at noon on January 15, 2002. After Governor Jim McGreevey

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

in the midst of a sex scandal in 2004, Richard Codey served again as acting governor from November 15, 2004. Codey was the only acting governor during this time, as the 2003 legislative elections had given the Democrats outright control of the state senate. Codey's tenure ended with the inauguration of Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

on January 17, 2006. Public attention was directed to the issue of succession in the wake of the resignations of Whitman and McGreevey during so brief a period. The response of the general public and the media was that the situation of acting governors and resignations made the situation untenable and that the state needed a permanent solution such as a lieutenant governor. There were three chief arguments in favor of establishing a lieutenant governor: * That the senate president was chosen by the members of the state senate, not elected by voters—eligible to be acting governor solely by virtue of having been elected by the citizens in only one of the state's forty legislative districts.Editorial Staff
"New Jersey's Succession Mess" (editorial)
''The New York Times'', August 21, 2004. The ''Times'' called the succession "undemocratic" and observed that "having the state run by someone whom the voters did not choose is in danger of becoming a habit in New Jersey," and that "the newly appointed governor, who in this case would be Mr. Codey, is constitutionally required to continue serving as president of the state senate – a clear threat to the whole idea of checks and balances." Retrieved August 30, 2013. * That an acting governor serving simultaneously in the

and

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as ...

would give the governor very broad powers and was a breach of the "

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

" between branches of the government. * That there potentially would be a lack of continuity between political platforms from a governor of one party and a senate president of another who assumes the post as acting governor. As there was no guarantee the two individuals would be members of the same party, there was greater concern that the policies of the acting governor might be in direct conflict with those of the preceding governor.

Referendum on a constitutional amendment

In 2005, the state legislature passed resolutions for a proposed constitutional amendment to create the position of lieutenant governor. In accordance with the state constitution, this proposal was put before the voters as a public question on the ballot for the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

held on November 8, 2005. If passed by the voters, the proposal would take effect at the next gubernatorial election in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

.Mansnerus, Laura
"On Politics: The Advantage of Having A Lieutenant Governor"
''The New York Times'', March 27, 2005. Retrieved August 30, 2013.New Jersey State Legislature
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 2 (SCR2): "A Concurrent Resolution proposing to amend Articles II, IV, V, and XI of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey"
(2004) an
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 100 (ACR100): "A Concurrent Resolution proposing to amend Articles II, IV, V and XI of the Constitution of the State of New Jersey"
(2005). Retrieved August 30, 2013. Note that The New Jersey State Legislature doesn't provide distinct web addresses for its transactions on specific bills, however, a
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp
click on "Bills 2004–2005" and search for ACR100 and SCR2 for these bills, vote tallies and historical information regarding their passage. The General Assembly considered legislation, designated as "Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 100" (ACR100), which it passed on February 24, 2005, with 73 votes in favor and 1 opposed The senate followed by approving the legislation, under the title "Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 2 (SCR2), with 32 votes in favor and 5 opposed on March 21, 2005. The senate was still run by Acting Governor Richard Codey as senate president. The question proposed on the ballot read:

Shall the amendment of Articles II, IV, V and XI of the Constitution, agreed to by the Legislature, establishing the office of lieutenant governor, and providing for the term, election, succession, salary, qualifications, and duties of the office, and for an interim succession to be employed in the event of a vacancy in the office of the governor before the election of the first lieutenant governor, be adopted?New Jersey Division of Elections (New Jersey Department of State)
"Official List Ballot Questions Tally For November 2005 General Election"
(certified 16 December 2005). Retrieved 30 August 2013.

The amendment question was approved by voters by a tally of 836,134 votes (56.1%) to 655,333 (43.9%). In the interim period before the next election in 2009, any vacancy in the office of governor after January 17, 2006 would be filled first by the senate president, followed by the speaker of the general assembly, who would vacate their legislative seat upon assuming the governor's office.New Jersey State Constitution (1947), Article V, Section I, paragraph 6 (as amended, effective January 17, 2006). Reflecting the procedure as outlined above, as

, Codey's successor as governor, attended the swearing in of

Bob Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was firs ...

as a U.S. Senator on January 18, 2006, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, Codey spent part of his first day as former (acting) governor as the acting governor of the state. Codey also served as acting governor once again between April 12 and May 7, 2007 as Corzine recovered from serious injuries suffered in a car accident. In an extremely unusual event in December 2006, state transportation commissioner

Kris Kolluri Kris Kolluri (born c. 1969) served as head of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, having taken office as of December 1, 2008, where he succeeded Scott Weiner.Megerian, Chris
"Corzine signs N.J.'s Lieutenant Governor legislation into law"
in ''The Star-Ledger'' (June 26, 2009). Retrieved August 30, 2013. The constitution provided that a gubernatorial candidate select a running mate within 30 days after the "nomination."New Jersey State Constitution (1947), Article V, Section I, paragraph 4 (as amended, effective January 17, 2006). The confusion that arose concerned whether the "nomination" was the date of the primary election or the date that the vote count of that election was confirmed as final and certified by the state's Secretary of State. As defined by state law, the primary election is held on "Tuesday after the first Monday in June". However, the reported winner of a primary election is not official until the state's 21 county clerks are canvassed for official results after an election. This allows time for the Secretary of State to tabulate stray late

absentee ballot An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online voti ...

s (i.e. from military voters stationed outside the state); calculate final adjustments of vote tallies; litigate legal disputes; and conduct recounts if necessary. A.3902 provided a clarification of this deadline as "30 days after primary results are certified by the secretary of state, not the primary election itself." The bill also reduced the number of days in which the June primary election results must be certified from 86 days (which would place the deadline in August) to the fourth Friday in June, less than 4 weeks after the election. By enacting this bill, New Jersey's gubernatorial candidates had an extra three-and-a-half weeks to announce their selection of a lieutenant governor running mate. The 2009 deadline for such an announcement was moved from July 2 (30 days after the primary election) to July 27 (30 days after the certification of election results). In the week before the deadline, the three candidates nominated for governor and running in the November general election selected their running mates. The incumbent, Democratic nominee Governor Jon Corzine, chose State Senator Loretta Weinberg. His Republican challenger,

, a former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, selected Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno. Independent candidate

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

selected Frank J. Esposito, a history professor and former administrator at

Kean University Kean University () is a public university in Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School. Initially establ ...

. On November 3, 2009, Christie defeated Corzine by a margin of 48.5% (1,174,445 votes) to 44.9% (1,087,731 votes), with 5.8% (139,579 votes) of the vote going to Daggett. With Christie's election as governor, Kim Guadagno was slated to become the state's first lieutenant governor in its modern form. Christie and Guadagno were installed at inaugural ceremonies held on January 19, 2010.

Subsequent terms

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Guadagno was again chosen as lieutenant governor as Christie's running mate. The Christie-Guadagno ticket defeated Democratic candidates state Senator

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

(for governor) and labor union leader Milly Silva (for lieutenant governor.) In 2017, after winning the Republican primary for governor, Guadagno chose Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo as her running mate.

, winner of the Democratic primary for governor, selected Assemblywoman

for the second spot on his ticket. The Murphy-Oliver Democratic team ticket defeated the Guadagno-Rendo Republican ticket in the November general election. Murphy and Oliver were re-elected to a second term on November 2, 2021.

Constitutional provisions

Qualifications and duties

As amended on January 17, 2006, New Jersey's state constitution mandates that a person may only be eligible for the position of lieutenant governor if they meet the eligibility qualifications to serve as governor. Article V, Section I, paragraph 2, requires that a candidate for governor (and thus lieutenant governor) be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least 20 years, and a resident of New Jersey for at least seven years. Within 30 days after the certification of the statewide

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

, the candidate for governor selects a

to join the ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor. The governor and lieutenant governor must be members of the same political party. As candidates they campaign on the same ticket, are elected conjointly, and serve the same four-year term concurrently. Additional requirements are imposed by Article V, Section I, paragraph 10 of the state constitution, which provides that the lieutenant governor be appointed as a head of a cabinet-level department or administrative agency within the governor's administration, with the exception that lieutenant governor cannot be the state's attorney general. The current lieutenant governor, Sheila Oliver, serves as New Jersey's Commissioner of Community Affairs.

Order of succession

The

Appointments during the colonial period (1702–1776)

During the proprietary period (1664–1702), New Jersey was divided into two separate colonies,

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

and

West Jersey West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was ofte ...

. These were often administered in its first years by deputies who resided in North America and represented the province's governor and its major investors (the "proprietors"), who typically resided in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. In 1702, the proprietors of East and West Jersey surrendered their political authority to Queen Anne. The Queen united both provinces into one

crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

to be administered by a royal governor appointed by the Crown."Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty; 1702"
from Leaming, Aaron and Spicer, Jacob. ''The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New-Jersey. The acts passed during the proprietary governments, and other material trnasactions before the surrender thereof to Queen Ann. The instrument of surrender, and her formal acceptance thereof, Lord Cornbury's Commission and Introduction consequent thereon.'' (2nd Edition. Philadelphia: William Bradford, 1758) 600–618. Published online at the ''Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy'', Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library. Retrieved April 5, 2013. Only two individuals held the post of Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey during its colonial history. This position existed by direct commission from the British monarch only for two brief periods, 1702–09 and 1755–57. For most of the colonial period, in the event of the resignation, prolonged absence or death of the royal governor, the province would be administered by an "acting governor" who was the president of the Provincial Council (also called the "Governor's Council")—the upper house of the colonial legislature. The council presidency was an honorary ceremonial post given to the council's oldest member.Pulvis, Thomas L. ''Proprietors, Patronage and Paper Money: Legislative Politics in New Jersey 1703–76''. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1986), passim.

Richard Ingoldesby Richard Ingoldesby (or Ingoldsby; died 1 March 1719) was a British army officer and lieutenant governor of both New Jersey and New York. He became the acting governor for the two colonies from May 1709 to April 1710. Life Ingoldesby served ...

(d. 1719), a British army captain who was dispatched to New York to restore royal authority in New York after

Leisler's Rebellion Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late-17th century colonial New York in which German American merchant and militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of the southern portion of the colony and ruled it from 1689 to 1691. The uprising too ...

, was commissioned as the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey and New York in November 1702.Stellhorn, Paul A., and Birkner, Michael J
"Richard Ingoldesby"
, ''The Governors of New Jersey 1664–1974: Biographical Essays''. (Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1982), 40–43. Ingoldesby served under the colony's first royal governor, Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury and then his successor

John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace (16721709) was the Governor of both New York and New Jersey. Biography He was the son of William Lovelace of Hurst, Berkshire. He was the grandson of Francis Lovelace, son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovela ...

. Although Lord Cornbury was frequently absent from New Jersey and focused most of his efforts in New York, he refused to permit Ingoldesby any authority to govern. Ingoldesby became acting governor of both provinces briefly after the sudden death of Lord Lovelace on May 6, 1709. However, his authority was opposed by rival factions of the colony's proprietors who asserted that his commission was invalid. Ingoldesby further angered the colony's Quaker leaders after he retaliated against them for their opposition to raising troops from New Jersey to support a planned invasion of French colonies in Canada. His commission as governor was revoked in October 1709, but the news of his removal did not reach him until April 1710. The second lieutenant governor,

Thomas Pownall Thomas Pownall (bapt. 4 September 1722 N.S. – 25 February 1805) was a British colonial official and politician. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterwards sat in the House of Commons from 1767 t ...

(1722–1805), was appointed to the post in 1755 under royal governor

Jonathan Belcher Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...

(1681/2–1757).Fisher, Edgar Jacob. ''New Jersey as a Royal Province, 1738 to 1776''. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1911), 43–44. Pownall had little responsibility beyond anticipating the death of the aging governor who for most of his tenure was in declining health from a progressive paralytic disorder.Schutz, John. ''Thomas Pownall, British Defender of American Liberty; a Study of Anglo-American Relations in the Eighteenth Century''. (Glendale, California: A. H. Clark, 1951), 55–58, 78–87. Belcher lived longer than expected, and Pownall grew restless. In 1756, Pownall journeyed to England, where he was offered the governorship of Pennsylvania, which was retracted after he made demands for wide-ranging powers. While in England, Pownall advised the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

organized by

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extende ...

, and his close foreign affairs advisor William Pitt on the state of affairs in the colonies during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

(called the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the s ...

in North America). Because the insights and first-hand knowledge he shared had impressed his superiors in Britain, Pownall was commissioned as Royal Governor of Massachusetts in March 1757. Pownall arrived in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

to assume the new post on August 3, 1757. When Belcher died on August 31, 1757, Pownall did not assume the governorship of New Jersey. Pownall's appointment in Massachusetts left the New Jersey to be administered by John Reading (1686–1767) in his second tenure as "acting governor"—continuing the previous convention of the president of the

Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...

assuming the governorship in an acting capacity. Reading assumed the post reluctantly, after first requesting unsuccessfully that Pownall return to New Jersey to assume the office. From Ingoldesby's removal in 1710 until the tenure of Pownall, four appointed royal governors (

John Montgomerie Colonel John Montgomerie (died 1731) was colonial governor of New York and New Jersey from 1728 to 1731. Life Montgomerie was born in the parish of Beith in Scotland. His father, Francis Montgomerie, was a member of the Privy Council under ...

, Sir William Cosby,

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...

, and Jonathan Belcher) died in office and were replaced with acting governors from the provincial council. Two of these acting governors (

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business * John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

and John Hamilton) died in office, and were replaced by another acting governor drawn from the members of the provincial council.See Stellhorn, Paul A., and Birkner, Michael J.
The Governors of New Jersey 1664–1974: Biographical Essays
''. (Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1982), passim; and McCormick, Richard P. ''New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609–1789''. (1st Ed – Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1964; 2nd Ed. — New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970), passim. See also

List of colonial governors of New Jersey The territory which would later become the state of New Jersey was settled by Dutch and Swedish colonists in the early seventeenth century. In 1664, at the onset of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, English forces under Richard Nicolls ousted th ...

List of Lieutenant Governors

In the colonial period

In the modern era (2010–present)

References

Notes

Citations

External links

Lt. Governor and Commissioner of Community Affairs Sheila Oliver

State of New Jersey
(official website)
New Jersey State Constitution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieutenant Governor Of New Jersey 1702 establishments in New Jersey