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41-632: The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas . The governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arkansas government and is charged with enforcing state laws. They have the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Arkansas General Assembly , to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment. The state has had 46 elected governors, as well as 11 acting governors who assumed powers and duties following
82-499: A broader sense, a head of government can be used loosely when referring to various comparable positions under a dominant head of state (especially is the case of ancient or feudal eras, so the term "head of government", in this case, could be considered a contradiction in terms). In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch and holds no more power than the monarch allows. Some such titles are diwan, mahamantri , pradhan , wasir or vizier . However, just because
123-423: A constitution. In presidential republics or in absolute monarchies , the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy , according to the constitution (or other basic laws) of the particular state. In semi-presidential systems , the head of government may answer to both
164-423: A given party are said to be running on the party's ticket. "Straight party voting" (most common in some U.S. states ) is voting for the entire party ticket, including every office for which the party has a candidate running. Particularly in the era of mechanical voting machines , it was possible to accomplish this in many jurisdictions by the use of a "party lever" which automatically cast a vote for each member of
205-422: A head of government is Prime Minister . This is used as a formal title in many states, but may also be an informal generic term to refer to whichever office is considered the principal minister under an otherwise styled head of state , as minister — Latin for servants or subordinates—is a common title for members of a government (but many other titles are in use, e.g. chancellor and secretary of state). Formally
246-440: A head of government, such as a president, chancellor, or prime minister, and the relationship between that position and other state institutions, such as the relation between the head of state and of the legislature, varies greatly among sovereign states, depending largely on the particular system of the government that has been chosen, won, or evolved over time. In most parliamentary systems , including constitutional monarchies ,
287-421: A rival party's ticket label or creating a new ticket under an independent or ad hoc party label depending on the jurisdiction's election laws. Depending on the party's rules, these rogue members may retain the membership of their original party. Thus two individuals from one political party can oppose each other under different tickets. This was the case for Taiwanese politician James Soong , who withdrew from
328-758: Is alleged that the increased personalisation of leadership in a number of states has led to heads of government becoming themselves "semi-presidential" figures, due in part to media coverage of politics that focuses on the leader and his or her mandate, rather than on parliament; and to the increasing centralisation of power in the hands of the head of government. Such allegations have been made against three former British Prime ministers: Margaret Thatcher , Tony Blair , and Boris Johnson . They were also made against Italian prime ministers Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Renzi , Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau and Federal Chancellor of West Germany (later all of Germany), Helmut Kohl , when in power. The head of government
369-463: Is often provided with an official residence , often in the same fashion as heads of state often are. The name of the residence is often used as a metonym or alternative title for 'the government' when the office is politically the highest, e.g. in the UK "Downing Street announced today…" Well-known official residences of heads of government include: Similarly, heads of government of federal entities below
410-671: The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party ( top leader in a one-party system) has always held this office since 1993 except for the months of transition . In directorial systems , the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people. A prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council , where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. The most common title for
451-536: The Kuomintang and ran against its official candidate, Lien Chan , for election as President in the 2000 elections ; in the subsequent election in 2004 , Soong ran as Lien's running mate. Political party factions may also sponsor tickets in primary elections . When that occurs, several candidates, usually one for each office for which the party's nomination is being contested in the primary, endorse one another and may make joint appearances and share advertising with
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#1732855459260492-421: The executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state , a federated state , or a self-governing colony , autonomous region , or other government who often presides over a cabinet , a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments. In diplomacy , "head of government" is differentiated from " head of state ". The authority of
533-413: The 1874 constitution removed any term limit . A referendum in 1992 limited governors to two terms. Until 1864, the constitutions provided that, should the office of governor be rendered vacant, the president of the senate would serve as acting governor until such time as a new governor was elected or the disability removed, or the acting governor's senate term expired. This led to some situations where
574-523: The Union on June 15, 1836. The state seceded on May 6, 1861, and was admitted to the Confederacy on May 18, 1861. When Little Rock , the state capital, was captured on September 10, 1863, the state government relocated to Washington, Arkansas , and a Union government was installed in its place, causing an overlap in the terms of Confederate governor Harris Flanagin and Union governor Isaac Murphy . During
615-417: The basis of the strength of party support in the lower house; in some other states, the head of government is directly elected by parliament. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament (they must resign on becoming ministers). Heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Constitutions differ in
656-462: The candidates for President and Parliament run on the same "ticket", because they are elected together on a single ballot question — as a vote for a given party-list in the Parliamentary election counts as a vote for the party's corresponding presidential candidate — rather than separately. A ticket can also refer to a political group or political party . In this case, the candidates for
697-466: The collegial Government , whose members are all appointed and dismissed at the Prime Minister's sole discretion. Under the unwritten British constitution , the prime minister 's role has evolved, based often on the individual's personal appeal and strength of character, as contrasted between, for example, Winston Churchill as against Clement Attlee , Margaret Thatcher as against John Major . It
738-691: The goal of securing the party's nomination for the office each is seeking for all ticket members. This system was frequently seen in the " Solid South " era in the Southern United States when there was no effective two party system and victory in the Democratic Party primary was considered to be " tantamount to election ". As well in Australia, the variant of STV used for the Commonwealth upper houses and state upper houses may allow voters to mark
779-456: The government and provides (e.g. by turns) the ceremonial Head of state. The only state in which this system is currently employed is Switzerland but other countries such as Uruguay have employed it in the past . This system is described as the directorial system . See Head of state for further explanation of these cases. In parliamentary systems, government functions along the following lines: All of these requirements directly impact
820-559: The governor's office. The governor and the lieutenant governor are not officially elected on the same ticket . Arkansas was a strongly Democratic state before the Civil War , electing only candidates from the Democratic party. It elected three Republican governors following Reconstruction, but after the Democratic Party re-established control, 92 years passed before voters chose another Republican. Head of government In
861-452: The governorship changed hands in quick succession, due to senate terms ending or new senate presidents being elected. For example, after John Sebastian Little resigned in 1907, 3 senate presidents acted as governors before the next elected governor took office. Should the president of the senate be similarly incapacitated, the next in line for the governorship was the speaker of the state house of representatives. The 1864 constitution created
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#1732855459260902-429: The head of government is the de facto political leader of the government, and is answerable to at least one chamber of the legislature. Although there is often a formal reporting relationship to a head of state , the latter usually acts as a figurehead who may take the role of chief executive on limited occasions, either when receiving constitutional advice from the head of government or under specific provisions in
943-449: The head of government's role. Consequently, they often play a 'day to day' role in parliament, answering questions and defending the government on the 'floor of the House', while in semi-presidential systems they may not be required to play as much of a role in the functioning of parliament. In many countries, the head of government is commissioned by the head of state to form a government, on
984-484: The head of state and the legislature with the specifics provided by each country's constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958. In France, the president , the head of state, appoints the prime minister , who is the head of government. However, the president must choose someone who can act effectively as an executive, but who also enjoys
1025-477: The head of state can also be the head of government as well ( ex officio or by ad hoc cumulation, such as a ruling monarch exercising all powers himself) but otherwise has formal precedence over the head of government and other ministers, whether he is their actual political superior (ruling monarch, executive president) or rather theoretical or ceremonial in character (constitutional monarch, non-executive president). Various constitutions use different titles, and even
1066-411: The head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion. Such titles include the following: In some models the head of state and head of government are one and the same. These include: An alternative formula is a single chief political body (e.g., presidium ) which collectively leads
1107-434: The head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader. A skilled head of government like 19th-century German statesman Otto von Bismarck , Minister President of Prussia and later Chancellor of Germany under Emperor / King Wilhelm I , serves as an example showing that possession of formal powers does not equal political influence. In some cases,
1148-493: The head of state, such as a governor-general , may well be housed in a grander, palace-type residence. However, this is not the case when both positions are combined into one: Ticket (election) The term ticket can mean different things in relation to elections of councils or legislative bodies. First, it may refer to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in Guyana ,
1189-426: The level of the sovereign state (often without an actual head of state, at least under international law) may also be given an official residence, sometimes used as an opportunity to display aspirations of statehood: Usually, the residence of the heads of government is not as prestigious and grand as that of the head of state, even if the head of state only performs ceremonial duties. Even the formal representative of
1230-440: The office of lieutenant governor who would also act as president of the senate, and who would serve as acting governor in case of vacancy. The 1868 constitution maintained the position, but the 1874 constitution removed it and returned to the original line of succession. An amendment to the constitution, passed in 1914 but not recognized until 1925, recreated the office of lieutenant governor, who becomes governor in case of vacancy of
1271-475: The party by the activation of a single lever. "Ticket splitters" are people who vote for candidates from more than one political party when they vote for public offices, voting on the basis of individual personalities and records instead of on the basis of party loyalties. While a ticket usually does refer to a political party, they are not legally the same. In rare cases, members of a political party can run against their party's official candidate by running with
List of governors of Arkansas - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-556: The post-war Reconstruction period , it was part of the Fourth Military District . Arkansas was readmitted to the Union on June 22, 1868. The Arkansas Constitution of 1836 established four-year terms for governors, which was lowered to two years in the 1874, and current, constitution. An amendment in 1984 increased the terms of both governor and lieutenant governor to four years. Governors were originally limited only to serving no more than eight out of every twelve years, but
1353-469: The practical reality for the Prime Minister of Belgium and the Prime Minister of Finland . Other states however, make their head of government a central and dominant figure within the cabinet system; Ireland's Taoiseach , for example, alone can decide when to seek a parliamentary dissolution, in contrast to other countries where this is a cabinet decision, with the Prime Minister just one member voting on
1394-518: The prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the president's influence largely restricted to foreign affairs. In communist states , the General Secretary of the Communist Party is the supreme leader, serving as de facto head of state and government. In China , the de jure head of government is the Premier . The Chinese president is legally a ceremonial office , but
1435-407: The range and scope of powers granted to the head of government. Some older constitutions; for example, Australia's 1900 text , and Belgium's 1830 text ; do not mention their prime ministerial offices at all, the offices became a de facto political reality without a formal constitutional status. Some constitutions make a Prime Minister primus inter pares ( first among equals ) and that remains
1476-568: The resignation or death of the governor. Before becoming a state, Arkansas Territory had four governors appointed to it by the president of the United States . Orval Faubus (1955–1967) served the longest term as governor, being elected six times to serve 12 years. Bill Clinton (1979–1981; 1983–1992), elected five times over two distinct terms, fell only one month short of 12 years, and Mike Huckabee (1996–2007) served 10 years for two full four-year terms. The shortest term for an elected governor
1517-406: The same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, where there is an elected legislative body checking the head of government, include the following. Some of these titles relate to governments below the national level (e.g. states or provinces). In
1558-542: The suggestion. In Israel , while the Government is nominally a collegiate body with a primus inter pares role for the Prime Minister , the Israeli Prime Minister is the dominant figure in the executive branch in practice. The Prime Minister of Sweden , under the 1974 Instrument of Government , is a constitutional office with all key executive powers either directly at his or her disposal or indirectly through
1599-620: The support of France's legislature, the National Assembly , to be able to pass legislation. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party but the majority in the National Assembly is of a different party. Given that the majority party has greater control over state funding and primary legislation , the president is in effect forced to choose a prime minister from the opposition party to ensure an effective, functioning legislature. In this case, known as cohabitation ,
1640-467: Was split from the Missouri Territory on July 4, 1819. As territorial secretary from 1819 to 1829, Robert Crittenden served as acting governor whenever the appointed governor was not in the state. This meant that Crittenden was the first person to perform the duties of governor, since James Miller did not arrive in the territory until nine months after his appointment. Arkansas was admitted to
1681-404: Was the 38 days served by John Sebastian Little before his nervous breakdown ; one of the acting successors to his term, Jesse M. Martin , took office only three days before the end of the term, the shortest term overall. The current governor of Arkansas is Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders , who was sworn in on January 10, 2023. Arkansaw Territory (renamed Arkansas Territory, circa 1822)