List of governors of West Virginia
Governor Gubernatorial term Date of birth ( and age )
Jay Rockefeller 1977-1985 ( 1937-06-18 ) June 18 , 1937 ( age 83 )
Gaston Caperton 1989-1997 ( 1940-02-21 ) February 21 , 1940 ( age 80 )
Bob Wise 2001-2005 ( 1948-01-06 ) January 6 , 1948 ( age 72 )
Joe Manchin 2005-2010 ( 1947-08-24 ) August 24 , 1947 ( age 72 )
Earl Ray Tomblin 2010-2011 ( acting ) , 2011-2017 ( 1952-03-15 ) March 15 , 1952 ( age 68 )
Living former governors of West Virginia
As of January 2017 [ update ] , there are five former governors of West Virginia who are currently living at this time , the oldest of whom is Jay Rockefeller ( served 1977–1985 , born 1937 ) . The most recent governor to die was Arch A. Moore , Jr. ( served 1969–1977 and 1985–1989 , born 1923 ) , who died on January 7 , 2015 . The most recently serving governor to die was Cecil H. Underwood ( served 1957–1961 and 1997–2001 , born 1922 ) , who died on November 24 , 2008 . [ 29 ]
The Governor of West Virginia is the head of the executive branch of West Virginia's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the West Virginia Legislature, to convene the legislature at any time, and, except when prosecution has been carried out by the House of Delegates, to grant pardons and reprieves. Since West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, during the American Civil War, 34 men have served as governor. Two, Arch A. Moore Jr. (West Virginia's 28th and 30th governors) and Cecil H. Underwood (West Virginia's 25th and 32nd governors), served two nonconsecutive terms in office. The longest-serving governor was Moore, who served for three terms over twelve years. The state's first governor after admission into the Union, Arthur I. Boreman, served the most consecutive terms, resigning a week before the end of his third term. Before the state's admission, Francis H. Pierpont, the, Father of West Virginia, was elected governor during the Wheeling Convention of 1861. Daniel D.T. Farnsworth was senate president at the time; he filled the last seven days of Boreman's term and remains the shortest-serving governor. Underwood has the unusual distinction of being both the youngest person to be elected as governor (age 34 upon his first term in 1957) and the oldest to both be elected and serve (age 74 upon his second term in 1997; age 78 at the end of his second term in 2001). The current governor is Republican Jim Justice, who assumed office on January 16, 2017. West Virginia's 36th governor, Justice was elected as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party on August 4 of that year.