New York was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies on the east coast of North America, and was admitted as a state on July 26, 1788. Prior to declaring its independence, New York was a
colony of the
Kingdom of Great Britain, which it in turn obtained from the
Dutch as the colony of
New Netherland; see the
list of colonial governors and the
list of directors-general of New Netherland for the pre-statehood period. The office of the governor was established by the first
New York Constitution in 1777. The governor originally served for a term of three years, though the constitution did not specify when the term began. A 1787 law set the start of the term at July 1. The
New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821 amended the state constitution, reducing the term of office to two years, moving the election to November, and moving the beginning and the end of the term to coincide with the calendar year. An 1874 amendment extended the term of office back to three years, but the 1894 constitution again reduced it to two years. The most recent New York Constitution of 1938 extended the term to the current four years. There is no limit to the number of consecutive terms a governor may serve. The Constitution has provided since 1777 for the election of a
lieutenant governor of New York, who is
ex officio President of the Senate, to the same term (keeping the same term lengths as the governor throughout all the constitutional revisions). Originally, in the event of the death, resignation or
impeachment of the governor, the lieutenant governor would become acting governor until the end of the yearly legislative term, the office being filled in a special election, if there was a remainder of the term. Since the 1821 Constitution, the lieutenant governor explicitly becomes governor upon such vacancy in the office and serves for the entire remainder of the term. Should the office of lieutenant governor become vacant, the
president pro tempore of the State Senate performs all the duties of the lieutenant governor until the vacancy is filled either at the next gubernatorial election or by appointment. Likewise, should both offices become vacant at the same time, the president
pro tempore acts as governor, with the office of lieutenant governor remaining vacant. Should the presidency
pro tempore be vacant too, or the incumbent unable to fulfill the duties, the Speaker of the State Assembly is next in the line of succession. The lieutenant governor is elected on the same
ticket as the governor, since the
1954 election with a single joint vote cast for both offices, but is nominated separately. ==See also==