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The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once before becoming ineligible for four years. Throughout the state's history, four men have served two non-consecutive terms as governor, and two others have served two consecutive terms. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years immediately before the United States Presidential Election. The current governor is Steve Beshear, who was first elected in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011. The state constitution limits governors to two consecutive terms, so Beshear was prohibited from seeking re-election in 2015, when Matt Bevin was elected as his successor. Bevin will take office December 8, 2015. The governor's powers are enumerated in the state constitution. There have been four constitutions of Kentucky—adopted in 1792, 1799, 1850, and 1891, respectively—and each has enlarged the governor's authority. Among the powers appropriated to the governor in the constitution are the ability to grant pardons, veto legislation, and call the legislature into session. The governor serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces and is empowered to enforce all laws of the state. The officeholder is given broad statutory authority to make appointments to the various cabinets and departments of the executive branch, limited somewhat by the adoption of a merit system for state employees in 1960. Because Kentucky's governor controls so many appointments to commissions, the office has been historically considered one of the most powerful state executive positions in the United States. Additionally, the governor's influence has been augmented by wide discretion in awarding state contracts and significant influence over the legislature, although the latter has been waning since the mid-1970s. The history of the office of Governor is largely one of long periods of domination by a single party, though different parties were predominant in different eras. Federalists were rare among Kentuckians during the period of the First Party System, and Democratic Republicans won every gubernatorial election in the state until 1828. The Second Party System began when the Democratic-Republicans split into Jacksonian Democrats (the predecessor of the modern Democratic Party) and National Republicans (later to become Whigs). Beginning with the election of Thomas Metcalfe in 1828, the Whigs dominated the governorship until 1851, with John Breathitt being the only Democrat elected during that period. With the collapse of the Whig Party in the 1850s, Democrats took control of the governorship for the duration of the Third Party System, with Charles S. Morehead of the Know Nothing Party being the only exception. The election of Republican William O'Connell Bradley in 1895 began the only period of true two-party competition for the governorship; from Bradley's election through 1931, five Republicans and six Democrats held the office of governor of Kentucky. Since 1931, only three Republicans have served as governor of Kentucky; Ernie Fletcher, who served from 2003 to 2007, was the most recent. Governor-Elect Bevin is a Republican. ==Powers and responsibilities== In all four Kentucky constitutions, the first power enumerated to the governor is to serve as commander-in-chief of the state's militia and military forces.〔1792 Constitution, Article II, Section 7; 1792 Constitution, Article III, Section 8; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 8; (1891 Constitution, Section 75 )〕 In 1799, a stipulation was added that the governor would not personally lead troops on the battlefield unless advised to do so by a resolution of the General Assembly.〔 Such a case occurred in 1813 when Governor Isaac Shelby, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was asked to lead a band of Kentucky troops to aid William Henry Harrison at the Battle of the Thames.〔Harrison, "Shelby, Isaac" in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 815〕 For his service, Shelby received the Thanks of Congress and the Congressional Gold Medal.〔Townsend, p. 19〕 Among the other powers and responsibilities of the governor that appear in all four constitutions are the power to enforce all laws, the power to fill vacancies in elected offices until the next meeting of the General Assembly, and the power to remit fines and grant pardons.〔Clark in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. xv〕 The power to pardon is not applicable to cases of impeachment, and in cases of treason, a gubernatorial pardon is only effective until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, which can grant a full pardon for treason.〔1791 Constitution, Article II, Section 10; 1799 Constitution, Article III, Section 11; 1850 Constitution, Article III, Section 10; (1891 Constitution, Section 77 )〕 The 1891 constitution further required that, with each application for a pardon, the governor file "a statement of the reasons for his decision thereon, which ... shall always be open to public inspection."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Section_77 )〕 This requirement was first proposed by a delegate to the 1850 constitutional convention, but it was rejected at that time.〔Clark in ''Kentucky's Governors'', p. xvii〕 Historically, power in Kentucky's executive has been split amongst a variety of elected positions—including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, Treasurer, and several commissioners—but in the late 20th century, political power has centralized in the office of Governor.〔Ferguson, p. 290〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Governor of Kentucky」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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