Governors of New Jersey

Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent Chris Christie since January 19, 2010
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Drumthwacket
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	William Livingston
Formation	August 31, 1776
Deputy	Kim Guadagno
Salary	$175,000 (2013)
Website	www.state.nj.us/governor

The Governor of New Jersey is the head of the executive branch of New Jersey'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 New Jersey Legislature, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason or impeachment.

There have been 55 official governors of New Jersey, with several others acting as governor for a time. In the official numbering, governors are counted only once each, and traditionally, only elected governors were included. However, legislation signed on January 10, 2006, allowed acting governors who had served at least 180 days to be considered full governors. The law was retroactive to January 1, 2001; it therefore changed the titles of Donald DiFrancesco and Richard Codey, affecting Jim McGreevey's numbering. The current governor is Chris Christie, who took office on January 19, 2010.

New Jersey was one of the original thirteen colonies and was admitted as a state on December 18, 1787. Prior to declaring its independence, New Jersey was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The first New Jersey State Constitution, ratified in 1776, provided that a governor be elected annually by the state legislature, the members of which were selected by the several counties. Under this constitution, the governor was president of the upper house of the legislature, then called the Legislative Council. The 1844 constitution provided for a popular vote to elect the governor, who no longer presided over the upper house of the legislature, now called the Senate. The 1844 constitution also lengthened the governor's term to three years, set to start on the third Tuesday in January following an election, and barred governors from succeeding themselves. The 1947 constitution extended terms to four years, and limits governors from being elected to more than two consecutive terms, though they can run again after a third term has passed.