Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

The position was first created by the Maryland Constitution of 1864. Under that system of government, the lieutenant governor served as president of the Senate and would assume the office of governor if the incumbent should die, resign, be removed, or be disqualified.

The state's present constitution, adopted in 1867, abolished the lieutenant governorship. However, the position was re-established by a constitutional amendment ratified on November 3, 1970.

Under the 1970 amendment, the Lieutenant Governor "shall have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor." Maryland's lieutenant governorship is thus weaker than the office in several, but not all, other states that have one. For instance, in many states, including Texas, the lieutenant governor is the president of the state's Senate and in California the Lieutenant Governor assumes all of the Governor's powers when he or she is out of the state. In both of those states, as in some others, the lieutenant governor is elected in his or her own right, independently of the state's governor.

In practice, Maryland's lieutenant governor attends cabinet meetings, chairs various task forces and commissions, represents the state at ceremonial functions and at events with or without the governor, and advises the governor. If the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office (via impeachment), the lieutenant governor becomes governor. A vacancy in the lieutenant governorship is filled by a person nominated by the governor and confirmed by a majority vote of the General Assembly voting in joint session.

Parties

  Unionist (1)   Democratic (6)   Republican (2)

Lieutenant Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1864

#	Portrait	Lieutenant Governor	Party	Term
1		Christopher C. Cox	Unionist	1865–1868

Lieutenant Governors under the Maryland Constitution of 1867

Constitution amended November 4, 1970 to create the office of Lieutenant Governor.

#	Portrait	Lieutenant Governor	Party	Term start	Term end	Governor
2		Blair Lee III	Democrat	January 20, 1971	January 17, 1979	Marvin Mandel
3		Samuel W. Bogley	Democrat	January 17, 1979	January 19, 1983	Harry Hughes
4		J. Joseph Curran, Jr.	Democrat	January 19, 1983	January 21, 1987
5		Melvin A. Steinberg	Democrat	January 21, 1987	January 18, 1995	William D. Schaefer
6		Kathleen Kennedy Townsend	Democrat	January 18, 1995	January 15, 2003	Parris Glendening
7		Michael Steele	Republican	January 15, 2003	January 17, 2007	Bob Ehrlich
8		Anthony G. Brown	Democrat	January 17, 2007	January 21, 2015	Martin O'Malley
9		Boyd Rutherford	Republican	January 21, 2015	Incumbent	Larry Hogan

• Governor of Maryland
• Government of Maryland
• Lieutenant Governor (United States)

• Maryland State Archives. (October 20, 2017). Maryland Manual On-Line: A Guide to Maryland Government. "Lieutenant Governor". Retrieved August 15, 2020.