lieutenant governor#United States

{{short description|General title for high officer of state}}

A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-command", rather like deputy governor. In Canadian provinces and in the Dutch Caribbean,{{cite web|author=|title=Mevrouw Evelina Anthony benoemd tot waarnemend gezaghebber Bonaire|url=https://www.rijksdienstcn.com/nieuws/mevrouw-evelina-anthony-benoemd-tot-waarnemend-gezaghebber-bonaire|website=Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland|publisher=Government Service of the Caribbean Netherlands|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206020241/https://www.rijksdienstcn.com/nieuws/mevrouw-evelina-anthony-benoemd-tot-waarnemend-gezaghebber-bonaire|archive-date=6 February 2017|date=30 November 2015|location=Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands|trans-title=Ms Evelina Anthony appointed acting Lieutenant of Bonaire}} the lieutenant governor is the representative of the Canadian monarch or Dutch monarch in that jurisdiction, and thus outranks the head of government, but for practical purposes has virtually no power.

In India, lieutenant governors are in charge of union territories in that country.{{cite web|title=lieutenant governor|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/lieutenant-governor|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|access-date=21 March 2016}}

In the United States, lieutenant governors are usually second-in-command to a state governor, and the actual power held by the lieutenant governor varies greatly from state to state. The lieutenant governor is often first in line of succession to the governorship, and acts as governor when the governor leaves the state or is unable to serve. Also, the lieutenant governor is often the president of the state senate.{{Cite journal|last=Kettleborough|first=Charles|date=1917|title=Powers of the Lieutenant-Governor|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055400105611/type/journal_article|journal=American Political Science Review|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|pages=88–92|doi=10.2307/1944142|jstor=1944142 |s2cid=147306012 |issn=0003-0554}}

In Argentina, lieutenant governors are called "vice governors" and are modeled after the U.S. lieutenant governors, since as their U.S. counterpart the vice governors are the second-in-command to a provincial governor, and are the first in the gubernatorial line of succession. Also, the vice governor usually acts as the president of the provincial senate (or the provincial legislature in unicameral provinces).{{Cite web|title=El Poder Ejecutivo en las Provincias - Derecho Electoral Argentino|url=https://www.joseperezcorti.com.ar/Archivos/DPPyM/Unidades/U_08_Poder_Ejecutivo_en_las_Provincias.pdf|website=joseperezcorti.com.ar|language=es|access-date=18 September 2022}}{{Cite web|title=CONSTITUCIÓN DE LA PROVINCIA DE BUENOS AIRES|url=https://www.congreso.gob.ar/constituciones/BUENOS-AIRES.pdf|website=congreso.gob.ar|language=es|access-date=18 September 2022}}