List of governors of Oregon

The Champoeg Meetings, including a constitutional committee, held from February 1841 until May 1843, served as a de facto government before the government was officially established. While early attempts at establishing a government had been unsuccessful because of discontent between English American and French Canadian settlers over the question, whom they should choose as governor, several other officers were elected at these meetings, including the position of Supreme Judge as the highest position at the second meeting. For lack of a government the Supreme Judge also received executive and legislative duties and was mostly chosen as the chairman of the following meetings.[1][2]

Executive			Term start	Term end
–		Chairman Jason Lee[3]	February 17, 1841
–		Chairman David Leslie[4]	February 18, 1841
1		Supreme Judge Ira Babcock	February 18, 1841	May 2, 1843
–	Vacant[5]		May 2, 1843	July 5, 1843

The meetings at Champoeg led up to the first constitution of the Oregon Country and several petitions for U.S. territorial status. The resulting acts also created this body as a provisional government for the region. The first executives of this government were a three-person, elected committee known as the executive committee. In 1845, elections for a chief executive were held. The first person in Oregon to hold the title of governor was George Abernethy, a prominent businessman.

Executive			Term start	Term end
1		First Executive Committee David Hill • Alanson Beers • Joseph Gale	July 5, 1843	May 14, 1844
2		Second Executive Committee Peter G. Stewart • Osborne Russell • William J. Bailey	May 14, 1844	June 3, 1845
3		George Abernethy	June 3, 1845	March 3, 1849[6]

Oregon became a U.S. Territory in 1848. Like most other U.S. territorial governments, Oregon's territorial governor was appointed by the President of the United States. As transportation and communications were not as reliable or as fast as 21st-century methods, there were times when a departing governor left office and a new governor could not yet take over. This resulted in several local individuals acting as territorial governor until the new executive was appointed and arrived to take office.

President Polk initially appointed Brigadier General James Shields to be Oregon's first territorial governor and Shields was confirmed by the Senate, but he declined the position and Joseph Lane was appointed in his place.

Democratic (3)       Whig (1)
Governor				Term in office	Appointed by	Party
1			Joseph Lane     December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881    (aged 79)	March 3, 1849 – June 18, 1850	James K. Polk	Democratic
–			Kintzing Prichette     June 24, 1800 – April 12, 1869    (aged 68)	June 18, 1850 – August 18, 1850	Acting Governor	Democratic
2			John P. Gaines     September 22, 1795 – December 9, 1857    (aged 62)	August 18, 1850 – May 16, 1853	Millard Fillmore	Whig
–			Joseph Lane     December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881    (aged 79)	May 16, 1853 – May 19, 1853	Acting Governor	Democratic
–			George Law Curry     July 2, 1820 – July 28, 1878    (aged 58)	May 19, 1853 – December 2, 1853	Acting Governor	Democratic
3			John W. Davis     April 16, 1799 – August 22, 1859    (aged 60)	December 2, 1853 – August 1, 1854	Franklin Pierce	Democratic
4			George Law Curry     July 2, 1820 – July 28, 1878    (aged 58)	August 1, 1854 – March 3, 1859	Franklin Pierce	Democratic