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Secretary of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Government official in Virginia, United States

Government official in Virginia, United States

FieldValue
postSecretary
bodythe Commonwealth of Virginia
flagFlag of Virginia.svg
flagcaptionFlag of Virginia
imageCandi King and Suzanne Youngkin - State of the Commonwealth 2024 (3x4cropped).jpg
incumbentCandi King
incumbentsinceJanuary 17, 2026
member_ofVirginia Governor's Cabinet
reports_toGovernor of Virginia
seatRichmond, Virginia
appointerGovernor of Virginia
website
insigniaSeal of Virginia.svg
insigniacaptionSeal of the Commonwealth of Virginia

NOTOC{{Infobox official post

The secretary of the commonwealth is a member of the Virginia Governor's Cabinet. The office is currently held by Secretary Candi King.

Duties of the secretary of the commonwealth

  1. Serving as the keeper of the seal of the commonwealth
  2. Assisting the governor in the appointment of thousands of individuals to serve on state boards and commissions
  3. Issuing the commissions of notaries public
  4. Authenticating documents
  5. Registering lobbyists
  6. Issuing the "Bluebook," officially "the Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth," an annual publication that identifies, "(a) the boards of visitors of all public institutions, and other boards appointed by the Governor; (b) all commissions issued under appointments made by the Governor, except commissions to notaries public; (c) all departments, boards, councils, commissions, and other collegial bodies created in the executive branch of state government; and (d) such other matters as the Governor requires." – The Report as defined by the Code of Virginia
  7. Issuing a state government organization chart
  8. Handling pardons and clemencies, restoration of civil rights of former felons, extradition, and service of process. Although the secretary is involved, the governor is responsible for granting pardons, clemency, and restorations of rights, as well as authorizing extradition. The secretary of the commonwealth's office handles the paperwork on behalf of the governor.

In a unique twist of Virginia law, unlike other members of the governor's Cabinet, the secretary of the commonwealth does not resign immediately upon the inauguration of a new governor, but remains in office for an additional week, serving a fixed term of four years, in order to ensure a smooth transition and ensure continuity in government.

History

Although the office has evolved over the years, the job has always involved the safekeeping of the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the Virginia Constitution of 1901, the secretary of the Commonwealth was an elected post, along with the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Under Virginia's current constitution, enacted in 1971, and with the creation of the governor's Cabinet during the administration of Governor A. Linwood Holton Jr., the secretary of the commonwealth has been an appointed member of the governor's Cabinet.

List of secretaries of the commonwealth (1788–present)

ImageNameTenureParty
[[File:John Harvie.jpg60px]]John Harvie1788–1800
Daniel L. Hylton1801–1811
William Robertson1811–1820
John Burfoot1820–1821
William H. Richardson1821–1852
George W. Munford1853–1865
Charles H. Lewis1865–1867
John M. Herndon1867–1869
[[File:Garrick Mallery.jpg60px]]Bvt. Col. Garrick Mallery1869–1870
James McDonald1870–1879
Thomas T. Flournoy*1880–1881
William C. Elam1882–1883
Henry W. Flournoy1884–1893
Joseph T. Lawless1894–1900
[[File:David Q Eggleston Drawing.jpg60px]]David Q. Eggleston1901–1910
[[File:BO James 1891.jpg60px]]B. O. James1910–1926
Martin A. Hutchinson1927–1929
Peter H. Saunders1930–1937
Raymond L. Jackson1938–1941
Ralph E. Wilkins1942–1944
Thelma Y. Gordon (acting)1945–1946
Jesse W. Dillon1946–1948
M. W. Armistead1948
Thelma Y. Gordon1948–1952
Martha Bell Conway1952–1970
Cynthia Newman1970–1974
Patricia Perkinson1974–1978
[[File:Stanford Parris.jpg60px]]Stanford E. Parris1978
Frederick T. Gray Jr.1978–1981
Marilyn Lussen (acting)1981–1982
Laurie Naismith1982–1985
H. Benson Dendy, III1985–1986
Sandra D. Bowen1986–1990
Pamela M. Womack1990–1993
Scott Bates1993
[[File:RubyGrantMartin1968.png60px]]Ruby Grant Martin1993–1994
Betsy Davis Beamer1994–1998
Anne P. Petera1998–2002
Anita A. Rimler2002–2006
Daniel G. LeBlanc2006Democratic
Katherine Hanley2006–2010Democratic
[[File:EMS Awards - Youngkin, Vestal Kelly, and Lindsay (cropped).jpg60px]]Janet Vestal Kelly2010–2014Republican
[[File:Levar Stoney 2010 (1).jpg60px]]Levar Stoney2014–2016Democratic
[[File:Kelly Thomasson.jpg60px]]Kelly Thomasson2016–2022Democratic
[[File:Kay Coles James 2020 (cropped).jpg60px]]Kay Coles James2022–2023Republican
[[File:Kelly Gee - State of the Commonwealth 2024 (cropped).jpg60px]]Kelly Gee2023–2026Republican
[[File:Candi King and Suzanne Youngkin - State of the Commonwealth 2024 (3x4cropped).jpg60px]]Candi King2026–presentDemocratic

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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