Former Secretaries
From statehood until 1975, the office of Secretary of State was an elective office. In 1975, the passage of State Question 511 amended the Constitution, and provided for the gubernatorial appointment of the Secretary of State for a four year term to run concurrently with the term of the Governor. The appointment requires the consent of the Senate. The amendment became effective in January of 1979. State Question 436 passed in 1966 and declared the Secretary of State eligible to serve successive terms.
List of Secretaries of State Since Statehood
| Secretary of State | Term |
|---|---|
| Bill Cross (D) | November 16, 1907 |
| Thomas Smith (D) | Appointed August 6, 1910, after Cross' death |
| B. F. Harrison (D) | January 9, 1911 |
| H. G. Oliver (D) | Appointed January 2, 1915, after Harrison resigned |
| S. L. Lyon (D) | January 11, 1915 |
| Joe Morris (D) | January 13, 1919 |
| R. A. Sneed (D) | January 8, 1923 |
| Graves Leeper (D) | January 10, 1927 |
| R. A. Sneed (D) | January 6, 1931 |
| Frank C. Carter (D) | January 15, 1935 |
| C. C. Childers (D) | January 9, 1939 |
| Frank C. Carter (D) | January 11, 1943 |
| Katherine Manton (D) | Appointed November 8, 1946, after Carter resigned |
| Wilburn Cartwright (D) | January 13, 1947 |
| John D. Conner (D) | January 8, 1951 |
| Andy Anderson (D) | January 10, 1955 |
| John D. Conner (D) | January 12, 1959 |
| Wm. N. Christian (D) | Appointed August 31, 1959, after Conner's death |
| James M. Bullard (D) | January 14, 1963 |
| John Rogers (D) | January 9, 1967 |
| John Rogers (D) | January 11, 1971 |
| John Rogers (D) | January 13, 1975 |
| Jerome Byrd (D) | Appointed July 1, 1975, after Rogers resigned |
| Jeannette B.Edmondson (D) | February 1, 1979 |
| Jeannette B.Edmondson (D) | January 10, 1983 |
| Hannah D. Atkins (D) | January 12, 1987 |
| John Kennedy (D) | January 14, 1991 |
| Glo Henley (D) | Appointed February 2, 1994, after Kennedy resigned |
| Tom J. Cole (R) | January 9, 1995 |
| Mike Hunter (R) | Appointed March 16, 1999 |
| Kay Dudley (R) | Appointed October 16, 2002, after Hunter resigned |
| M. Susan Savage (D) | January 16, 2003 |
| V. Glenn Coffee (R) | January 10, 2011 |
| Michelle R. Day (R) | Appointed February 1, 2013, after Coffee resigned |
| Larry V. Parman (R) | Appointed March 1, 2013, after Day resigned |
| Chris Benge(R) | Appointed Nov 8, 2013, after Parman resigned |
| Mike Hunter (R) | Appointed Nov 1, 2016, after Benge resigned |
| Dave Lopez (R) | Appointed March 27, 2017, after Hunter resigned |
| James A. Williamson (R) | Appointed June 1, 2018, after Lopez resigned |
| Michael W. Rogers Jr. (R) | January 14, 2019 |
| Brian Bingman (R) | Appointed October 13, 2020 after Rogers resigned |
| Josh Cockroft (R) | Appointed September 14, 2023 after Bingman resigned |
| Benjamin M. Lepak (R) | Appointed October 2, 2025, after Cockroft resigned |
Last Modified on
Jun 01, 2026
