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And the Mountains Echoed
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And the Mountains Echoed
Author
Khaled Hosseini
Country
United States
Language
English
Genre
Historical fiction
Drama
Publisher
Riverhead Books
Publication date
May 21, 2013
Media type
Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages
402 pp (first edition, hardcover)
ISBN
9781594631764
OCLC
829999614
And the Mountains Echoed is the third novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2013 by Riverhead Books, it deviates from Hosseini's style in his first two works through his choice to avoid focusing on any one character. Rather, the book is written similarly to a collection of short stories, with each of the nine chapters being told from the perspective of a different character. The book's foundation is built on the relationship between ten-year-old Abdullah and his three-year-old sister Pari and their father's decision to sell her to a childless couple in Kabul, an event that ties the various narratives together.
Hosseini stated his intentions to make the characters more complex and morally ambiguous. Continuing the familial theme established in his previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, And the Mountains Echoed centers on the rapport between siblings. Besides Abdullah and Pari, Hosseini introduced two other sibling and sibling-like relationships—the children's stepmother Parwana and her disabled sister Masooma and an Afghan-American doctor named Idris and his cousin Timur.
As it was Hosseini's first novel to be published in six years, And the Mountains Echoed was reportedly in high demand.[1] It received favorable pre-publication reviews and was anticipated as another strong success, reaching the top 10 on Amazon.com before its release[2] and later becoming a bestseller.[3] Five months after the publication of And the Mountains Echoed, it was reported that three million copies had been sold.[4]
Contents
[hide]
1 Composition and publication
2 Plot
3 Characters
4 Themes
5 Critical reviews
6 See also
7 References
Composition and publication[edit]
Khaled Hosseini, 2007
Khaled Hosseini was born in Afghanistan but left the country in 1976 at the age of 11, eventually moving to the United States where he worked as a doctor. He wrote his first novel, The Kite Runner, in 2003 and became a full-time writer a year and a half later. He published his second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, in 2007. Both novels were successful, and by the time of his third publication they had together sold over 38 million copies across 70 countries.[5]
Hosseini first began to consider the plot of And the Mountains Echoed during a 2007 trip to Afghanistan with the UN Refugee Agency. While there, he heard stories from several village elders about the deaths of young, impoverished children during the winters, which gave the foundation for the fundamental event of the novel: a parent's choice to sell a child to prevent this from occurring.[5] "The novel began very, very small, and it began with a single image in my head that I simply could not shed," he relayed. "It was the image of a man walking across the desert and he's pulling a little Radio Flyer red wagon, and in it there's a little girl about 3 years old, and there's a boy walking behind him, and these three people are walking across the desert."[6] Hosseini originally planned for it to be written in a linear fashion similar to his previous novels, but, during the writing process, it was expanded to cover a series of interconnected stories surrounding a large number of characters not directly related to each other. Comparing the process to a tree, he stated that story "just branched out" and "got bigger and bigger as it went along".[7]
"Slowly, a family began to take shape in my mind-not unlike the many I had visited-one living in a remote village, forced to make a painful choice that most of us would find unbearable. At the heart of this family, I pictured a young brother and sister, who become the unwitting victims of their family's despair. The novel begins, then, with this single act of desperation, of sacrifice, an act that ruptures the family and ultimately becomes the tree trunk from which the novel's many branches spread out."
—Khaled Hosseini[5]
As is his pattern, Hosseini drew on his early experiences in Afghanistan to create the foundation of the book.[7] He states that his travels to Afghanistan later in life also influenced his writing, albeit involuntarily. For example, during a 2009 visit he met two young sisters in a remote village outside Kabul. The older one, who he estimated to be around six years old, acted as a mother figure to the younger girl. Hosseini stated that their bond formed the foundation of the relationship between Abdullah and Pari in the novel.[8]
And the Mountains Echoed became the first to not deal directly with the Taliban, which featured prominently in both of his previous works. Though Hosseini did not consciously decide to avoid that topic, he stated that he was glad that he had moved away from it in order to keep the storyline fresh.[5] The characters' struggles were largely personal and unrelated to the political turmoil in Afghanistan. Hosseini added, "I hope a day will come when we write about Afghanistan, where we can speak about Afghanistan in a context outside of the wars and the struggles of the last 30 years. In some way I think this book is an attempt to do that."[6]
The title was derived from a line from "The Nurse's Song" by English poet William Blake: "And all the hills echoed".[2][9] In January 2013, Publishers Weekly announced the publication date as May 21 of that year, and Riverhead Books released a statement that the novel was about "how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations".[10] First printed in hardback, And the Mountains Echoed was priced at $28.95 in the United States and £14.99 in the United Kingdom.[11][12] Hosseini went on a five-week tour to 41 cities across America to promote the book.[7][13] In October 2013, plans were confirmed to translate And the Mountains Echoed into 40 languages, among them Icelandic and Malay.[4]
Plot[edit]
The novel opens in the year 1952. Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. The choice devastates his ten-year-old son, Abdullah, who raised Pari following their mother's death in childbirth.
Subsequent chapters expound on how the arrangement came to be: the children's stepmother, Parwana, grew up as the less-favored child to her beautiful twin sister Masooma. One day, in a flash of jealousy, she caused Masooma to suffer a debilitating injury that resulted in paraplegia. Parwana subsequently spent several years caring for her sister until the latter asked her to help her commit suicide and to then marry Saboor. Their older brother, Nabi, left to work for Mr. Wahdati, a wealthy man in Kabul, and became infatuated with his wife, Nila. After Nila expressed dismay about her inability to have children, Nabi arranged for Pari to be sold to the couple.
In the ensuing years, Abdullah leaves Afghanistan and Mr. Wahdati suffers a stroke, prompting Nila to take Pari and move to Paris, France. Nabi, while assuming the role of Wahdati's primary caregiver, finds a number of sketchbooks in Wahdati's closet filled with pictures of him drawn before the stroke. Unnerved by the discovery that Mr. Wahdati loves him, he resolves to leave but decides against it after he is unable to find someone suitable to take over for him. Nabi subsequently spends the next 50 years working for Mr. Wahdati. He develops a deep bond with his employer, and Nabi comes to the realization that his purpose is to take care of Mr. Wahdati. Later Mr. Wahdati's health deteriorates further, and Nabi helps him commit assisted suicide by kissing him on the lips and pressing a pillow over his face.
Wahdati's neighbors, meanwhile, move to the United States with their children after the Soviet invasion. Cousins Idris and Timur return to Afghanistan over two decades later in 2003 to reclaim their family's property. While there, Timur makes a great show of publicly distributing money to street beggars while Idris privately bonds with Roshi, an Afghan girl who suffers from a horrific injury and whose family was murdered by her uncle. Idris at first promises to arrange for Roshi to undergo the operations needed for her recovery but distances himself from her and Afghanistan on returning to the States. Several years later, Idris comes across Roshi signing copies of her bestselling memoir, which she has dedicated to her adoptive mother and Timur, who paid for her surgery.
Nila, now living in Paris, is unhappy for much of her life, taking up a number of lovers and beginning to refer to the plain and practical Pari as her "punishment". She commits suicide in 1974 after giving a detailed interview about her early life. Pari suspects that she is not Nila's biological daughter and plans a trip to Afghanistan to explore her heritage. However, she postpones it indefinitely after marrying and becoming pregnant. After having three children and being widowed at the age of 48, she receives a posthumous letter from Nabi in 2010 detailing the circumstances of her adoption by the Wahdatis.
Later chapters focus on Adel, a boy learning that his father is a war criminal and that his house is built on the land that previously belonged to Saboor, and Markos, a Greek aid worker in Afghanistan and acquaintance of Nabi. In the final chapter, narrated by Abdullah's daughter, Abdullah and Pari are reunited in California. However, he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and is unable to remember her.
Characters[edit]
"Is the quintessential Afghan woman Nila, the dramatic Kabul socialite turned Parisian poetess? Or is she the guilt wracked Parwana, who feels condemned to a life of grief for a single moment of jealousy? Or is she the war-maimed [Roshi], whose story is written into an archetypal tale of woe for mass consumption by American readers, where the guilt of the Afghan character melts indelibly with the guilt of the Western reader, accomplishing with grace the revelation of the complicated relationship between the two?"
—Rafia Zakaria, a director of Amnesty International USA[14]
Khaled Hosseini chose to tell the story in a "fragmented and fluid" form;[15] each of the nine chapters is told from a different character's perspective, and each narrative provides an interconnection with the others'. Los Angeles Times critic Wendy Smith compared this style to the classic One Thousand and One Nights.[15]
Abdullah is an Afghan growing up in the fictional village of Shadbagh. After his father's choice to sell his younger sister to a couple in Kabul, he resolves to leave Afghanistan, travelling to Pakistan and eventually the United States. He opens an Afghan restaurant there and has a daughter, whom he names after his sister. Following his wife's death, Abdullah is diagnosed with Alzheimer's and is later unable to remember his sister after being reunited with her.
Pari is Abdullah's younger sister who, at the age of three, is sold by her father to the wealthy Wahdati couple in Kabul. She and Abdullah are portrayed as having an unusually close relationship during her early years, though she forgets him along with the rest of her biological family following her adoption. She spends her adolescence and adulthood in France following her adoptive father's stroke and eventually becomes aware of her history through a posthumous letter from her uncle Nabi, who had arranged for her to be sold as a child. When she is finally reunited with Abdullah, he is unable to remember her due to his Alzheimer's. "I could see that if the reunion were to occur, it would occur on these terms and it wouldn't be the reunion we'd expect and perhaps the one we want," Hosseini explained.[16]
Nila Wahdati is a young Afghan woman renowned for her sexually charged poetry who is married off to a wealthy Kabul businessman. According to Hosseini, many aspects of her character were derived from women he encountered during parties his parents hosted in Kabul in the 1970s, many of whom he recalls as "beautiful, very outspoken, temperamental...drinking freely, smoking".[16] At some point prior to the beginning of the story, she was apparently sterilized while undergoing treatment for an illness, leading her to buy Pari as an adopted daughter. Described as unusually beautiful and discontent, she later relocates to Paris following her husband's stroke and eventually commits suicide. Hosseini explained that he was unconcerned with making Nila likable—"I just wanted her to be real – full of anger and ambition and insight and frailty and narcissism."[16]
Parwana is the stepmother of Abdullah and Pari. She grew up in Shadbagh with her brother, Nabi, and twin sister, Masooma. Parwana is ill-favored for most of her life as opposed to the strikingly beautiful Masooma. This eventually results in what Rafia Zakaria describes as a "poignant tale of a plain twin whose single act of vengeance, of pushing her pretty sister off a swing results in a lifelong moral burden".[14] Masooma's accident leaves her paralyzed, leaving Parwana tortured by guilt and forced to care for her from then on.[14] After several years, Masooma persuades Parwana to leave her in the desert to die and marry Saboor, Abdullah and Pari's father.
Nabi is the older brother of Parwana and Masooma. Despite being "a character who slips beneath the notice of many of the novel's noisier characters",[17] he organizes the event that serves as the primary plot of the story: the adoption of Pari. After being hired as a chauffeur for the Wahdatis, he becomes infatuated with the childless Nila and arranges for Pari to be sold to her in hopes that she will become his lover.[17] After Nila's husband suffers a stroke and Nila leaves for Paris, he realizes that he had been foolish to think so and becomes the primary caregiver for his bedridden employer. He later develops a deep bond with Mr. Wahdati, and they become platonic lifelong partners.[17]
Amra Ademovic is a Bosnian nurse working in a hospital in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. She cares for and later adopts Roshi, a critically wounded Afghan orphan. Amra, according to Hosseini, was created to represent the foreign aid workers serving in Afghanistan. While visiting the country in 2003, he had encountered a number of people who had left comfortable lifestyles to help provide relief aid, and he had wanted to pay tribute to them through the portrayal of Amra.[18] Hosseini described the character as one of his favorites[18] and said, "She has seen humanity at its worst, having worked in war zones most of her career, and yet she has retained great capacity for compassion and mercy. She is also very street smart, fiercely intelligent, and brutally honest."[9]
Idris is an Afghan-American doctor who left Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. He later returns to Afghanistan, along with his narcissistic and childish cousin Timur, in 2003 to reclaim their family's land. While there, Idris meets Roshi and befriends her, moved by her tragic story. Hosseini stated that Idris' experience as an Afghan expatriate was partly based on his own. "He was a vehicle to describe what it's like to be an Afghan in exile, to return to see how divergent my experience was from other Afghans," Hosseini said.[18] Idris begins to set up plans to pay for her surgery in America, but upon returning home, he loses that drive. It is later revealed Timur pays for Roshi's surgery.
Markos Varvaris is a plastic surgeon from the Greek island of Tinos. His childhood best friend, Thalia, suffered from severe facial disfigurement after being attacked by a dog and undergoing a botched surgery. This motivated Markos to become a surgeon and work in various developing countries, including Afghanistan.
Adel is the son of a wealthy war criminal who has turned Shadbagh into "Shadbagh-e-Nau" or "New Shadbagh". Adel is raised in an isolated mansion with the belief that his father is a hero, witnessing him donate money and fund the building of schools. When he discovers the truth, he is deeply upset but aware of "[t]he part of him that over time would gradually, almost imperceptibly, accept this new identity that at present prickled like a wet wool sweater."[19]
Themes[edit]
Whereas The Kite Runner focused on the dynamic between fathers and sons, and Splendid Suns on that between mothers and daughters, this novel tells its story through the prism of sibling relationships — a theme refracted through the lives of several pairs of brothers and sisters.
—  Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times[20]
Khaled Hosseini considers pain, love, and familial love to be the primary themes of And the Mountains Echoed. The separation of the two siblings, Abdullah and Pari, is "the heart of the book".[6] Both subsequently become "victims of the passage of time": Abdullah, who is older and remembers Pari, agonizes over her loss for most of his life, while Pari is younger and able to forget her brother after losing him. However, towards the end of the book, Pari is informed that she was adopted and that she has a brother, Abdullah; she locates him in the United States only to discover that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and has forgotten her. Hosseini stated, "The question is raised a number of times about whether memory is a blessing — something that safeguards in all the things that are dear to you — or is memory a curse — something that makes you relive the most painful parts of your life, the toil, the struggle, the sorrows."[6] Thus, the combination of these events make And the Mountains Echoed "kind of like a fairytale turned on its head".[16]
I think at the core, all three of my books have been love stories — and they haven't been traditional love stories in the sense that a romantic love story between a man and a woman, you know, they've been stories of love between characters where you would not expect love to be found. So it is always these intense relationships that form under unexpected circumstances.[6]
Rafia Zakaria, a director for Amnesty International USA, wrote that the themes of guilt and gratitude also feature prominently. She used the backstory of Parwana, Abdullah and Pari's stepmother, and her sister Masooma as an example: "We find a poignant tale of a plain twin whose single act of vengeance, of pushing her pretty sister off a swing results in a lifelong moral burden. The sister, who was to be married to a man both sisters love, becomes an invalid for life, and both serve the sentence, the healthy one tending to the other and wrecked within by the knowledge that she was the cause of their collective misfortune."[14] She stated the theme of dependence also extended to the story of Nabi, the brother of Parwana who arranges the selling of Pari and who is later left as the sole caretaker of his paralyzed employer.[14]
Critical reviews[edit]
"It's hard to do justice to a novel this rich in a short review. There are a dozen things I still want to say — about the rhyming pairs of characters, the echoing situations, the varied takes on honesty, loneliness, beauty and poverty, the transformation of emotions into physical ailments. Instead, I'll just add this: Send Hosseini up the bestseller list again."
—Marcela Valdes of The Washington Post[21]
Three million copies of And the Mountains Echoed were sold within five months of its publication.[4] In general, the novel was received well, with Los Angeles Times critic Wendy Smith finding it "painfully sad but also radiant with love".[15] Fran Hawthorne of The National described the book as "masterful storytelling" and a "haunting portrayal of war-ravaged Afghanistan and insight into the life of Afghan expatriates".[22] Susan Balee from Philly.com wrote that it "[captures] at the personal level the history of his war-torn homeland: Fierce loyalties alternate with bloody betrayals".[23] The Guardian's Philip Hensher gave a more mediocre review and said, "I enjoyed this novel in a very undemanding sort of way. The shifts of viewpoint would be ambitious if the novel had any interest in varieties of psychology. But it serves its purpose in providing amusement for two and a half hours; a day after finishing it, I had forgotten everything about it."[24]
Reviewers agreed that Hosseini's succeeded in making his characters complex. Alexander Linklater from The Guardian wrote, "From the moment the realisation dawns that Saboor is going to give Pari to the wife of a wealthy man in Kabul, Hosseini saturates the various layers and characters of his novel with a yearning for the moment that brother and sister will reunite."[25] Soniah Kamal of Atlanta Arts was particularly favorable towards Amra, the Bosnian aid worker who cares for and adopts Roshi, as she "stuns with her hope in humanity no matter what callousness she has witnessed".[26] USA Today critic Kevin Nance found the story of Abdullah and Pari "devastating" but thought the large cast of characters, "including some introduced fairly late in the proceedings, when the reader just wants to return to the core cast", was excessive.[27]
The structure of the book drew mixed reactions, with Toronto Star's Kim Hughs describing it as "the novel's most defining feature and its most exasperating conceit". She believed that Pari was meant to be the protagonist of the story but that the shifting focus on the numerous other personalities left her "barely [squeaking] through the clutter".[28] The Independent's Arifa Akbar stated, "The changing points of view and leaps in time can confuse and confine, leaving characters clearly defined but lacking depth. Decades gallop by and it is as if the story of these interconnected, cross -generational lives will simply go on echoing the original crime of Abdullah and Pari's separation."[29] Michiko Kakutani from The New York Times thought the novella-like storytelling was handled well and wrote, "Khaled Hosseini's new novel, And the Mountains Echoed, may have the most awkward title in his body of work, but it's his most assured and emotionally gripping story yet, more fluent and ambitious than The Kite Runner (2003), more narratively complex than A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007)."[20] Kamal agreed, saying that the structure was "exquisitely crafted".[26] Scoop Empire's Sherine El Banhawy added that the focus on multiple characters allowed to readers to gain a better understanding of the diversities of Afghan culture.[30]
See also[edit]
A Fort of Nine Towers
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Kite Runner
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Medley, Mark (May 13, 2013). "Relative unease: Khaled Hosseini discusses And The Mountains Echoed". National Post. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Italie, Hillel (June 2, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini on his new novel "And the Mountains Echoed"". Denver Post. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ "'And the Mountains Echoed' is a local best-seller". The Seattle Times. July 7, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Khaled Hosseini condemns Western 'fortress mentality'". Dawn.com. October 19, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Jain, Saudamini (May 26, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini and his new book And The Mountains Echoed". Hindustan Times. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Siblings' Separation Haunts In 'Kite Runner' Author's Latest". NPR. May 19, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c Merschel, Michael (June 7, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini struggled with 'And the Mountains Echoed'". Dallas News. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ Martin Wrenn, Jill (June 24, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini on parenthood and political asylum". CNN. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Alter Mark, Lois (May 21, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini on And the Mountains Echoed". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ "New Khaled Hosseini Book To Publish in May 2013". Publishers Weekly. January 14, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ "And the Mountains Echoed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Purchase Khaled Hosseini's new novel for just £14.99". The Daily Telegraph. May 23, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Khaled Hosseini's tour for AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED announced exclusively by Entertainment Weekly!". Riverhead Books. February 21, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Zarkaria, Rafia (May 28, 2013). "Resurrecting Afghanistan: Khaled Hosseini's 'And the Mountains Echoed'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c Smith, Wendy (May 23, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini sets 'And the Mountains Echoed' against Afghan history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Hoby, Hermione (May 31, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini: 'If I could go back now, I'd take The Kite Runner apart'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c Brown, Helen (May 23, 2013). "And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c Pera, Mariam (July 3, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini Discusses Unforeseen Consequences". American Libraries Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
Jump up ^ Al-Shawaf, Rayyan (May 17, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini examines generations connected by a Kabul villa in 'And the Mountains Echoed'". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Kakutani, Michiko (May 20, 2013). "Siblings Haunted by the Past, and by Afghanistan's Cycle of Misery". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ Valdes, Marcela (May 20, 2013). "Book review: Khaled Hosseini's 'And the Mountains Echoed' is riveting and complex". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ Hawthorne, Fran (May 18, 2013). "Khaled Hosseini's new novel captures the Afghan experience at home and abroad". The National. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Balee, Susan (June 23, 2013). "Tales 'we're not entitled to'". Philly.com. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Hensher, Philip (May 23, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – review". The Guardian. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
Jump up ^ Linklater, Alexander (May 25, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – review". The Guardian. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Kamal, Soniah (June 5, 2013). "Review: Khaled Hosseini finds light amid darkness in masterful "And the Mountains Echoed"". Atlanta Arts. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ Nance, Kevin (May 21, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed". USA Today. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
Jump up ^ Hughes, Kim (May 16, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini: Review". The Star. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
Jump up ^ Akbar, Arifa (May 31, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed, By Khaled Hosseini; A Fort of Nine Towers, By Qais Akbar Omar". The Independent. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
Jump up ^ El Banhawy, Sherine (June 20, 2013). "And the Mountains Echoed". Scoop Empire. Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
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List of Governors of Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Governor of Texas
Seal of the Governor
Incumbent
Greg Abbott
since January 20, 2015
Style
The Honorable
Residence
Texas Governor's Mansion
Term length
Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder
James Pinckney Henderson
1846
Formation
Texas Constitution
Salary
$150,000 (2013)[1]
Website
Office of the Governor
The Governor of Texas is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Texas, the presiding officer over the executive branch of the Government of Texas, and the commander-in-chief of the Texas National Guard, the State's militia. The governor has the power to consider bills passed by the Texas Legislature, by signing them into law, or vetoing them, and in bills relating to appropriations, the power of a line-item veto. He may convene the legislature, and grant pardons and reprieves,[2] except in cases of impeachment, and upon the permission of the legislature, in cases of treason. The State provides an official residence, the Governor's Mansion in Austin. The incumbent, Greg Abbott, is the forty-eighth governor, of whom two have been women, to serve in the office since Texas' statehood in 1845.
When compared to those of other states, the Governorship of Texas has been described as one of relative weakness.[3][4] In some respects, it is the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, who presides over the Texas Senate, who possesses greater influence to exercise their prerogatives.[3][4]
The governor is inaugurated on the third Tuesday of January every four years along with the Lieutenant Governor, and serves a term of four years. Prior to the present laws, in 1845, the state's first constitution established the office of governor, serving a term of two years, but no more than four years of every six.[5] The 1861 constitution, following secession from the Union, established the first Monday of November following election as the term's start.[6] Following the end of the American Civil War, the 1866 constitution increased term length to four years, limiting overall service to no more than eight years of every twelve, moving the term's start to the first Thursday following organization of the legislature, or "as soon thereafter as practicable."[7] The constitution of 1869, enacted during Reconstruction, removed term limitations,[8] to this day making Texas one of fourteen states[9] with no limit on gubernatorial terms. The present constitution of 1876 returned terms to two years,[10] but a 1972 amendment again returned them to four.[11]
Since its establishment, only one man has served in excess of eight years as governor: Rick Perry. Perry, the longest-serving governor in state history, assumed the governorship in 2000 upon the exit of George W. Bush, who resigned to take office as the 43rd President of the United States. Perry was re-elected in 2002, 2006, and 2010 serving for 14 years before choosing to retire in 2014.
Allan Shivers assumed the governorship upon the death of Beauford Jester in July 1949 and was re-elected in 1950, 1952 and 1954, serving for 7 1/2 years, making him the second longest serving Texas governor. Price Daniel was elected to the governorship in 1956 and re-elected in 1958 and 1960 before losing his re-election for an unprecedented fourth term in the 1962 Democratic primary, missing the runoff. John Connally was elected in 1962 and re-elected in 1964 and 1966 before choosing to retire in 1968.
In the case of a vacancy in the office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.[12] Prior to a 1999 amendment, the lieutenant governor only acted as governor until the expiration of the term to which he succeeded.[13][14]
Contents
[hide]
1 Governors of Spanish Texas
2 Governors of Mexican Texas
3 Presidents of the Republic of Texas
4 Governors of Texas
5 Other high offices held
6 Living former governors of Texas
7 Gubernatorial trivia
7.1 Background
7.2 Elections
7.3 Texas governors in popular culture
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
Governors of Spanish Texas[edit]
See: List of Texas Governors and Presidents
Governors of Mexican Texas[edit]
See: List of Texas Governors and Presidents
Presidents of the Republic of Texas[edit]
See: President of the Republic of Texas#List of presidents and vice presidents
Governors of Texas[edit]
Number of Governors of Texas by party affiliation
Party
Governors
Democratic 39
Republican 7
Unionist 1
Independent 1
Military 1
#
Governor
Term in office
Party
Election
Prior office
Lt. Governor
1 James Pinckney Henderson
March 31, 1808 - June 4, 1858
(Aged 50) February 19, 1846
-
December 21, 1847 Democratic 1845 Minister to England and France Republic of Texas
(1837-1840) Albert Clinton Horton
2 George T. Wood
March 12, 1795 - September 3, 1858
(Aged 63) December 21, 1847
–
December 21, 1849 Democratic 1847 Texas State Senator
(1846-1847) John Alexander Greer
3 Peter Hansborough Bell
May 11, 1810 - March 8, 1898
(Aged 87) December 21, 1849
–
November 23, 1853 Democratic 1849 Lieutenant colonel of the Second Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers
(1845-1949)
1851
[15] James W. Henderson
[16]
4 James W. Henderson
August 15, 1817 - August 30, 1880
(Aged 63) November 23, 1853
–
December 21, 1853 Democratic 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1851-1853) Office vacant
5 Elisha M. Pease
January 3, 1812 - August 26, 1883
(Aged 71) December 21, 1853
–
December 21, 1857 Unionist 1853 Texas State Senator
(1849-1851) David Catchings Dickson
1855 Hardin Richard Runnels
6 Hardin R. Runnels
August 30, 1820 - December 25, 1873
(Aged 53) December 21, 1857
–
December 21, 1859 Democratic 1857 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1855-1857) Francis Lubbock
7 Sam Houston
March 2, 1793 - July 26, 1863
(Aged 70) December 21, 1859
–
March 16, 1861 Independent 1859
[17] U.S. Senator from Texas
(1846-1859) Edward Clark
[16]
8 Edward Clark
April 1, 1815 - May 4, 1880
(Aged 65) March 18, 1861
–
November 7, 1861 Democratic 7th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1859-1861) Office vacant
9 Francis Lubbock
October 16, 1815 - June 22, 1905
(Aged 89) November 7, 1861
–
November 5, 1863 Democratic 1861 6th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1857-1859) John McClannahan Crockett
10 Pendleton Murrah
1824 or 1826 - August 4, 1865
(Aged about 40) November 5, 1863
–
June 17, 1865 Democratic 1863
[18] Texas State Representative
(1857) Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale
[19]
- Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale
1823 or 1825 - February 4, 1890
(Aged about 67) June 11, 1865
–
June 16, 1865 Military 9th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1863-1865) Office vacant
11 Andrew Jackson Hamilton
January 28, 1815 - April 11, 1875
(Aged 60) June 16, 1865
–
August 9, 1866
[20] Democratic-Military Texas State Senator-Elect
(1861)
12 James W. Throckmorton
February 1, 1825 - April 21, 1894
(Aged 69) August 9, 1866
–
August 8, 1867 Democratic 1866
[21] Captain of the 6th Texas Cavalry Regiment Confederate Army
(1861-1863) George Washington Jones
13 Elisha M. Pease
January 3, 1812 - August 26, 1883
(Aged 71) August 8, 1867
–
September 30, 1869
[21][22] Republican 5th Governor of Texas
(1853-1857) Office vacant
14 Edmund J. Davis
October 2, 1827 - February 7, 1883
(Aged 55) January 8, 1870
–
January 15, 1874 Republican 1869
[23] Brigadier General of the First Texas Cavalry Regiment Union Army
(1862-1865)
15 Richard Coke
March 18, 1829 - May 14, 1897
(Aged 68) January 15, 1874
–
December 1, 1876 Democratic 1873 Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
(1866-1867) Richard B. Hubbard
[16]
1876
[24]
16 Richard B. Hubbard
November 1, 1832 - July 12, 1901
(Aged 68) December 1, 1876
–
January 21, 1879 Democratic 16th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1874-1876) Office vacant
17 Oran Milo Roberts
July 9, 1815 – May 19, 1898
(Aged 82) January 21, 1879
–
January 16, 1883 Democratic 1878 7th Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
(1874-1879) Joseph D. Sayers
1880 Leonidas Jefferson Storey
18 John Ireland
January 1, 1827 – March 15, 1896
(Aged 69) January 16, 1883
–
January 18, 1887 Democratic 1882 Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
(1875-1876) Francis Marion Martin
1884 Barnett Gibbs
19 Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross
September 27, 1838 – January 3, 1898
(Aged 59) January 18, 1887
–
January 20, 1891 Democratic 1886 Texas State Senator
(1881-1883) Thomas Benton Wheeler
1888
20 Jim Hogg
March 24, 1851 – March 3, 1906
(Aged 54) January 20, 1891
–
January 15, 1895 Democratic 1890 21st Attorney General of Texas
(1887-1891) George Cassety Pendleton
1892 Martin McNulty Crane
21 Charles A. Culberson
June 10, 1855 – March 19, 1925
(Aged 69) January 15, 1895
–
January 17, 1899 Democratic 1894 22nd Attorney General of Texas
(1891-1895) George Taylor Jester
1896
22 Joseph D. Sayers
September 23, 1841 – May 15, 1929
(Aged 87) January 17, 1899
–
January 20, 1903 Democratic 1898 U.S. Representative for Texas' 9th district
(1893-1899) James Browning
1900
23 S. W. T. Lanham
July 4, 1846 – July 29, 1908
(Aged 62) January 20, 1903
–
January 15, 1907 Democratic 1902 U.S. Representative for Texas' 8th district
(1897-1903) George D. Neal
1904
24 Thomas Mitchell Campbell
April 22, 1856 – April 1, 1923
(Aged 66) January 15, 1907
–
January 17, 1911 Democratic 1906 General Manager of the Railroad
(1892-1897) Asbury Bascom Davidson
1908
25 Oscar Branch Colquitt
December 16, 1861 – March 8, 1940
(Aged 78) January 17, 1911
–
January 19, 1915 Democratic 1910 Texas Railroad Commissioner
(1903-1911)
1912 William Harding Mayes
26 James E. "Pa" Ferguson
August 31, 1871 – September 21, 1944
(Aged 73) January 19, 1915
–
August 25, 1917 Democratic 1914 Local banker
(since 1906) William P. Hobby
[25]
1916
[26]
27 William P. Hobby
March 26, 1878 – June 7, 1964
(Aged 86) August 25, 1917
–
January 18, 1921 Democratic 24th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1915-1917) Office vacant
1918 Willard Arnold Johnson
28 Pat Morris Neff
November 26, 1871 – January 20, 1952
(Aged 80) January 18, 1921
–
January 20, 1925 Democratic 1920 Texas State Representative
(1899-1903) Lynch Davidson
1922 Thomas Whitfield Davidson
29 Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson
June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961
(Aged 86) January 20, 1925
–
January 18, 1927 Democratic 1924 First Lady of Texas
(1915–1917) Barry Miller
30 Dan Moody
June 1, 1893 – May 22, 1966
(Aged 72) January 18, 1927
–
January 20, 1931 Democratic 1926 32nd Attorney General of Texas
(1931–1935)
1928
31 Ross S. Sterling
February 11, 1875 – March 25, 1949
(Aged 74) January 20, 1931
–
January 17, 1933 Democratic 1930 Chairman of the Texas Highway Commission
(1930) Edgar E. Witt
32 Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson
June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961
(Aged 86) January 17, 1933
–
January 15, 1935 Democratic 1932 29th Governor of Texas
(1925-1927)
33 James Allred
March 29, 1899 – September 24, 1959
(Aged 60) January 15, 1935
–
January 17, 1939 Democratic 1934 35th Attorney General of Texas
(1931–1935) Walter Frank Woodul
1936
34 Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel
March 11, 1890 – May 11, 1969
(Aged 79) January 17, 1939
–
August 4, 1941 Democratic 1938 President of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
(1933-1934) Coke R. Stevenson
[25]
1940
[27]
35 Coke R. Stevenson
March 20, 1888 – June 28, 1975
(Aged 87) August 4, 1941
–
January 21, 1947 Democratic 31st Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1939-1941) Office vacant
1942 John Lee Smith
1944
36 Beauford H. Jester
January 12, 1893 – July 11, 1949
(Aged 56) January 21, 1947
–
July 11, 1949 Democratic 1946 Member of the Texas Railroad Commission
(1943-1947) Allan Shivers
[25]
1948
[28]
37 Allan Shivers
October 5, 1907 – January 14, 1985
(Aged 77) July 11, 1949
–
January 15, 1957 Democratic 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1947-1949) Office vacant
1950 Ben Ramsey
1952
1954
38 Price Daniel
October 10, 1910 – August 25, 1988
(Aged 77) January 15, 1957
–
January 15, 1963 Democratic 1956 U.S. Senator from Texas
(1953-1957)
1958
1960
Office vacant
39 John Connally
February 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993
(Aged 76) January 15, 1963
–
January 21, 1969 Democratic 1962 56th United States Secretary of the Navy
(1961) Preston Smith
1964
1966
40 Preston Smith
March 8, 1912 – October 18, 2003
(Aged 91) January 21, 1969
–
January 16, 1973 Democratic 1968 35th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1963-1969) Ben Barnes
1970
41 Dolph Briscoe
April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010
(Aged 87) January 16, 1973
–
January 16, 1979 Democratic 1972 Texas State Representative
(1949-1957) William P. Hobby Jr.
1974
42 Bill Clements
April 13, 1917 – May 29, 2011
(Aged 94) January 16, 1979
–
January 18, 1983 Republican 1978 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
(1973-1977)
43 Mark White
March 17, 1940 – August 5, 2017
(Aged 77) January 18, 1983
–
January 20, 1987 Democratic 1982 46th Attorney General of Texas
(1979-1983)
44 Bill Clements
April 13, 1917 – May 29, 2011
(Aged 94) January 20, 1987
–
January 15, 1991 Republican 1986 42nd Governor of Texas
(1979-1983)
45 Ann Richards
September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006
(Aged 73) January 15, 1991
–
January 17, 1995 Democratic 1990 Treasurer of Texas
(1983-1991) Bob Bullock
46 George W. Bush
July 6, 1946 (Age 71) January 17, 1995
–
December 21, 2000 Republican 1994 Managing General Partner of the Texas Rangers
(1989-1994)
1998
[29] Rick Perry
47 Rick Perry
March 4, 1950 (Age 68) December 21, 2000
–
January 20, 2015 Republican 39th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
(1999-2000) Bill Ratliff
2002 David Dewhurst
2006
2010
48 Greg Abbott
November 13, 1957 (Age 60) January 20, 2015
–
Incumbent Republican 2014
[30] 50th Attorney General of Texas
(2002-2015) Dan Patrick
Other high offices held[edit]
Governor
Gubernatorial Term
Other high offices held
James Pinckney Henderson 1846–1847 U.S. Senator (1857–1858)
Peter Hansborough Bell 1849–1853 U.S. Representative (1853–1857)
Sam Houston 1859–1861 U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1823–1827), Governor of Tennessee (1827–1829), President of Texas (1836–1838, 1841–1844), U.S. Senator (1846–1859)
Andrew Jackson Hamilton 1865–1866 U.S. Representative (1859–1861)
James W. Throckmorton 1866–1867 U.S. Representative (1875–1879, 1883–1887)
Richard Coke 1874–1876 U.S. Senator (1877–1895)
Richard B. Hubbard 1876–1879 Minister to Japan (1885–1889)
Charles Allen Culberson 1895–1899 U.S. Senator (1899–1923)
Joseph D. Sayers 1899–1903 U.S. Representative (1885–1893, 1893–1899)
S. W. T. Lanham 1903–1907 U.S. Representative (1883–1893, 1897–1903)
W. Lee O'Daniel 1939–1941 U.S. Senator (1941–1949)
Price Daniel 1957–1963 U.S. Senator (1953–1957)
John Connally 1963–1969 U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1961), U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972)
Bill Clements 1979–1983
1987–1991 U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense (1973–1977)
George W. Bush 1995–2000 43rd President of the United States (2001–2009)
Rick Perry 2000–2015 United States Secretary of Energy
Living former governors of Texas[edit]
Currently, there are two living former governors of Texas. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Mark White (1983–1987), who died on August 5, 2017. The most recently serving governor of Texas who has died is Ann Richards (1991–1995, born 1933), who died on September 13, 2006. Pictured in order of service:
George W. Bush
(1995–2000)
(1946-07-06) July 6, 1946 (age 71)
Rick Perry
(2000–2015)
(1950-03-04) March 4, 1950 (age 68)
Gubernatorial trivia[edit]
Along with the Seal of Office, the governor of Texas also has a flag. It is not in common use.
Background[edit]
Texas has had two female governors: Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson and Ann Richards. Ferguson was one of the first two women elected governor of a U.S. state (on November 4, 1924), along with Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming. Ross was inaugurated on January 5, 1925, while Ferguson was inaugurated on January 20, so Ross is considered the first female state governor. Ferguson was the wife of former governor Jim "Pa" Ferguson, while Richards was elected "in her own right," being neither the spouse nor widow of a governor.
Texas governors have been born in fourteen states: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Baylor University is the most common alma mater of Texas governors, with five of them - Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Pat Morris Neff, Price Daniel, Mark White, and Ann Richards - considered alumni (though Ross attended but never completed a degree). To date, Coke Stevenson is the most recent governor who never attended college, and Bill Clements is the most recent who attended college but did not graduate.
Elections[edit]
Three governors have served non-consecutive terms: Elisha M. Pease, Miriam A. Ferguson, and Bill Clements. As was the case in most Southern states, Texas did not elect any Republican governor from the end of Reconstruction until the late twentieth century. Bill Clements was the state's first Republican governor since Edmund J. Davis left office in 1874, 105 years earlier. Dolph Briscoe was the last governor to be elected to a two-year term, in 1972; he was also the first to be elected to a four-year term, in 1974, since the post-Reconstruction period when two-year terms had first been established. Rick Perry, who ascended to the governorship on December 21, 2000 upon the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush, won full four-year terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
Texas governors in popular culture[edit]
W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel served as the inspiration for the fictional, but similarly named, Mississippi Governor Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel, in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Ann Richards had a cameo appearance on an episode of the animated comedy series King of the Hill, in which she has a brief romance with Bill Dauterive after he takes the fall for mooning her in the elevator of an Austin hotel (Hank actually mooned her because he thought his friends were going to be mooning the people in the elevator but they set him up).
See also[edit]
Texas portal
List of Texas Governors and Presidents
List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ "CSG Releases 2013 Governor Salaries". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
Jump up ^ Upon recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles
^ Jump up to: a b Suellentrop, Chip (2000-01-05). "Is George W. Bush a "Weak" Governor?". Slate Magazine - Explainer. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
^ Jump up to: a b Ivins, Molly; Lou Dubose (2000). Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush. New York: Vintage Books. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 0-375-75714-7.
Jump up ^ 1845 Const. Art V sec 4
Jump up ^ 1861 Const. art V sec 12
Jump up ^ 1866 Const. art V sec 4
Jump up ^ 1869 Const. Art IV sec 4
Jump up ^ Executive Branch Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. retrieved 23-October-2008
Jump up ^ TX Const. Art IV sec 4
Jump up ^ Texas Politics - The Executive Branch Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine.. Texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu. Retrieved on 2013-07-15.
Jump up ^ TX Const. art IV sec 16 graf d
Jump up ^ Under the 1861 constitution, law provided that the lieutenant governor would be "styled Governor of the State of Texas" in case of vacancy.
Jump up ^ 1861 Const art V sec 12
Jump up ^ Resigned to take an elected seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
^ Jump up to: a b c As lieutenant governor, filled an unexpired term
Jump up ^ Evicted from office due to his refusal to swear an oath to the Confederate States of America.
Jump up ^ Fled Austin as it fell to Union forces.
Jump up ^ NGA says he was Lt. Gov who served as Gov after Murrah fled Texas.
Jump up ^ Provisional military governor.
^ Jump up to: a b James Throckmorton was removed from office by General Philip Sheridan, and Elisha Pease installed in his place.
Jump up ^ Resigned due to disagreements with General Joseph Reynolds.
Jump up ^ Elected in a special election held under military direction.
Jump up ^ Resigned to take an elected seat in the U.S. Senate.
^ Jump up to: a b c As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term, and was subsequently elected in their own right.
Jump up ^ Resigned due to the legislature bringing impeachment proceedings against him.
Jump up ^ Resigned after winning the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat; he won the election.
Jump up ^ Died in office.
Jump up ^ Resigned to be U.S. President.
Jump up ^ Governor Abbott's first term expires on January 15, 2019; he is not term limited.
References[edit]
General
Legislative Reference Library of Texas -- Governors of Texas
Governor (of Texas) from the Handbook of Texas Online
The Handbook of Texas Online: Texas History Quiz -- Presidents and Governors of Texas
Explanation of the strengths of governors
Constitutions
1876 Constitution, as amended (Current)
1876 Constitution
1869 Constitution
1866 Constitution
1861 Constitution
1845 Constitution
[show]
v
t
e
Current statewide political officials of Texas
U.S. Senators
John Cornyn
Ted Cruz
State government
Greg Abbott, Governor
Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor & President of the Senate
Rolando Pablos, Secretary of State (appointed)
Ken Paxton, Attorney General
Glenn Hegar, Comptroller (Treasurer equivalent)
George P. Bush, Land Commissioner
Sid Miller, Agriculture Commissioner
Christi Craddick, Ryan Sitton, Wayne Christian, Railroad Commissioners
Senate
Juan Hinojosa, President pro tempore
In the Texas Senate, there are no majority or minority leaders.
House
Joe Straus, Speaker
Dennis Bonnen, Speaker pro tempore
In the Texas House, there are no majority or minority leaders.
Supreme Court (civil)
Nathan Hecht, Chief Justice
Debra Lehrmann
John P. Devine
Paul W. Green
Jeff Brown
Jeffrey S. Boyd
Phil Johnson
Eva Guzman
Jimmy Blacklock, Associate Justices
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge
Mary Lou Keel
Bert Richardson
Kevin Patrick Yeary
Scott Walker
Michael Keasler
Barbara Hervey
Elsa Alcala
David Newell
[show]
v
t
e
Chief executives of the United States
Federal
President of the United States
State governors
(current list)
Alabama
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list
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list
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list
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list
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list
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list
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list
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list
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list
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(current list)
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[show]
v
t
e
Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Texas
Governors
J. P. Henderson
Wood
Bell
J. W. Henderson
Pease
Runnels
Houston
Clark
Lubbock
Murrah
Hamilton
Throckmorton
Pease
Davis
Coke
Hubbard
Roberts
Ireland
Ross
Hogg
Culberson
Sayers
Lanham
Campbell
Colquitt
J. Ferguson
Hobby
Neff
M. Ferguson
Moody
Sterling
M. Ferguson
Allred
O'Daniel
Stevenson
Jester
Shivers
Daniel
Connally
Smith
Briscoe
Clements
White
Clements
Richards
Bush
Perry
Abbott

Lieutenant
Governors
Horton
Greer
Henderson
Dickson
Runnels
Lubbock
Clark
Crockett
Stockdale
Jones
J. W. Flanagan
Campbell
D. W. Flanagan
Fountain
Pickett
Hubbard
Sayers
Storey
Martin
Gibbs
Wheeler
Pendleton
Crane
Jester
Browning
Neal
A. B. Davidson
Mayes
Hobby Sr.
Johnson
L. Davidson
T. W. Davidson
Miller
Witt
Woodul
Stevenson
J. L. Smith
Shivers
Ramsey
P. Smith
Barnes
Hobby Jr.
Bullock
Perry
Ratliff
Dewhurst
Patrick
[show]
v
t
e
Texas state agencies
Executive
Dept. of Agriculture
Alcoholic Beverage Commission
Animal Health Commission
Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services
Attorney General
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Brazos River Authority
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Board of Dental Examiners
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Education Agency
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Ethics Commission
Facilities Commission
Dept. of Family and Protective Services
Film Commission
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Office of the Governor
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Health and Human Services Commission
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Lottery Commission
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Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Governors_of_Texas&oldid=826943161"
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