(08) Governor Henry S. Johnston, 1927 to 1929

              Office of the GovernorMS 50 (portrait only)Henry Simpson Johnston, Democrat. Served from January 1927 to March 20, 1929, when he was impeached and convicted. Born December 30, 1867, near Evansville, Indiana, he migrated to Colorado at the age of twenty-four where he studied law and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1891. Later he came to Perry, Oklahoma, to practice. He was member, and temporary presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention in 1906. He was elected Governor in 1926 and took office January 10, 1927. He was President Pro Tempore of the first State Senate, and returned to the Senate from 1933 to 1937. He maintained a law practice in his home town of Perry until his death January 7, 1965. He is buried in Perry.The Governor of Oklahoma is the chief executive officer of the state and is elected for a four year term. Principal powers and responsibilities are outlined by the state constitution and by statute and include certain appointive powers, the veto or approval of bills passed by the Legislature, the granting of pardons and paroles, the summoning of special sessions of the legislature, and the calling out of the militia. Moreover, the Governor is directly responsible for the preparation of the state budget, serves as an ex officio member of several boards and commissions, receives reports from various state officers and agencies, and is charged with the duty of seeing that all laws are faithfully executed in the state.