Lieutenant governor

A vicegobernador or governor in charge (often mistranslated into Spanish as teniente de gobernador) is a government official who is usually the subordinate or substitute of a governor or governor-general.

Lieutenant Governors in Spanish America

In colonial Spanish America, the teniente de gobernador was the official who took charge of the political and military command of a city —directed by the ordinary mayors of first and second vote— and of its territory jurisdiction, campaign or district —supervised in some parts by the brotherhood mayor— within an autonomous government, and in the absence of the incumbent governor he could replace him as interim governor, as long as he was also appointed as lieutenant general, since in In the autonomous governments there were several lieutenants of governor of specific territory, and for this reason, to differentiate them, they were called together as lieutenant of governor general.

They can also be called tenientes de gobernador of a province or of a determined corregimiento, and in the latter they can be named simply as lieutenant corregidor. These last two positions were not assigned a jurisdictional territory and since it was a single position, they replaced the incumbent governors absent in office as interim.

Australia

In Australia, the lieutenant governor is the subordinate of the governor of a state, who acts as the head of state and representative of King Charles III, similar to the governor-general of the entire country. If the governor is unable to fulfill his duties, the lieutenant governor shall perform his function in his absence. And he will have no other function.

Canada

In Canada, the Lieutenant Governor is the representative of the Governor General of Canada and, ultimately, of the Head of State, King Charles III of Canada, in each province. He will be appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, and is then appointed by the King.

United States

In the United States of America, a lieutenant governor is usually the second most important political position in some states below the governor. Of its 50 states, 43 have a separate full-time office for lieutenant governor. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest official in the state right after the governor, taking over for the latter when he is absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event the governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor ultimately becomes the governor. In some states, however, such as Massachusetts, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor until the next election.

In 25 states, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket, ensuring they both come from the same political party. In the remaining 18 states, they are elected separately and thus may come from different parties. Frequently, the lieutenant governor is also the president of the upper house in the state legislature (often called the Senate). (This reflects the federal role of the Vice President of the United States as President of the Senate.)

The amount of political power held by a lieutenant governor is different from state to state. There are some states that do not have a lieutenant governor.

Argentina

In Argentina, the lieutenant governor is the one who replaces the governor of the province in case of absence, death or dismissal, they are representatives of the Executive Branch, however they are the presidents of the provincial Legislatures (Legislative Branch).