Bertram Thomas Combs was an American jurist and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. After serving on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, he was elected the 50th Governor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Lyndon B. Johnson, serving from 1967 to 1970.
Combs in 1960
Happy Chandler, Combs' opponent in the 1955 gubernatorial race
The Albert B. Chandler Hospital was completed with funds from Combs' first biennial budget.
Wendell Ford defeated Combs in the 1971 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government in Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once before becoming ineligible for four years. Throughout the state's history, four men have served two non-consecutive terms as governor, and four others have served two consecutive terms, the most recent being current governor Andy Beshear, who was re-elected to a second term on November 7, 2023. Kentucky is one of only five U.S. states that hold gubernatorial elections in odd-numbered years.
Governor of Kentucky
The governor's office
Happy Chandler created greater efficiency in state government under the Reorganization Act of 1936.
George Madison's death in 1813 occasioned the first instance of gubernatorial succession in Kentucky.