Inaugural Address

Rebecca Michelle “Mikie” Sherrill
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Gov. Mikie Sherrill Inaugural Address - January 20, 2026
January 20, 2026
Honorable Chief Justice and Justices of our Supreme Court; my fellow governors; our esteemed congressional delegation; Mr. Senate President, Mr. Speaker, Majority and Minority Leaders; members of the legislature; elected officials; reverend clergy; honored guests, family, and friends. And most importantly, New Jerseyans, up and down the state. I’m incredibly honored to be standing before you as the 57th Governor of the great State of New Jersey. I want to thank everyone who’s traveled from near and far to be here today. You’ve made this day truly special. My aunts […]
Abigail Spanberger
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Gov. Abigail Spanberger's Inaugural Address - January 17, 2026
January 17, 2026
Mr. Speaker; Madam President Pro Tempore; Madam Lieutenant Governor; Mr. Attorney General; Justices of the Supreme Court; honored guests; To my parents Martin and Eileen Davis, my sisters Hilary and Meredith, my husband Adam and my daughters, Claire, Charlotte, Catherine; neighbors, friends, and our fellow Virginians: it is my honor to be with all of you today. An inauguration ceremony like this one — with all its tradition and pageantry — represents something profound, and in its origins, something uniquely American… the peaceful transfer of power. It is a cornerstone […]
Barbara Lee
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Mayoral Inaugural Address - May 20, 2025
May 20, 2025
Well, good afternoon, Oakland. [Cheers and applause] Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Let me thank our City Clerk, Asha Reed, and also Bill Patterson and Maximus Simmons for their tremendous service. Give them a round of applause– [Applause] –we have those whose shoulders we stand on and our future here today, so thank you so much. Before I begin, let me just take a moment to thank Barbara Leslie, better known as Barb, Executive Director of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Keith Brown, Executive-Secretary Treasurer of […]
Corazon Aquino
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Inaugural Address – Feb. 25, 1986
February 25, 1986
My brothers and sisters: I am grateful for the authority you have given me today. And I promise to offer all that I can do to serve you. It is fitting and proper that, as the rights and liberties of our people were taken away at midnight twenty years ago, the people should firmly recover those lost rights and liberties in the full light of the day. Ninoy believed that only the united strength of a people can over turn a tyranny so evil and so well organized. It took […]
Maura Healey
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Inaugural Speech – Jan. 5, 2023
January 5, 2023
Thank you so much. Mr. Speaker, Madame President, members of the legislature, Madame Chief Justice and members of the judiciary, members of the Governor's Council, former governors, first responders, members of the armed services, veterans, and distinguished guests. Residents of our beloved commonwealth [applause], we gather today to transfer the power of government and to renew the miracle of democracy. We gather in the public trust and commit ourselves once more to the work of the people. I thank Governor Baker, who has led this commonwealth with a steady hand. […]
Portia Simpson Miller
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
The Journey Continues: A Time for Hope and National Unity - Jan. 5, 2012
January 5, 2012
Your Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, our governor-general, and Lady Allen Leader of the Opposition and former prime minister, the honourable Andrew Holness and Mrs. Holness Former governor-general, most honourable Professor Sir Kenneth Horn and the most honourable Lady Horn Former prime minister, the most honourable PJ Patterson and the most honourable Edward Seaga and the most honorable Mrs. Seaga The most honourable Denise Eldemire-Shearer Visiting Presidents and Prime Ministers and their delegations Our Chief Justice the honourable Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla and Mr. McCalla President of the Court of Appeal, […]
Kathy Hochul
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
First Address As Governor - Aug. 24, 2021
August 24, 2021
I took the oath of office to become your lieutenant governor. I'm humbled that the people of New York twice put their faith in me to fill this role, which required me to be prepared if necessary to serve as your governor, and now that day has come. At the stroke of midnight, I once again took the oath of office, creating a sacred bond of trust between me and every New Yorker. And thus, I stand here as the 57th governor of New York. But I did not get […]
Elizabeth Alexander
categories: Inaugural Address, Poem, Speeches
Praise Song for the Day - Jan. 20, 2009
January 20, 2009
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each other’s eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair. Someone is trying to make music somewhere, with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum, with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice. […]
Amanda Gorman
categories: Inaugural Address, Poem, Speeches
The Hill We Climb - Jan. 20, 2021
January 20, 2021
When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We've braved the belly of the beast, We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, and the norms and notions of what just is isn't always just-ice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished. We the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black […]
Barbara Roberts
categories: Inaugural Address, Speeches
Inaugural Address - Jan. 14, 1991
January 14, 1991
In 1865 a bright and brave 13-year-old girl, Harriet Hitchcock, began a journey across the Oregon Trail with her family. Today, as I begin my journey as your governor, I want to share some of Harriet's own words with you. "This morning," she wrote, "we commenced to climb the snowy range ... And we soon found the tug of war in our journey was only just begun. We could see the top of one hill and think that was the last. But when we gained that, others kept rising before […]