Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the state of
Illinois. He served as the only governor of the
Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818, as one of the first two
United States Senators from Illinois from 1818 to 1824, and as the third
Governor of Illinois from 1826 to 1830. In a time and place where personal coalitions were more influential than parties, Edwards led one of the two main factions in frontier Illinois politics.