Who was unanimously elected in 1789 as the first president of the United States?

George Washington was unanimously elected in 1789 as the first president of the United States.

The first presidential election took place from December 1788 through January 1789 under the newly ratified Constitution. All 69 electors who cast ballots voted for Washington, making him the only president elected unanimously by the Electoral College in the nation’s history.

Washington was widely respected as the former commander of the Continental Army and as presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention. He had initially hoped to retire from public life, but accepted the presidency because many Americans believed his leadership could give the new federal government legitimacy and stability.

John Adams received the second-highest number of electoral votes and became vice president. The original constitutional system did not provide separate electoral votes for president and vice president; that procedure changed with the Twelfth Amendment after the contested election of 1800.