Hawkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,721. Its county seat is Rogersville. Hawkins County is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

The land was given to William Armstrong as a land grant in the 1780s. Armstrong built Stony Point. Armstrong's landholding was established as a county in 1787. It was named for Benjamin Hawkins, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, the state which it was a part of at that time. In 1797, Louis Philippe (who would become King of the French in 1830) visited Armstrong's estate.

During the American Civil War, Hawkins County saw combat. The Battle of Rogersville took place on November 6, 1863.

Since the 1940s, a 1,900-2,200 acre area western Hawkins County was proposed and planned as state park known as Poor Valley State Park in order to promote economic development efforts in the upper East Tennessee region, the plan would stall in the 1970s.

Hawkins County is governed by a 14-member County Commission, whose members are elected from geographic districts. The chief executive officer of the county is the County Mayor.

The Tennessee Constitution provides for the election of an executive officer – now referred to as the County Mayor – in each county. The County Mayor is elected by popular vote at the regular August election every four years, coinciding with the Governor's election, and may serve an unlimited number of terms. The County Mayor (formerly County Executive) is chief executive officer of the county. The County Mayor exercises a role of leadership in county government and is responsible for the county's fiscal management and other executive functions; however, the other principal officers of the county such as the Sheriff, Trustee, Assessor and most of the various Court Clerks are separately elected, responsible directly to the county's voters, and not under the direct supervision of the county mayor.

The County Mayor is the general agent of the county and may draw warrants upon the General Fund. The County Mayor has custody of county property not placed with other officers, and may also examine the accounts of county officers. The County Mayor is a nonvoting ex-officio member of the County Commission and of all its committees, and may be elected chairman of the county legislative body (a post that the County Mayor is not required to seek or accept). The County Mayor may call special meetings of the County Commission. Unless an optional general law or private act provides otherwise, the County Mayor compiles a budget for all county departments, offices, and agencies, which is presented to the County Commission.

The current mayor of Hawkins County is Mark DeWitte (R-Rogersville).