The Republican governor of Tennessee has said he regrets attending “Old South” fraternity parties in college after a photograph surfaced from a 1980 yearbook showing him dressed as a Confederate soldier.

The photo of Bill Lee, who was elected in November, shows him smiling in a Confederate uniform at Auburn University, along with another man in similar uniform and two women also dressed in period attire.

“I never intentionally acted in an insensitive way, but with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that participating in that was insensitive and I’ve come to regret it,” Mr Lee said in a statement to The Tennessean, of Nashville, after the photo was discovered.

Mr Lee did not respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment on Friday.

The governor’s statement comes as racially insensitive photographs in old yearbooks have increasingly raised demands for accountability and explanation from the prominent individuals associated with them.

Charlottesville one year on Show all 15 1 /15 Charlottesville one year on Charlottesville one year on Mary Grace, from Durham, North Carolina, walks through the downtown mall area August 11, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville has been declared in a state of emergency by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam as the city braces for the one year anniversary of the deadly clash between white supremacist forces and counter protesters over the potential removal of Confederate statues of Robert E. Lee and Jackson. A "Unite the Right" rally featuring some of the same groups is planned for tomorrow in Washington, DC. Getty Charlottesville one year on Chris Jessee (R) hands out placards to people visiting downtown Charlottesville as the city marks the anniversary of last year's 'Unite the Right rally' in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, 11 August 2018. On 12 August 2017, a bloody clash between white supremacists and counterprotestors in Charlottesville left three people dead and dozens injured Getty Charlottesville one year on A member of the Virginia State Police waits outside the park where a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is located August 11, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Charlottesville has been declared in a state of emergency by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam as the city braces for the one year anniversary of a deadly clash between white supremacist forces and counter protesters over the potential removal of Confederate statues of Robert E. Lee and Jackson. A "Unite the Right" rally featuring some of the same groups is planned for tomorrow in Washington, DC Reuters Charlottesville one year on A woman displays a shirt ahead of the one-year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018. Reuters Charlottesville one year on A sign reading "Strength, which was taken down at the request of police officers, hangs by the statue of Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee, ahead of the one-year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018. Reuters Charlottesville one year on Law enforcement arrives ahead of the one year anniversary of 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protests, in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S., August 10, 2018 Reuters Charlottesville one year on A vendor displays wares on the mall as State Police lock down the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. The Governor has declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville AP Charlottesville one year on A Police bike patrol takes a break in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. State and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on State Police arrest a local resident, John Miska, in the locked down downtown area in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. Miska purchased razor blades, which are banned items, in a downtown drugstore. On the the anniversary of white supremacist violence, state and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on State Police escort local resident, John Miska, red hat, after he was arrested in the locked down downtown area in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. Miska purchased razor blades, which are banned items, in a downtown drugstore. On the the anniversary of white supremacist violence, state and local authorities framed the weekend's heightened security as a necessary precaution. AP Charlottesville one year on A group Anti-fascism demonstrators, march in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, AP Charlottesville one year on A group anti-fascism demonstrators march in the downtown area in anticipation of the anniversary of last year's Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., AP Charlottesville one year on People receive first-aid after a car accident ran into a crowd of protesters in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017. A vehicle plowed into a crowd of people Saturday at a Virginia rally where violence erupted between white nationalist demonstrators and counter-protesters, witnesses said, causing an unclear number of injuries AFP/Getty Charlottesville one year on Alt-right rally members in Lee Park in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday August 12, 2017 White nationalist 'Unite the Right' rally, Charlottesville, USA Rex Charlottesville one year on A counter protester who got hit with a stick by alt-right member covered with blood on his face in Lee Park in Charlottesville, Rex

USA Today published a nationwide review this week of 120 college yearbooks from the 1970s and ‘80s confirming that racist imagery, such as people dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes or in blackface, appeared in dozens of the publications.

That review prompted USA Today’s editor-in-chief to apologise for overseeing the publication of a blackface photograph in an Arizona State University yearbook in the late 1980s.

Also this week, a Wake Forest University administrator apologised after a 1982 yearbook photo surfaced showing her in front of a Confederate flag.

The heightened public scrutiny over old yearbooks stems largely from a black-and-white photograph found in the 1984 medical school yearbook page of Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia. It shows one student dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another in blackface.

Mr Northam, who has said he was not in the photo, has faced pressure to resign.

An increased public understanding of racial dynamics is helping drive the attention to such photographs, said Julian Maxwell Hayter, a professor of leadership studies and historian at the University of Richmond.

“These are kind of old-school glimpses into what social media is capturing nowadays,” Ms Hayter said.

Ms Hayter said Confederate-themed parties were once ubiquitous, particularly at Southern universities. Finding Confederate imagery on college campuses is still widespread, he said, though more private.

The Kappa Alpha Order, Mr Lee’s fraternity, has repeatedly drawn criticism for members glorifying the Confederacy at parties and other events.

The fraternity was founded in 1865 and credits General Robert E Lee as its “spiritual founder.” Today it has more than 100 active chapters, including at many universities in the South.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The fraternity banned the display of Confederate flags in 2001. In 2010, it banned Confederate uniforms and parades. In 2016, it banned social events with names associated with the Civil War period, like “Old South” parties.

In response to questions about the photo of Mr Lee and “Old South” parties, Jesse S Lyons, a spokesman for the fraternity, said in a statement Friday that the events were “never required, nor condoned”.

He added: “For everyone, the collective revelation of these activities have served to educate us all on the past, punctuate the changes that have been made by our Order and in society, and direct us to continue to closely follow our values today.”