The following is a list of governors of the U.S. state of Minnesota and Minnesota Territory. The governor serves as head of the executive branch of Minnesota's state government and is charged with ensuring the faithful execution of the state's laws.^[a] He or she is empowered to name state commissioners and department heads and to approve or veto bills passed by the legislature.^[b] The governor also serves as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

Henry H. Sibley was elected the first governor in a statewide election held on October 13, 1857 and took office following Minnesota's entry into the Union as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858.^[c] At the time, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected on separate ballots to terms lasting two years. Prior to 1886, statewide elections were held on odd years. Because of this change (the result of an 1883 state constitutional amendment), Lucius F. Hubbard's second term as governor lasted three years. With the passage of a 1958 state constitutional amendment, the terms of governor and lieutenant governor increased to four-years in 1963.^[b] A 1972 state constitutional amendment provided for the joint election of the governor and lieutenant governor starting in 1974.

The numerals indicate the consecutive time in office served by a single person. For example, William R. Marshall served two consecutive terms and is counted as the fifth state governor (not the fifth and sixth). Henry A. Swift assumed the governorship after the resignation of Alexander Ramsey, serving out the remainder of what would have been Ramsey's second term. The fact that Swift was not voted into office does not affect the numbering, which makes him the 3rd governor. Rudy Perpich served two non-consecutive terms and is counted chronologically as both the 34th and the 36th governor. Because of this, the list below contains 40 governorships, but only 39 people.

Prior to its organization as a territory, portions of Minnesota were part of the Northwest Territory, Indiana Territory, Louisiana Territory (later renamed Missouri Territory), Illinois Territory, Michigan Territory, Wisconsin Territory, and Iowa Territory; see the lists of governors of Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa for this period.

Four governors were born outside the United States: Knute Nelson was born in Norway, John Lind and Adolph Olson Eberhart were both born in Sweden, and Hjalmar Petersen was born in Denmark. Sixteen of the forty governors to date were actually born in Minnesota. Five governors have resigned from office, and three have died in office.

Territorial governors[edit]

Parties

  Democratic
  Whig

#	Governor		Took office	Left office	Party	Date of birth	Place of birth	Date of death	Appointed by
1	Alexander Ramsey		June 1, 1849	May 15, 1853	Whig	September 8, 1815	Pennsylvania	April 22, 1903	Zachary Taylor
2	Willis A. Gorman		May 15, 1853	April 23, 1857	Democratic	January 12, 1816	Kentucky	May 20, 1876	Franklin Pierce
3	Samuel Medary		April 23, 1857	May 24, 1858	Democratic	February 25, 1801	Pennsylvania	November 7, 1864	James Buchanan

State governors[edit]

Parties

  Democratic
  Farmer-Labor
  Republican
  Reform/Independence

#	Governor		Took office	Left office	Party	Date of birth	Place of birth	Date of death	Lieutenant governor(s)	Term
1	Henry H. Sibley		May 24, 1858	January 2, 1860	Democratic	February 20, 1811	Michigan	February 18, 1891	William Holcombe	1
2	Alexander Ramsey		January 2, 1860	July 10, 1863[2]	Republican	September 8, 1815	Pennsylvania	April 22, 1903	Ignatius L. Donnelly	2
									Henry A. Swift[3]	3
3	Henry A. Swift		July 10, 1863[3]	January 11, 1864		March 23, 1823	Ohio	February 25, 1869	vacant
4	Stephen Miller		January 11, 1864	January 8, 1866		January 7, 1816	Pennsylvania	August 18, 1881	Charles D. Sherwood	4
5	William R. Marshall		January 8, 1866	January 9, 1870		October 17, 1825	Missouri	January 8, 1896	Thomas H. Armstrong	5
										6
6	Horace Austin		January 9, 1870	January 7, 1874		October 15, 1831	Connecticut	November 2, 1905	William H. Yale	7
										8
7	Cushman K. Davis		January 7, 1874	January 7, 1876		June 16, 1838	New York	November 27, 1900	Alphonso Barto	9
8	John S. Pillsbury		January 7, 1876	January 10, 1882		July 29, 1827	New Hampshire	October 18, 1901	James B. Wakefield	10
										11
									Charles A. Gilman	12
9	Lucius F. Hubbard		January 10, 1882	January 5, 1887		January 26, 1836	New York	February 5, 1913		13
										14
10	Andrew R. McGill		January 5, 1887	January 9, 1889		February 19, 1840	Pennsylvania	October 31, 1905	Albert E. Rice	15
11	William R. Merriam		January 9, 1889	January 9, 1893		July 26, 1849	New York	February 18, 1931		16
									Gideon S. Ives	17
12	Knute Nelson		January 9, 1893	January 31, 1895[2]		February 2, 1843	Norway	April 28, 1923	David M. Clough	18
13	David M. Clough		January 31, 1895[3]	January 2, 1899		December 27, 1846	New Hampshire	August 28, 1924	Frank A. Day	19
									John L. Gibbs	20
14	John Lind		January 2, 1899	January 7, 1901	Democratic[4]	March 25, 1854	Sweden	September 18, 1930	Lyndon A. Smith	21
15	Samuel R. Van Sant		January 7, 1901	January 4, 1905	Republican	May 11, 1844	Illinois	October 3, 1936		22
									Ray W. Jones	23
16	John A. Johnson		January 4, 1905	September 21, 1909[5]	Democratic	July 28, 1861	Minnesota	September 21, 1909		24
									Adolph O. Eberhart	25
17	Adolph O. Eberhart		September 21, 1909[3]	January 5, 1915	Republican	June 23, 1870	Sweden	December 6, 1944	Edward E. Smith[3]	26
									Samuel Y. Gordon	27
									J. A. A. Burnquist	28
18	Winfield S. Hammond		January 5, 1915	December 30, 1915[5]	Democratic	November 17, 1863	Massachusetts	December 30, 1915		29
19	J. A. A. Burnquist		December 30, 1915[3]	January 5, 1921	Republican	July 21, 1879	Iowa	January 12, 1961	George H. Sullivan[3]	29
									Thomas Frankson	30
										31
20	J. A. O. Preus		January 5, 1921	January 6, 1925		August 28, 1883	Wisconsin	May 24, 1961	Louis L. Collins	32
										33
21	Theodore Christianson		January 6, 1925	January 6, 1931		September 12, 1883	Minnesota	December 9, 1948	William I. Nolan	34
										35
									Charles Edward Adams[3]	36
22	Floyd B. Olson		January 6, 1931	August 22, 1936[5]	Farmer-Labor	November 13, 1891	Minnesota	August 22, 1936	Henry M. Arens	37
									Konrad K. Solberg	38
									Hjalmar Petersen	39
23	Hjalmar Petersen		August 22, 1936[3]	January 4, 1937		January 2, 1890	Denmark	March 29, 1968	William B. Richardson (acting)[6]
24	Elmer A. Benson		January 4, 1937	January 2, 1939		September 22, 1895	Minnesota	March 13, 1985	Gottfrid T. Lindsten	40
25	Harold E. Stassen		January 2, 1939	April 27, 1943[2]	Republican	April 13, 1907	Minnesota	March 4, 2001	C. Elmer Anderson	41
										42
									Edward J. Thye	43
26	Edward J. Thye		April 27, 1943	January 8, 1947		April 26, 1896	South Dakota	August 28, 1969	Archie H. Miller
									C. Elmer Anderson	44
27	Luther W. Youngdahl		January 8, 1947	September 27, 1951[2]		May 29, 1896	Minnesota	June 21, 1978		45
										46
										47
28	C. Elmer Anderson		September 27, 1951[3]	January 5, 1955		March 16, 1912	Minnesota	January 22, 1998	vacant
									Ancher Nelsen	48
									Donald O. Wright
29	Orville L. Freeman		January 5, 1955	January 2, 1961	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	May 9, 1918	Minnesota	February 20, 2003	Karl F. Rolvaag	49
										50
										51
30	Elmer L. Andersen		January 2, 1961	March 25, 1963[7]	Republican	June 17, 1909	Illinois	November 15, 2004		52
31	Karl F. Rolvaag		March 25, 1963[7]	January 2, 1967	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	July 18, 1913	Minnesota	December 20, 1990	Alexander M. Keith	53
32	Harold LeVander		January 2, 1967	January 4, 1971	Republican	October 10, 1910	Nebraska	March 30, 1992	James B. Goetz	54
33	Wendell R. Anderson		January 4, 1971	December 29, 1976[2]	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	February 1, 1933	Minnesota	July 17, 2016	Rudy Perpich	55
										56
34	Rudy Perpich		December 29, 1976[3]	January 4, 1979		June 27, 1928	Minnesota	September 21, 1995	Alec G. Olson[3]
35	Al Quie		January 4, 1979	January 3, 1983	Independent-Republican	September 18, 1923	Minnesota		Lou Wangberg	57
36	Rudy Perpich		January 3, 1983	January 7, 1991	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	June 27, 1928	Minnesota	September 21, 1995	Marlene Johnson	58
										59
37	Arne H. Carlson		January 7, 1991	January 4, 1999	Independent-Republican/ Republican	September 24, 1934	New York		Joanell M. Dyrstad	60
									Joanne E. Benson	61
38	Jesse Ventura[8]		January 4, 1999	January 6, 2003	Reform/Independence	July 15, 1951	Minnesota		Mae A. Schunk	62
39	Tim Pawlenty		January 6, 2003	January 3, 2011	Republican	November 27, 1960	Minnesota		Carol Molnau	63
										64
40	Mark Dayton		January 3, 2011	Incumbent	Democratic-Farmer-Labor	January 26, 1947	Minnesota		Yvonne Prettner Solon	65
									Tina Smith	66
									Michelle Fischbach

Notes[edit]

Notes on Minnesota political party names[edit]

• 
  Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party: On April 15, 1944 the state Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.


• 
  Republican Party of Minnesota: From November 15, 1975 to September 23, 1995 the name of the state Republican party was the Independent-Republican party (I-R). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.


• 
  Independence Party of Minnesota: The party was founded under this name in 1992. In 1995 the IPM affiliated with the national Reform Party and renamed itself the Reform Party of Minnesota. In 2000 the Reform Party of Minnesota disaffiliated with the national Reform Party and returned to the name Independence Party.

Other high offices held[edit]

This is a table of congressional and other federal offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Minnesota except where noted. * denotes offices that the governor resigned to take.

Living former governors of Minnesota[edit]

As of December 2017^[update], there are four former governors of Minnesota who are currently living at this time, the oldest governor of Minnesota being Al Quie (served 1979–1983, born 1923). The most recent U.S. governor of Minnesota to die was Wendell Anderson (served 1971–1976, born 1933), on July 17, 2016. The most recently serving governor of Minnesota to die was Rudy Perpich (served 1976–1979 and 1983–1991, born 1928), on September 21, 1995.

See also[edit]

• List of Minnesota gubernatorial elections


• List of Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota


• Minnesota Governor's Residence


• First Ladies and Gentlemen of Minnesota


• U.S. Congressional Delegations from Minnesota

References[edit]

General

• 
  "Governors of Minnesota". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved May 17, 2007..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
  


• 
  "Lieutenant Governors of Minnesota". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  


• 
  "Minnesota Governors, 1849 – present". Office of the Governor, State of Minnesota. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  

Specific

• 
  ^ "Constitution of the State of Minnesota". Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  


• 
  ^{1 2} "Amendments to the Minnesota Constitution Proposed to the Voters since 1858" (PDF). Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  


• 
  ^ "2007–2008 MN Legislative Manual" (PDF). Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 25, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.