List of governors of Uttarakhand
The Governor of Uttarakhand (Hindi: उत्तराखंड के राज्यपाल) is the nominal head of state of the Indian state of Uttarakhand and a representative of the president of India and is appointed by him for a term of five years, and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is de jure head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected Uttarakhand Council of Ministers, headed by the chief minister of Uttarakhand, who thus hold de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the president's assent. The governor of Uttarakhand has their official residences at the Raj Bhavans in Dehradun and Nainital.
| Governor of Uttarakhand | |
|---|---|
| Government of Uttarakhand | |
| Style | His Excellency (within Uttarakhand) The Honourable (outside Uttarakhand) |
| Status | Head of state |
| Residence | Raj Bhavan, Nainital (summer) Raj Bhavan, Dehradun (winter) |
| Nominator | Union Government of India |
| Appointer | President of India with confirmation of Prime Minister of India |
| Term length | Five years Renewable |
| Inaugural holder | Surjit Singh Barnala (2000–2003) |
| Formation | 9 November 2000 |
| Website | Governor of Uttarakhand |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Government and Politics of Uttarakhand |
|---|
|
State of Uttarakhand उत्तराखण्ड राज्य |
Uttarakhand was created on 9 November 2000, when it was carved out from the Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh. The first governor of the state was Surjit Singh Barnala who served in office between 2000 and 2003. The current governor is Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd.) who has been in office since 14 September 2021. As of date, eight individuals have served as the governor of the state including two women - Margaret Alva and Baby Rani Maurya. No governor has till date completed full term in office. Sudarshan Agarwal holds the record of the longest-serving governor with 4 years, 293 days in office.
Qualifications
Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:
A governor must:
- be a citizen of India.
- be at least 35 years of age.
- not be a member of either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.
- not hold any office of profit.
Powers and functions
The governor enjoys many different types of powers:
- Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,
- Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) & vidhan parishad, and
- Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor.
Apart from enjoying various constitutional powers, the governor of Uttarakhand is the ex-officio Chancellor of the state universities of Uttarakhand. The universities include Kumaun University, Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Doon University, Uttarakhand Open University, Uttarakhand Technical University, Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttarakhand Residential University, Soban Singh Jeena University.
List of governors
Following is the list of the governors of Uttarakhand since its inception on 9 November 2000:
| No. | Portrait | Name (born – died) |
Home state | Tenure in office | Prior positions held | Chief Minister(s) | Appointed by (President) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 |  |
Surjit Singh Barnala सुरजीत सिंह बरनाला (1925–2017) |
Punjab | 9 November 2000 |
7 January 2003 |
2 years, 59 days |
|
Nityanand Swami | K. R. Narayanan |
| Bhagat Singh Koshyari | |||||||||
| N. D. Tiwari | |||||||||
| Former Chief Minister of Punjab. Appointed as the first Governor of Uttaranchal in November 2000 after the state's formation as a result of its bifurcation from Uttar Pradesh. Administered oath to BJP's Nityanand Swami as the state's first chief minister moments after being sworn-in as the state governor. As the inaugural governor of the state, played important role in the state's development and progress. Remained in office until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh in January 2003. | |||||||||
| 2 |  |
Sudarshan Agarwal सुदर्शन अग्रवाल (1931–2019) |
Punjab | 8 January 2003 |
28 October 2007 |
4 years, 293 days |
|
N. D. Tiwari | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
| B. C. Khanduri | |||||||||
| Former Secretary-General of Rajya Sabha. Appointed as the second Governor of Uttaranchal in January 2003 following the transfer of his predecessor Surjit Singh Barnala as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Briefly discharged the additional duties of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in July 2004 following the dismissal of governor Vishnu Kant Shastri and remained in office till the appointment of T. V. Rajeswar. Till date, the longest-serving governor of the state. Served in office until being transferred and appointed as the Governor of Sikkim in October 2007. | |||||||||
| 3 |  |
Banwari Lal Joshi बनवारी लाल जोशी IPS (Retd.) (1936–2017) |
Rajasthan | 29 October 2007 |
5 August 2009 |
1 year, 280 days |
|
B. C. Khanduri | Pratibha Patil |
| Ramesh Pokhriyal | |||||||||
| Governor of Meghalaya at the time of appointment. Subsequently transferred and appointed as the third Governor of Uttarakhand in October 2007 to succeed Sudarshan Agarwal who was appointed as the Governor of Sikkim. Continued to remain in office until being transferred as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in July 2009. | |||||||||
| 4 | .jpg.webp) |
Margaret Alva मार्गरेट अल्वा (born 1942) |
Karnataka | 6 August 2009 |
14 May 2012 |
2 years, 282 days |
|
Ramesh Pokhriyal | Pratibha Patil |
| B. C. Khanduri | |||||||||
| Vijay Bahuguna | |||||||||
| Former Union Minister. Appointed as the fourth Governor of Uttarakhand in August 2009 to succeed Banwari Lal Joshi who was appointed as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. First female to be appointed as the governor of the state. Tenure marked by fallouts with ruling state government. Remained in office until being transferred as the Governor of Rajasthan in May 2012. | |||||||||
| 5 |  |
Aziz Qureshi अज़ीज़ क़ुरैशी (born 1941) |
Madhya Pradesh | 15 May 2012 |
7 January 2015 |
2 years, 237 days |
|
Vijay Bahuguna | Pratibha Patil |
| Harish Rawat | |||||||||
| Former Lok Sabha MP. Appointed as the fifth Governor of Uttarakhand in May 2012 to succeed Margaret Alva who was appointed as the Governor of Rajasthan. Briefly discharged the additional duties of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in 2014 following the resignation of governor Banwari Lal Joshi and remained in office till the appointment of Ram Naik. Continued to serve as the Governor of Uttarakhand until being transferred as the Governor of Mizoram in January 2015. | |||||||||
| 6 |  |
Krishan Kant Paul कृष्ण कांत पॉल IPS (Retd.) (born 1948) |
Chandigarh | 8 January 2015 |
21 August 2018 |
3 years, 225 days |
|
Harish Rawat | Pranab Mukherjee |
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Harish Rawat | |||||||||
| Vacant | |||||||||
| Harish Rawat | |||||||||
| Trivendra Singh Rawat | |||||||||
| Governor of Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram at the time of appointment. Transferred and appointed as the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand in January 2015 to succeed Aziz Qureshi who was transferred as the Governor of Mizoram. Tenure as governor marked by significant political developments including the imposition of President's Rule in the state in March 2016 after the ruling Congress government was reduced to a minority. President's rule was withdrawn after chief minister Harish Rawat was reinstated in a trust vote in April 2016. Continued to serve as governor of the state until retiring upon completion of tenure in August 2018. | |||||||||
| 7 |  |
Baby Rani Maurya बेबी रानी मौर्य (born 1956) |
Uttar Pradesh | 26 August 2018[1] |
14 September 2021 |
3 years, 19 days |
|
Trivendra Singh Rawat | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Tirath Singh Rawat | |||||||||
| Pushkar Singh Dhami | |||||||||
| Former Mayor of Agra. Appointed as the seventh Governor of Uttarakhand in August 2018 to succeed Dr. Krishan Kant Paul who had retired earlier. Second female to be appointed as the governor of the state. Remained in office until resigning on 14 September 2021 to re-join active politics. Later appointed as cabinet minister in Government of Uttar Pradesh. | |||||||||
| 8 |  |
Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd.) गुरमित सिंह PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM (born 1956) |
Punjab | 14 September 2021[2] |
Incumbent | 2 years, 41 days |
|
Pushkar Singh Dhami | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Appointed as the eighth Governor of Uttarakhand in September 2021 following the resignation of his predecessor Baby Rani Maurya. First governor of the state with military background. While in service, also discharged his duties in Banbasa district of the state. Currently serving in office. | |||||||||
Timeline
See also
- Government of Uttarakhand
- Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
- Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
- Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
- Cabinet of Uttarakhand
- Chief Justice of Uttarakhand
- List of current Indian governors
- List of presidents of India
References
- "Baby Rani Maurya sworn in as new Uttarakhand governor" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Economic Times. Press Trust of India. 26 August 2018.
- "Lt Gen Gurmit Singh sworn-in as Governor of Uttarakhand". Indian Express. Retrieved 15 September 2021.