List of governors of Utah

A constitutional convention was convened in Salt Lake City on March 8, 1849, to work on a proposal for federal recognition of a state or territory. The convention resulted in the provisional State of Deseret. Deseret claimed most of present-day Utah, Nevada and Arizona, with parts of California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming. Brigham Young was elected governor on March 12, 1849, and the legislature first met on July 2, 1849.[8][9] The state, having never been recognized by the federal government, was formally dissolved on April 5, 1851,[10] several months after word of the creation of Utah Territory reached Salt Lake City.

On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, Utah Territory was organized, encompassing roughly the northern half of Deseret.[11] The news did not reach Salt Lake City until January 1851.[12] Governors of the Utah Territory were appointed by the president of the United States, and other than Brigham Young, they were frequently considered carpetbagger patronage appointees.[13]

The territory initially consisted of present-day Utah, most of Nevada, and portions of Colorado and Wyoming. On February 28, 1861, the creation of Colorado Territory took land from the eastern side of Utah Territory. Nevada Territory was organized from the western section of Utah Territory on March 2, 1861.[14] Also on that date, Nebraska Territory gained area from the northeastern part of Utah Territory. Nevada Territory gained area from Utah Territory on July 14, 1862, and again on May 5, 1866, after becoming a state. Wyoming Territory was created on July 25, 1868, from Nebraska Territory, taking more area from the northeast corner, giving Utah Territory its final borders.

Portrait	Governor		Took office[note 1]	Left office	Appointed by	Notes
		Brigham Young	February 3, 1851[16]	April 12, 1858	Millard Fillmore
					Franklin Pierce
		Alfred Cumming	April 12, 1858[note 2]	May 17, 1861[21]	James Buchanan	[note 3]
		John W. Dawson	December 7, 1861[23]	December 31, 1861[24]	Abraham Lincoln	[note 4]
		Stephen S. Harding	July 7, 1862[25]	June 11, 1863[26]	Abraham Lincoln
		James Duane Doty	June 22, 1863[27]	June 13, 1865[28]	Abraham Lincoln	[note 5]
		Charles Durkee	September 30, 1865[29]	January 9, 1869[30]	Andrew Johnson
		John Shaffer	March 20, 1870[31]	October 31, 1870[32]	Ulysses S. Grant	[note 5]
		Vernon H. Vaughan	October 31, 1870[33]	February 1, 1871[33]	Ulysses S. Grant	[note 6]
		George Lemuel Woods	March 10, 1871[34]	October 13, 1874[35][36]	Ulysses S. Grant
		Samuel Beach Axtell	February 2, 1875[37]	June 8, 1875[38]	Ulysses S. Grant	[note 7]
		George W. Emery	July 3, 1875[40]	January 25, 1880[41]	Ulysses S. Grant
		Eli Houston Murray	February 28, 1880[42]	March 16, 1886[43]	Rutherford B. Hayes
					Chester A. Arthur
		Caleb Walton West	May 12, 1886[44]	May 6, 1889[45]	Grover Cleveland
		Arthur Lloyd Thomas	May 6, 1889[45]	May 9, 1893[46]	Benjamin Harrison
		Caleb Walton West	May 9, 1893[46]	January 4, 1896	Grover Cleveland

The State of Utah was admitted to the Union on January 4, 1896.

The governor has a four-year term, commencing on the first Monday of the January after an election.[47] The Constitution of Utah originally stated that, should the office of governor be vacant, the power be devolved upon the Secretary of State,[48] but the office of Lieutenant Governor was created in 1976,[49] and a 1980 constitutional amendment added it to the constitution.[50] If the office of governor becomes vacant during the first year of the term, the lieutenant governor becomes governor until the next general election; if it becomes vacant after the first year of the term, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term.[51] The offices of governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket.[52] The Governor of Utah was formerly limited to serving three terms, but all term limit laws were repealed by the Utah Legislature in 2003; Utah is one of the few states where gubernatorial term limits are not determined by the constitution.[53]

Republican (11)       Democratic (6)
Governor				Term of office	Party	Election	Previous office	Lt. Governor [note 8]
1			Heber Manning Wells August 11, 1859 – March 12, 1938 (aged 78)	January 6, 1896 – January 2, 1905	Republican	1895	Delegate to the Utah Constitutional Convention (1895)	None
						1900
2			John Christopher Cutler February 5, 1846 – July 30, 1928 (aged 82)	January 2, 1905 – January 4, 1909	Republican	1904	Salt Lake County Clerk (1884-1890)
3			William Spry January 11, 1864 – April 21, 1929 (aged 65)	January 4, 1909 – January 1, 1917	Republican	1908	United States Marshal for the District of Utah (1906-1908)
						1912
4			Simon Bamberger February 27, 1846 – October 6, 1926 (aged 80)	January 1, 1917 – January 3, 1921	Democratic	1916	Utah State Senator (1903–1913)
5			Charles R. Mabey October 4, 1877 – April 26, 1959 (aged 81)	January 3, 1921 – January 5, 1925	Republican	1920	Utah State Representative (1913–1915)
6			George Dern September 8, 1872 – August 27, 1936 (aged 63)	January 5, 1925 – January 2, 1933	Democratic	1924	Utah State Senator (1914–1923)
						1928
7			Henry H. Blood October 1, 1872 – June 19, 1942 (aged 69)	January 2, 1933 – January 6, 1941	Democratic	1932	Chairman, Utah State Road Commission (1925–1932)
						1936
8			Herbert B. Maw March 11, 1893 – November 17, 1990 (aged 97)	January 6, 1941 – January 3, 1949	Democratic	1940	President of the Utah State Senate (1934–1938)
						1944
9			J. Bracken Lee January 7, 1899 – October 20, 1996 (aged 97)	January 3, 1949 – January 7, 1957	Republican	1948	Mayor of Price (1935–1948)
						1952
10			George Dewey Clyde July 21, 1898 – April 2, 1972 (aged 73)	January 7, 1957 – January 4, 1965	Republican	1956	Director, Utah Water and Power Board
						1960
11			Calvin L. Rampton November 6, 1913 – September 16, 2007 (aged 93)	January 4, 1965 – January 3, 1977	Democratic	1964	Davis County Attorney (1938–1940)
						1968
						1972			Clyde L. Miller
12			Scott M. Matheson January 8, 1929 – October 7, 1990 (aged 61)	January 3, 1977 – January 7, 1985	Democratic	1976	None		David Smith Monson [note 9]
						1980
13			Norman H. Bangerter January 4, 1933 – April 14, 2015 (aged 82)	January 7, 1985 – January 4, 1993	Republican	1984	Utah State Representative (1975–1985)		W. Val Oveson
						1988
14			Mike Leavitt (1951-02-11) February 11, 1951	January 4, 1993 – November 5, 2003	Republican	1992	Member, Utah State Board of Regents (1989–1992)		Olene Walker
						1996
						2000
15			Olene Walker November 15, 1930 – November 28, 2015 (aged 85)	November 5, 2003 – January 3, 2005	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Fourth Lieutenant Governor of Utah (1993–2003)		Gayle McKeachnie
16			Jon Huntsman Jr. (1960-03-26) March 26, 1960	January 3, 2005 – August 11, 2009	Republican	2004	Eleventh United States Ambassador to Singapore (1992–1993)		Gary Herbert
						2008
17			Gary Herbert (1947-05-07) May 7, 1947	August 11, 2009 – January 4, 2021	Republican	Succeeded from Lieutenant Governor	Sixth Lieutenant Governor of Utah (2005–2009)		Greg Bell (Sept. 1, 2009 – Oct. 16, 2013)
						2010§
						2012
									Spencer Cox (Oct. 16, 2013 – Jan. 4, 2021)
						2016
18			Spencer Cox (1975-07-11) July 11, 1975	January 4, 2021 – Incumbent [note 10]	Republican	2020	Eighth Lieutenant Governor of Utah (2013–2021)		Deidre Henderson