List of governors of Uttarakhand

Governor of Uttarakhand
Incumbent
Gurmit Singh
since 15 September 2021
Government of Uttarakhand
StyleHis Excellency (within Uttarakhand)
The Honourable (outside Uttarakhand)
StatusHead of state
ResidenceRaj Bhavan, Nainital (summer)
Raj Bhavan, Dehradun (winter)
NominatorUnion Government of India
AppointerPresident of India
Term lengthFive years
Renewable
Inaugural holderSurjit Singh Barnala (2000–2003)
Formation9 November 2000; 23 years ago (2000-11-09)
WebsiteGovernor 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.

Raj Bhavan retreat at Nainital, Uttarakhand.

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:

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

Key
  • Died in office
  • § Resigned from office
  • Removed from office
No. Portrait Name
(born – died)
Home state Tenure in office Immediate prior position held Appointed by
From To Time in office
1 Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)
Punjab 9 November
2000
7 January
2003
2 years, 59 days Union Cabinet Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers (until 1999) K. R. Narayanan
(President)
2 Sudarshan Agarwal
(1931–2019)
Punjab 8 January
2003
28 October
2007
4 years, 293 days Member, National Human Rights Commission A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
(President)
3 Banwari Lal Joshi
IPS (Retd.)
(1936–2017)
Rajasthan 29 October
2007
5 August
2009
1 year, 280 days Governor of Meghalaya Pratibha Patil
(President)
4 Margaret Alva
(born 1942)
Karnataka 6 August
2009
14 May
2012
2 years, 282 days General Secretary, All India Congress Committee
5 Aziz Qureshi
(1941–2024)
Madhya Pradesh 15 May
2012
7 January
2015
2 years, 237 days Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (until 1989)
6 Krishan Kant Paul
IPS (Retd.)
(born 1948)
Chandigarh 8 January
2015
21 August
2018
3 years, 225 days Governor of Meghalaya Pranab Mukherjee
(President)
7 Baby Rani Maurya
(born 1956)
Uttar Pradesh 26 August
2018
14 September
2021[§]
3 years, 19 days Member, Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Ram Nath Kovind
(President)
8 Lieutenant General (Retd.)
Gurmit Singh
PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM
(born 1956)
Punjab 15 September
2021
Incumbent 2 years, 194 days Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems and Training) (until 2016)

Timeline

Gurmit Singh (general)Baby Rani MauryaKrishan Kant PaulAziz QureshiMargaret AlvaBanwari Lal JoshiSudarshan AgarwalSurjit Singh Barnala

See also

References

External links

  • India States
  • Official website
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