List of governors of North Dakota

The Governor of North Dakota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The current Governor is Doug Burgum. The Governor has the power to sign or veto laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly into emergency session. The Governor is also chairman of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. He has an ex officio North Dakota Governor's Residence. There are no limits on the number of terms a governor may serve.

The following is a list of Governors of the state of North Dakota, United States.

Governors of Dakota Territory

Governors of North Dakota

Parties

Republican (16) Democratic-Independent (1) Democratic (3) Republican/NPL (7) Republican/IVA (2) Democratic-NPL (3)

#	Governor (Birth–Death)		Took office	Left office	Party	Lt. Governor (Party of Lt. Gov. noted if not the same)		Notes
1	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	John Miller (1843–1908)	November 20, 1889	January 7, 1891	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Alfred Dickey
2	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Andrew H. Burke (1850–1918)	January 7, 1891	January 3, 1893	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Roger Allin
3	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-Independent Party/meta/color;"\|	Eli C. D. Shortridge (1830–1908)	January 3, 1893	January 10, 1895	Democratic-Independent	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-Independent Party/meta/color;"\|	Elmer D. Wallace
4	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Roger Allin (1848–1936)	January 10, 1895	January 6, 1897	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	John H. Worst	^{[note 1]}
5	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Frank A. Briggs (1858–1898)	January 6, 1897	August 9, 1898	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Joseph M. Devine
6	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Joseph M. Devine (1861–1938)	August 9, 1898	January 3, 1899	Republican	No Lieutenant Governor		^{[note 1]}
7	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Frederick B. Fancher (1852–1944)	January 3, 1899	January 10, 1901	Republican	No Lieutenant Governor
8	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Frank White (1856–1940)	January 10, 1901	January 4, 1905	Republican	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	David Bartlett	^{[note 2]}
9	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Elmore Y. Sarles (1859–1929)	January 4, 1905	January 9, 1907	Republican		David Bartlett
10	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	John Burke (1859–1937)	January 9, 1907	January 8, 1913	Democratic	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Robert S. Lewis	^{[note 2]}^{[note 3]}
10	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	John Burke (1859–1937)	January 9, 1907	January 8, 1913	Democratic	Usher L. Burdick
11	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	L. B. Hanna (1861–1948)	January 8, 1913	January 3, 1917	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	Anton Kraabel	^{[note 4]}
11	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	L. B. Hanna (1861–1948)	January 8, 1913	January 3, 1917	Republican	John H. Fraine		^{[note 4]}
12	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;" \|	Lynn Frazier (1874–1947)	January 3, 1917	November 23, 1921	Republican/NPL	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	Anton Kraabel (Republican)	^{[note 5]}
12	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	Lynn Frazier (1874–1947)	January 3, 1917	November 23, 1921	Republican/NPL	Howard R. Wood (Republican)		^{[note 5]}
13	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Independent Voters Association/meta/color;" \|	Ragnvald A. Nestos (1877–1942)	November 23, 1921	January 7, 1925	Republican/IVA	Howard R. Wood (Republican)
13	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	Ragnvald A. Nestos (1877–1942)	November 23, 1921	January 7, 1925	Republican/IVA	Frank H. Hyland
14	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	Arthur G. Sorlie (1874–1928)	January 7, 1925	August 28, 1928	Republican/NPL	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Walter Maddock
15	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	Walter Maddock (1880–1951)	August 28, 1928	January 9, 1929	Republican/NPL	No Lieutenant Governor		^{[note 1]}
16	style="background: Template:Independent Voters Association/meta/color;"\|	George F. Shafer (1888–1948)	January 9, 1929	December 31, 1932	Republican/IVA	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	John W. Carr	^{[note 1]}
17	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;" \|	William Langer (1886–1959)	December 31, 1932	June 21, 1934	Republican/NPL	^{[note 6]}	John W. Carr
17	rowspan="1" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	William Langer (1886–1959)	December 31, 1932	June 21, 1934	Republican/NPL	^{[note 6]}	Ole H. Olson
18	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	Ole H. Olson (1872–1954)	June 21, 1934	January 7, 1935	Republican/NPL	No Lieutenant Governor		^{[note 1]}
19	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Thomas H. Moodie (1878–1948)	January 7, 1935	February 2, 1935	Democratic	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	Walter Welford (Republican/NPL)
20	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	Walter Welford (1868–1952)	February 2, 1935	January 6, 1937	Republican/NPL	No Lieutenant Governor		^{[note 1]}
21	style="background: Template:Non-Partisan League/meta/color;"\|	William Langer (1886–1959)	January 6, 1937	January 5, 1939	Republican/NPL	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Thorstein H. H. Thoresen	^{[note 5]}^{[note 6]}
22	rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	John Moses (1885–1945)	January 5, 1939	January 4, 1945	Democratic	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Jack A. Patterson (Republican)	^{[note 5]}
	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|					Oscar W. Hagen (Republican)
	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|					Henry Holt (Democratic)
23	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Fred G. Aandahl (1897–1966)	January 4, 1945	January 3, 1951	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Clarence P. Dahl	^{[note 4]}
24	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Norman Brunsdale (1891–1978)	January 3, 1951	January 9, 1957	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Ray Schnell	^{[note 5]}
24	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Norman Brunsdale (1891–1978)	January 3, 1951	January 9, 1957	Republican	Clarence P. Dahl		^{[note 5]}
25	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	John E. Davis (1913–1990)	January 9, 1957	January 4, 1961	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Francis Clyde Duffy
25	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	John E. Davis (1913–1990)	January 9, 1957	January 4, 1961	Republican	Clarence P. Dahl
26	rowspan="4" style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;" \|	William L. Guy (1919–2013)	January 4, 1961	January 2, 1973	Democratic-NPL	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" \|	Orville W. Hagen (Republican)
	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|					Frank A. Wenstrom (Republican)
	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;"\|					Charles Tighe (Democratic-NPL)
	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|					Richard F. Larsen (Republican)
27	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;"\|	Arthur A. Link (1914–2010)	January 2, 1973	January 6, 1981	Democratic-NPL	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;"\|	Wayne Sanstead	^{[note 4]}
28	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Allen I. Olson (b. 1938)	January 6, 1981	January 1, 1985	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Ernest Sands
29	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;" \|	George A. Sinner (1928–2018)	January 1, 1985	December 15, 1992	Democratic-NPL	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;" \|	Ruth Meiers
29	style="background: Template:North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party/meta/color;" \|	George A. Sinner (1928–2018)	January 1, 1985	December 15, 1992	Democratic-NPL	Lloyd Omdahl
30	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Ed Schafer (b. 1946)	December 15, 1992	December 15, 2000	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Rosemarie Myrdal	^{[note 7]}
31	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	John Hoeven (b. 1957)	December 15, 2000	December 7, 2010	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Jack Dalrymple	^{[note 5]}
32	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Jack Dalrymple (b. 1948)	December 7, 2010	December 15, 2016	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Drew Wrigley	^{[note 1]}
33	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Doug Burgum (b. 1956)	December 15, 2016	Incumbent	Republican	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;"\|	Brent Sanford

Succession

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional seats, other federal offices, and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented North Dakota except where noted.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	U.S. Congress		Other offices held
Governor	Gubernatorial term	House	Senate	Other offices held
Frank White	1901–1905			Treasurer of the United States
John Burke	1907–1913			Treasurer of the United States
L. B. Hanna	1913–1917	H
Lynn Frazier	1917–1921		S
William Langer	1932–1934 1937–1939		S
John Moses	1939–1945		S
Fred G. Aandahl	1945–1951	H		United States Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Norman Brunsdale	1951–1957		S
Arthur A. Link	1973–1981	H
Ed Schafer	1992–2000			United States Secretary of Agriculture
John Hoeven	2000–2010		S

Living former governors of North Dakota

As of March 2018^[update], four former governors of North Dakota are alive. The oldest living former governor is Allen I. Olson (served 1981–85, born 1938). The most recent death of a former governor was George A. Sinner (served 1985–1992, born 1928), who died on March 9, 2018.

Governor	Gubernatorial term	Date of birth (and age)
Allen I. Olson	1981–1985	(1938-11-05) November 5, 1938 (age 85)
Ed Schafer	1992–2000	(1946-08-08) August 8, 1946 (age 77)
John Hoeven	2000–2010	(1957-03-13) March 13, 1957 (age 67)
Jack Dalrymple	2010–2016	(1948-10-16) October 16, 1948 (age 75)

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Served as Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota prior to term as Governor
^ ^a ^b Served as Treasurer of the United States after term as Governor
^ Served as Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court after term as Governor
^ ^a ^b ^c Served in the United States House of Representatives after term as Governor
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Served in the United States Senate after term as Governor
^ ^a ^b Served two nonconsecutive terms as Governor
^ Served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture after term as Governor

External links

State Historical Society of North Dakota, North Dakota Governors

Template:Years in North Dakota

[LtGov-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Served as Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota prior to term as Governor

[USTreas-2] Served as Treasurer of the United States after term as Governor

[NDChiefJustice-3] Served as Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court after term as Governor

[House-4] Served in the United States House of Representatives after term as Governor

[Senate-5] Served in the United States Senate after term as Governor

[nonconsec-6] Served two nonconsecutive terms as Governor

[USAgSec-7] Served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture after term as Governor

[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[note 5]

[note 6]

[note 7]

v t e State of North Dakota
Bismarck (capital)
Topics	Index Climate Colleges and universities Cuisine Delegations Geography Governors History bibliography Islands LGBT history Music People Symbols Tourist attractions
Society	Abortion Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gun laws LGBT rights Politics
Regions	Badlands Missouri Coteau Drift Prairie Red River Valley Turtle Mountains
Larger cities pop. over 5,000	Bismarck Devils Lake Dickinson Fargo Grand Forks Jamestown Mandan Minot Valley City Wahpeton Watford City West Fargo Williston
Smaller cities pop. 1,000–5,000	Beach Beulah Bottineau Bowman Burlington Cando Carrington Casselton Cavalier Cooperstown Crosby Ellendale Garrison Grafton Hankinson Harvey Hazen Hettinger Hillsboro Horace Kenmare Langdon Larimore Lincoln Linton Lisbon Mayville New Rockford New Town Oakes Park River Rolla Rugby Stanley Thompson Tioga Velva Walhalla Washburn Watford City Wishek
Counties	Adams Barnes Benson Billings Bottineau Bowman Burke Burleigh Cass Cavalier Dickey Divide Dunn Eddy Emmons Foster Golden Valley Grand Forks Grant Griggs Hettinger Kidder LaMoure Logan McHenry McIntosh McKenzie McLean Mercer Morton Mountrail Nelson Oliver Pembina Pierce Ramsey Ransom Renville Richland Rolette Sargent Sheridan Sioux Slope Stark Steele Stutsman Towner Traill Walsh Ward Wells Williams
North Dakota portal

v t e Chief executives of the United States
Federal	President of the United States list
State governors (current list)	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California list Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia list Hawaii list Idaho Illinois list Indiana list Iowa Kansas Kentucky list Louisiana list Maine list Maryland list Massachusetts Michigan list Minnesota list Mississippi list Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire list New Jersey list New Mexico list New York list North Carolina list North Dakota list Ohio Oklahoma list Oregon list Pennsylvania Rhode Island list South Carolina list South Dakota list Tennessee list Texas list Utah Vermont list Virginia list Washington West Virginia Wisconsin list Wyoming
Territorial (current list)	American Samoa District of Columbia list Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico list United States Virgin Islands
Defunct	Cuba Dakota Territory Panama Canal Zone Philippine Islands (until 1935) Philippine Commonwealth (until 1946) Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Santo Domingo