List of governors of Uttarakhand
The governor of Uttarakhand is appointed by the President of India 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 Cabinet of Uttarakhand, 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 | |
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Government of Uttarakhand | |
Style | Her Excellency (within Uttarakhand) The Honourable (outside Uttarakhand) Madam Governor (informal) |
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 |
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State of Uttarakhand उत्तराखण्ड राज्य |
Uttarakhand was created on 9 November 2000, when it was carved out from the Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh. Seven people have served as the state's governor, five are men and two women including the incumbent Baby Rani Maurya.
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 the 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.
List of the Governors of Uttarakhand

Following is the list of the governors of Uttarakhand since its inception on 9 November 2000:
№ | Name (birth–death) |
Portrait | Term | Appointed by (President of India) | ||
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1 | Surjit Singh Barnala (1925–2017) |
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9 November 2000 | 7 January 2003 | 2 years, 59 days | K. R. Narayanan |
2 | Sudarshan Agarwal (1931–2019) |
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8 January 2003 | 28 October 2007 | 4 years, 293 days | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
3 | Banwari Lal Joshi (1936–2017) |
29 October 2007 | 5 August 2009 | 1 year, 280 days | Pratibha Patil | |
4 | Margaret Alva (born 1942) |
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6 August 2009 | 14 May 2012 | 2 years, 282 days | |
5 | Aziz Qureshi (born 1941) |
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15 May 2012 | 7 January 2015 | 2 years, 237 days | |
6 | Krishan Kant Paul (born 1947) |
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8 January 2015 | 25 August 2018 | 3 years, 229 days | Pranab Mukherjee |
7 | Baby Rani Maurya (born 1956) |
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26 August 2018 | Incumbent | 2 years, 167 days | Ram Nath Kovind |
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