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Governor of Uttarakhand
Seal of Uttarakhand.svg
Emblem of Uttarakhand
GurmitSingh.jpg
Incumbent
Gurmit Singh

since 15 September 2021
Government of Uttarakhand
Style His Excellency (within Uttarakhand)
The Honourable (outside Uttarakhand)
Residence Raj Bhavan, Dehradun
Raj Bhavan, Nainital (summer residence)
Nominator Union Government of India
Appointer President of India
Term length At the pleasure of the president
Inaugural holder Surjit Singh Barnala (2000–2003)
Formation 9 November 2000; 24 years ago (2000-11-09)
Website Governor of Uttarakhand


The Governor of Uttarakhand is like the official head of the state of Uttarakhand in India. The President of India chooses the Governor. They stay in their job as long as the President wants them to.

The Governor is the official leader of the state government. All important decisions and actions of the government are made in the Governor's name. However, the Governor must follow the advice of the elected Uttarakhand Council of Ministers. This group is led by the Chief Minister. So, the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers are the ones who actually run the state.

The Constitution of India also gives the Governor special powers. For example, they can choose or remove ministers. They can also suggest that the President take control of the state in certain situations. This is called President's rule. The Governor can also hold back new laws for the President to approve. The Governor of Uttarakhand has two official homes. These are the Raj Bhavans in Dehradun and Nainital.

Governor’s House, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
Raj Bhavan retreat at Nainital, Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand became a separate state on November 9, 2000. It was formed from the Himalayan parts of Uttar Pradesh. The first Governor of the state was Surjit Singh Barnala. He served from 2000 to 2003. The current Governor is Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd.). He has been in office since September 14, 2021.

So far, eight people have served as Governor of Uttarakhand. This includes two women: Margaret Alva and Baby Rani Maurya. No Governor has completed a full five-year term yet. Sudarshan Agarwal served the longest, for 4 years and 293 days.

Who Can Be Governor?

The Constitution of India explains who can become a Governor. It also lists the rules for holding the Governor's office.

To be a Governor, a person must:

  • Be a citizen of India.
  • Be at least 35 years old.
  • Not be a member of the national parliament.
  • Not be a member of the state legislature.
  • Not hold any other paid government job.

What Does the Governor Do?

The Governor has several important types of powers:

  • Executive powers: These are about managing the government. They include making appointments and removing officials.
  • Legislative powers: These are about making laws. They involve working with the state legislature, which includes the Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly).
  • Discretionary powers: These are special powers the Governor can use on their own.

Besides these powers, the Governor of Uttarakhand is also the head of twelve state universities. This means they are the ex-officio Chancellor. Some of these universities include Doon University, Kumaun University, and Uttarakhand Technical University.

List of Governors

Legend
  • Died in office
  • Transferred
  • Resigned/removed
Color key
  •        indicates acting/additional charge
No. Portrait Name
(born – died)
Home state Time in Office Appointed by
(President)
From To Length of Service
1 Surjit Singh Barnala, 2008.png Surjit Singh Barnala
(1925–2017)
Punjab 9 November
2000
7 January
2003
2 years, 59 days K. R. Narayanan
2 Sudarshan Agarwal (cropped).jpg Sudarshan Agarwal
(1931–2019)
Punjab 8 January
2003
28 October
2007
4 years, 293 days A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
3 Banwari Lal Joshi.jpg Banwari Lal Joshi
(1936–2017)
Rajasthan 29 October
2007
5 August
2009
1 year, 280 days Pratibha Patil
4 The Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee addressing at the inauguration of the Orientation Programme for the media persons accredited to the press gallery of Lok Sabha, in New Delhi on July 28, 2006 (cropped).jpg Margaret Alva
(born 1942)
Karnataka 6 August
2009
14 May
2012
2 years, 282 days
5 Aziz Qureshi at valedictory function of the 89th Foundation Course for All India Services, at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (cropped).jpg Aziz Qureshi
(1941–2024)
Madhya Pradesh 15 May
2012
7 January
2015
2 years, 237 days
6 Governor of Uttarakhand Krishan Kant Paul (cropped).jpg Krishan Kant Paul
(born 1948)
Chandigarh 8 January
2015
25 August
2018
3 years, 229 days Pranab Mukherjee
7 Baby Rani Maurya in 2022 (cropped).jpg Baby Rani Maurya
(born 1956)
Uttar Pradesh 26 August
2018
14 September
2021
3 years, 19 days Ram Nath Kovind
8 GurmitSingh.jpg Lieutenant General
Gurmit Singh (Retd)
PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM
(born 1956)
Punjab 15 September
2021
Incumbent 3 years, 321 days

Timeline of Governors

Gurmit Singh Baby Rani Maurya Krishan Kant Paul Aziz Qureshi Margaret Alva Banwari Lal Joshi Sudarshan Agarwal Surjit Singh Barnala

Related Topics

More Information

  • Official website of the Governor of Uttarakhand: https://web.archive.org/web/20090228232329/http://gov.ua.nic.in/rajbhawan/
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