List of governors of Uttarakhand facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Uttarakhand
Emblem of Uttarakhand
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.

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 (1925–2017)	Punjab	9 November 2000	7 January 2003	2 years, 59 days	K. R. Narayanan
2		Sudarshan Agarwal (1931–2019)	Punjab	8 January 2003	28 October 2007	4 years, 293 days	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
3		Banwari Lal Joshi (1936–2017)	Rajasthan	29 October 2007	5 August 2009	1 year, 280 days	Pratibha Patil
4		Margaret Alva (born 1942)	Karnataka	6 August 2009	14 May 2012	2 years, 282 days
5		Aziz Qureshi (1941–2024)	Madhya Pradesh	15 May 2012	7 January 2015	2 years, 237 days
6		Krishan Kant Paul (born 1948)	Chandigarh	8 January 2015	25 August 2018	3 years, 229 days	Pranab Mukherjee
7		Baby Rani Maurya (born 1956)	Uttar Pradesh	26 August 2018	14 September 2021	3 years, 19 days	Ram Nath Kovind
8		Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd) PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM (born 1956)	Punjab	15 September 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 342 days

Timeline of Governors

Related Topics

• Government of Uttarakhand
• Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
• Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
• List of current Indian governors

More Information

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