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, Nainital (summer) Raj Bhavan, Dehradun (winter)
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 state's main representative. They are the official head of the state of Uttarakhand in India. The President of India chooses the Governor. They stay in office as long as the President wishes.

Even though the Governor is the official head, the real power to make decisions for the state government belongs to the Chief Minister and their team of ministers. The Governor must usually follow their advice. However, the Governor also has some special powers. They can make certain decisions on their own. For example, they can appoint or remove ministers. They can also suggest that the President take control of the state in special situations. This is called President's rule. The Governor also reviews new laws before they are approved.

The Governor of Uttarakhand has two official homes. One is the Raj Bhavan in Dehradun, used in winter. The other is in Nainital, used in summer.

Raj Bhavan retreat at Nainital, Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand became a separate state on November 9, 2000. Before that, it was part of Uttar Pradesh. The very first Governor of Uttarakhand was Surjit Singh Barnala. He served from 2000 to 2003. The current Governor is Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (retired). 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.

Becoming Governor: What It Takes

To become the Governor of a state like Uttarakhand, a person needs to meet certain requirements. These rules are written in the Constitution of India.

Here are the main things a Governor must be:

• A citizen of India.
• At least 35 years old.
• Not a member of the national parliament or the state legislature.
• Not holding any other paid government job.

Governor's Important Jobs and Powers

The Governor has many important jobs and powers. These powers help them manage the state and make sure things run smoothly.

• Executive Powers: These powers are about managing the state's daily business. This includes appointing important officials and sometimes removing them.
• Legislative Powers: These powers are about making laws. The Governor plays a role in the state's lawmaking body, called the Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly).
• Discretionary Powers: These are special powers the Governor can use on their own. They do not need to ask for advice from the state government for these decisions.

Besides these powers, the Governor of Uttarakhand is also the head of many state universities. This means they are the ex-officio Chancellor of these twelve universities:

• Doon University
• G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
• Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University
• Kumaun University
• Soban Singh Jeena University
• Sri Dev Suman Uttarakhand University
• Uttarakhand Ayurved University
• Uttarakhand Open University
• Uttarakhand Residential University
• Uttarakhand Sanskrit University
• Uttarakhand Technical University
• Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry

Who Has Been Governor?

Here is a list of all the people who have served as the Governor of Uttarakhand since the state was formed.

No.	Name (Lifespan)	Portrait	Home state	Time in Office			What they did before	Chosen by (President)
				From	To	Total Days
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
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
3	Banwari Lal Joshi (1936–2017)		Rajasthan	29 October 2007	5 August 2009	1 year, 280 days	Governor of Meghalaya	Pratibha Patil
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 (born 1948)		Chandigarh	8 January 2015	21 August 2018	3 years, 225 days	Governor of Meghalaya	Pranab Mukherjee
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
8	Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd.) PVSM UYSM AVSM VSM (born 1956)		Punjab	15 September 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 278 days	Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems and Training) (until 2016)

Timeline of Governors