Vice President of the Navajo Nation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vice-President of the Navajo Nation
Great Seal of the Navajo Nation
Incumbent Richelle Montoya since January 10, 2023
Residence	Window Rock, AZ
Term length	Four years, renewable once
Constituting instrument	Navajo Nation Code & Treaty of 1868
Inaugural holder	Marshall Plummer
Formation	January 15, 1991
Salary	$45,000.00 USD per year
Website	Vice President

The Vice President of the Navajo Nation is an important leader in the Navajo Nation government. This role was created in 1991 when the government was reorganized. The Vice President works closely with the President.

Both the President and Vice President are chosen by the people in an election held every four years. A person can serve as Vice President for a maximum of two terms.

In 2010, Ben Shelly made history by becoming the first Vice President to later be elected as the President of the Navajo Nation. More recently, in 2022, Richelle Montoya became the first woman to be elected to an executive leadership position in the Navajo Nation government.

Leaders of the Navajo Nation

Who Has Served as Vice President?

The table below lists all the people who have served as the Vice President of the Navajo Nation since the position was created.

List of vice presidents of Navajo Nation

No.		Image	Name	Term	Party	Election	President
1			Marshall Plummer (1948–2010)	January 15, 1991 – January 10, 1995	Unknown	1990		Peterson Zah
2			Thomas Atcitty (1933–2020)	January 10, 1995 – February 19, 1998	Democratic	1994		Albert Hale
3			Milton Bluehouse Sr. (1936–2019)	February 19, 1998 – July 24, 1998	Unknown	–		Thomas Atcitty
Position vacant (July 24–August 1998)						–		Milton Bluehouse Sr.
4			Frank Chee Willeto (1925–2012)	August 1998 – January 12, 1999	Unknown
5			Taylor McKenzie (1931–2007)	January 12, 1999 – January 14, 2003	Unknown	1998		Kelsey Begaye
6			Frank Dayish (born 1958)	January 14, 2003 – January 9, 2007	Unknown	2002		Joe Shirley Jr.
7			Ben Shelly (1947–2023)	January 9, 2007 – January 11, 2011	Democratic	2006
8			Rex Lee Jim (born 1962)	January 11, 2011 – May 12, 2015	Unknown	2010		Ben Shelly
9			Jonathan Nez (born 1975)	May 12, 2015 – January 15, 2019	Democratic	2014–15		Russell Begaye
10			Myron Lizer (born TBA)	January 15, 2019 – January 10, 2023	Republican	2018		Jonathan Nez
11			Richelle Montoya (born TBA)	January 10, 2023 – present	Unknown	2022		Buu Nygren

Timeline of Vice Presidents

This graph shows how long each Vice President of the Navajo Nation lived and when they were in office. They are listed in the order they served.

Related Topics

• President of the Navajo Nation
• Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council
• Navajo Nation Council