List of governors of North Dakota

The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The governor is the head of the executive branch of North Dakota's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.

Flag of the governor

There have been 32 governors since North Dakota became a state, serving 33 distinct terms, with William Langer having been elected to multiple terms. The current officeholder is Republican Kelly Armstrong.

Governors

For governors before statehood, see List of governors of Dakota Territory.

Dakota Territory was organized on March 2, 1861;^[1] on November 2, 1889, it was split into the states of North Dakota and South Dakota.^[2]

The Constitution of North Dakota originally provided for the election of a governor and lieutenant governor every two years, which was changed to four years in 1964.^[3] A limit of two terms was added in 2023.^[4] The governor and lieutenant governor are elected together on a ticket,^[5] and should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.^[6] The term of office begins on the December 15 following the election.^[7]

Governors of the State of North Dakota

No.	Governor				Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor[a]
1				John Miller (1843–1908) [8][9]	November 20, 1889[10] – January 7, 1891 (did not run)[8]	Republican[11]	1889			Alfred Dickey
2				Andrew H. Burke (1850–1918) [12][13]	January 7, 1891[14] – January 4, 1893 (lost election)	Republican[11]	1890			Roger Allin
3				Eli C. D. Shortridge (1830–1908) [15][16]	January 4, 1893[b] – January 9, 1895 (did not run)	Populist[15]	1892			Elmer D. Wallace[c]
4				Roger Allin (1848–1936) [20][21]	January 9, 1895[22] – January 7, 1897 (lost nomination)[23]	Republican[11]	1894			John H. Worst
5				Frank A. Briggs (1858–1898) [24][25]	January 7, 1897[d] – August 9, 1898 (died in office)	Republican[11]	1896			Joseph M. Devine
6				Joseph M. Devine (1861–1938) [28][29]	August 9, 1898[30] – January 3, 1899 (did not run)	Republican[11]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
7				Frederick B. Fancher (1852–1944) [31][32]	January 3, 1899[33] – January 7, 1901 (withdrew)[e]	Republican[11]	1898			Joseph M. Devine
8				Frank White (1856–1940) [35][36]	January 7, 1901[37] – January 4, 1905 (did not run)	Republican[11]	1900			David Bartlett
							1902
9				Elmore Y. Sarles (1859–1929) [38][39]	January 4, 1905[40] – January 9, 1907 (lost election)	Republican[11]	1904
10				John Burke (1859–1937) [41][42]	January 9, 1907[43] – January 8, 1913 (did not run)	Democratic[11]	1906			Robert S. Lewis
							1908
							1910			Usher L. Burdick
11				L. B. Hanna (1861–1948) [44][45]	January 8, 1913[46] – January 3, 1917 (did not run)	Republican[11]	1912			Anton Kraabel
							1914			John H. Fraine
12				Lynn Frazier (1874–1947) [47][48]	January 3, 1917[49] – November 23, 1921 (recalled)[f]	Republican/ Nonpartisan League[47]	1916			Anton Kraabel
							1918			Howard R. Wood
							1920
13				Ragnvald Nestos (1877–1942) [50][51]	November 23, 1921[52] – January 7, 1925 (lost nomination)[50]	Republican/ Independent Voters[50]	1921 (recall)[f]
							1922			Frank H. Hyland
14				Arthur G. Sorlie (1874–1928) [53][54]	January 7, 1925[55] – August 28, 1928 (died in office)	Republican/ Nonpartisan League[53]	1924			Walter Maddock
							1926
15				Walter Maddock (1880–1951) [56][57]	August 28, 1928[58] – January 9, 1929 (lost election)	Republican/ Nonpartisan League[56]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
16				George F. Shafer (1888–1948) [59][60]	January 9, 1929[61] – January 4, 1933 (did not run)[g]	Republican/ Independent Voters[59]	1928			John W. Carr
							1930
17				William Langer (1886–1959) [62][63]	January 4, 1933[h] – July 19, 1934 (removed)[i]	Republican/ Nonpartisan League[62]	1932			Ole H. Olson
18				Ole H. Olson (1872–1954) [68][69]	July 19, 1934[i] – January 7, 1935 (did not run)	Republican/ Nonpartisan League	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
19				Thomas H. Moodie (1878–1948) [70][71]	January 7, 1935[72] – February 2, 1935 (removed)[j]	Democratic[70]	1934			Walter Welford
20				Walter Welford (1868–1952) [73][74]	February 2, 1935[75] – January 6, 1937 (lost election)	Republican/ Nonpartisan League[73]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
21				William Langer (1886–1959) [62][63]	January 6, 1937[76] – January 2, 1939 (did not run)[k]	Independent[62]	1936			Thorstein H. H. Thoresen
22				John Moses (1885–1945) [77][78]	January 2, 1939[79] – January 2, 1945 (did not run)[l]	Democratic[77]	1938			Jack A. Patterson
							1940			Oscar W. Hagen
							1942			Henry Holt
23				Fred G. Aandahl (1897–1966) [80][81]	January 2, 1945[82] – January 3, 1951 (did not run)[m]	Republican[80]	1944			Clarence P. Dahl
							1946
							1948
24				Norman Brunsdale (1891–1978) [83][84]	January 3, 1951[85] – January 7, 1957 (did not run)	Republican[83]	1950			Ray Schnell
							1952			Clarence P. Dahl
							1954
25				John E. Davis (1913–1990) [86][87]	January 7, 1957[88] – January 3, 1961 (did not run)[n]	Republican[86]	1956			Francis Clyde Duffy
							1958			Clarence P. Dahl
26				William L. Guy (1919–2013) [89][90]	January 3, 1961[91] – January 2, 1973 (did not run)[89]	Democratic– Nonpartisan League[89]	1960			Orville W. Hagen
							1962			Frank A. Wenstrom
							1964			Charles Tighe
							1968			Richard F. Larsen
27				Arthur A. Link (1914–2010) [92][93]	January 2, 1973[94] – January 6, 1981 (lost election)	Democratic– Nonpartisan League[92]	1972			Wayne Sanstead
							1976
28				Allen I. Olson (b. 1938) [95]	January 6, 1981[96] – December 31, 1984 (lost election)	Republican[95]	1980			Ernest Sands
29				George A. Sinner (1928–2018) [97]	January 1, 1985[o] – December 15, 1992 (did not run)	Democratic– Nonpartisan League[97]	1984			Ruth Meiers
							1988			Lloyd Omdahl
30				Ed Schafer (b. 1946) [100]	December 15, 1992[101] – December 15, 2000 (did not run)	Republican[100]	1992			Rosemarie Myrdal
							1996
31				John Hoeven (b. 1957) [102]	December 15, 2000[103] – December 7, 2010 (resigned)[p]	Republican[102]	2000			Jack Dalrymple
							2004
							2008
32				Jack Dalrymple (b. 1948) [104]	December 7, 2010[105] – December 15, 2016 (did not run)	Republican[104]	Succeeded from lieutenant governor			Drew Wrigley
							2012
33				Doug Burgum (b. 1956) [106]	December 15, 2016[107] – December 15, 2024 (did not run)	Republican[106]	2016			Brent Sanford
							2020
										Tammy Miller
34				Kelly Armstrong (b. 1976) [108]	December 15, 2024[109] – Incumbent[q]	Republican[108]	2024			Michelle Strinden

See also

• Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#North Dakota
• List of North Dakota Legislative Assemblies

Notes

1. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
2. Sources disagree on when Shortridge took office; Sobel says January 2,^[15] the State Historical Society says January 3,^[17] one contemporary news source says Shortridge qualified on January 3,^[18] and Shortridge delivered his inaugural address (dated January 3) to the legislature on January 4.^[19]
3. Represented the Democratic-Independent Party
4. Sources disagree on when Briggs took office; Sobel says January 8,^[24] the State Historical Society says January 6,^[26] and a contemporary news source says he was sworn in on January 7,^[27] which notes that inaugural proceedings were delayed by the death of Briggs' daughter.
5. Fancher was nominated by the Republican Party, but withdrew from the election due to health concerns.^[34]
6. Frazier was recalled and Nestos elected to replace him in a special election.
7. Shafer instead ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination to the United States Senate.^[59]
8. Sources disagree on when Langer took office; the State Historical Society says December 31, 1932,^[64] but contemporary news indicates it was on January 4, 1933, the matter being complicated because Langer was ill and unable to attend..^[65]
9. Langer was removed from office following his conviction of felony conspiracy to defraud the federal government; he was later cleared.^[62] He was convicted on June 17 and Lieutenant Governor Ole H. Olson immediately moved to take over, receiving the oath of office.^[66] The Supreme Court ruled Langer was ineligible on July 17, and Olson formally took office on July 19.^[67]
10. The Supreme Court ruled that Moodie did not meet residency requirements to run for governor, and so removed him.^[70]
11. Langer instead ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.^[62]
12. Moses was instead elected to the United States Senate.^[77]
13. Aandahl was instead elected to the United States House of Representatives.^[80]
14. Davis instead ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate.^[86]
15. Sinner took the oath of office on December 31, so that he would become governor at midnight on January 1; Olson claimed that his term did not end until January 5, and refused to leave office. The Supreme Court ruled on January 4 that Sinner was governor, and had been since January 1.^[98][99]
16. Hoeven resigned, having been elected to the United States Senate.
17. Armstrong's term will expire on December 15, 2028.