List of governors of Uttarakhand

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The governor of Uttarakhand is the nominal head of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Appointed by the president of India, the governor holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is de jure head of the state government; all its executive actions are taken in the governor's name. However, the governor must act on the advice of the popularly elected Uttarakhand Council of Ministers, headed by the chief minister of Uttarakhand, who thus hold de facto executive authority at the state-level. The Constitution of India also empowers the governor to act upon his or her own discretion, such as the ability to appoint or dismiss a ministry, recommend President's rule, or reserve bills for the president's assent. The governor of Uttarakhand has their official residences at the Raj Bhavans in Dehradun and Nainital.

File:Governor’s House, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.jpg

Raj Bhavan retreat at Nainital, Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand was created on 9 November 2000, when it was carved out from the Himalayan districts of Uttar Pradesh. The first governor of the state was Surjit Singh Barnala who served in office between 2000 and 2003. The current governor is Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh (Retd.) who has been in office since 14 September 2021. As of date, eight individuals have served as the governor of the state including two women - Margaret Alva and Baby Rani Maurya. No governor has till date completed full term in office. Sudarshan Agarwal holds the record of the longest-serving governor with 4 years, 293 days in office.

Qualifications

Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:

A governor must:

be a citizen of India.
be at least 35 years of age.
not be a member of either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.
not hold any office of profit.

Powers and functions

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Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,
Legislative powers related to lawmaking and the state legislature, that is Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) & vidhan parishad, and
Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor.

Apart from enjoying various constitutional powers, the governor of Uttarakhand is the ex-officio Chancellor of the twelve state universities of Uttarakhand. The universities include 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, and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry