The governor of Nevada is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

.NV Const. art. V, § 1. The governor is the head of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the Nevada state government. The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...

, to convene the legislature at any time, as well as, except in cases of treason or impeachment, to grant

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

s and reprieves. The governor serves a four-year term. They are limited to two terms, even if they are non-consecutive. If a person ascends to the governorship and serves more than two years of a previous governor's term, they are only eligible to run for one full term. Candidates for governor must be at least 25 years old, and must have been citizens of Nevada for at least two years, at the time of election. The

lieutenant governor of Nevada The lieutenant governor of Nevada is a constitutional officer in the executive branch, executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The lieutenant governor maintains an office in Carson City, Nevada at the Nevada State Capitol and i ...

is not elected on the same ticket as the governor. The current governor is

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Steve Sisolak Stephen F. Sisolak (born December 26, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 30th governor of Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Clark County Commission from 2009 to 2019 and on t ...

, who took office on January 7, 2019.

Qualifications

Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of Nevada must meet the following qualifications: *Be at least 25 years old *Be a registered elector *Be a resident of Nevada for at least two years

History

The first provisional governor of the proposed

Territory of Nevada The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada. Prior to the creation of the Nevada ...

was Whig

Isaac Roop Isaac Newton Roop (March 13, 1822 – February 14, 1869) was a United States politician, pioneer and member of the Whig party. In 1859, he was the first elected (provisional) governor of the newly proposed Nevada Territory. Early life Roop wa ...

, who was elected in September 1859 and took office on December 15 of that year in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. When the territory was incorporated on March 2, 1861, Republican James W. Nye was appointed Territorial Governor by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and served until statehood in 1864.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's brother

Orion Clemens Orion Clemens (July 17, 1825 – December 11, 1897) was the first and only Secretary of the Nevada Territory. His younger brother Samuel Langhorne Clemens became a famous author under the pen name Mark Twain. Early life Born in Gainesboro, Tenn ...

served as Territorial Secretary to Nye. Nevada became a state on October 31, 1864, and Nye remained acting governor until the first governor, Henry G. Blasdel, took office on December 5, 1864. There have been 30 Governors of Nevada, eight of whom were actually born within state boundaries. The longest-serving Nevada Governor was Bob Miller, who served two and a half terms from 1989 to 1999. The shortest-serving Nevada Governor was Acting Governor Frank Bell, who served the remaining four months of Charles C. Stevenson's term upon the governor's death. The current governor is

, who took office on January 7, 2019.

List of governors

''Prior to becoming a territory, parts of Nevada were part of

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

and

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

; see List of governors of Utah and List of governors of New Mexico.''

Succession

Other high offices held

This is a table of congressional and other offices held by governors. All representatives and senators mentioned represented Nevada. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.

Electoral history

References

;General * " rchive.org/web/20090906035749/https://web.archive.org/web/20090906035749/http://gov.state.nv.us/ Governor Jim Gibbons" State of Nevada. Retrieved September 7, 2009. * " rchive.org/web/20090912133456/https://web.archive.org/web/20090912133456/http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.8fd3d12ab65b304f8a278110501010a0?submit=Submit&State=NV Governors of Nevada"

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

. Retrieved September 7, 2009. *
Nevada Governors' Biographical Information
" Nevada State Library and Archives. Retrieved September 7, 2009. *
Territorial Officers
" Nevada State Library and Archives. Retrieved September 7, 2009. * " rchive.org/web/20100608191224/https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092333/http://www.leg.state.nv.us/lcb/research/selectedofficersnvlegislature.pdf Selected Officers of the Nevada Legislature"

. Retrieved September 7, 2009. ;Constitutions *
The Constitution of the State of Nevada
(1864). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved September 7, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevada, List of Governors of

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...