The governor of Montana 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 ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Montana Constitution The Constitution of the State of Montana is the primary legal document providing for the self-governance of the U.S. State of Montana. It establishes and defines the powers of the three branches of the government of Montana, and the rights of ...

, Article VI, Section 4. and 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, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the

Montana State Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate. The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature mee ...

, to convene the legislature at any time, and 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 current

, ratified in 1972, calls for a 4-year term for the governor, commencing on the first Monday in January following an election.

, Article VI, Section 1. The governor is term-limited to 8 years in any 16-year period. The constitution provides for the election of a

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

for the same term as the governor. The two offices are elected on the same

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

; a provision which did not appear in the state's first constitution, ratified in 1889. In the event of a vacancy in the office of governor due to resignation, disqualification, or death, the lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term. If the governor is unable to perform his duties for any other reason, the lieutenant governor may become acting governor at the discretion of the state legislature. The 1889 constitution made the lieutenant governor president of the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, but this provision was removed in the 1972 constitution. Montana has had 24 governors (ten of whom were actually born within state boundaries), consisting of 9

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and 15 Democrats. The longest-serving governor was

Joseph Toole Joseph Kemp Toole (May 12, 1851 – March 11, 1929) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Montana. He served as the first and fourth Governor of Montana. Biography Toole was born in Savannah, Missouri and attended ...

, who served from 1889 to 1893 and again from 1901 until his resignation in 1908 with 11 years in office. He is the only governor to serve nonconsecutive terms. The shortest-serving governor was

Elmer Holt William Elmer Holt (October 14, 1884 – March 1, 1945) was an American politician. He served as the List of governors of Montana, tenth Governor of Montana from 1935 to 1937. Biography Holt was born in Savannah, Missouri, and moved with his fam ...

, who served less than 13 months when the previous governor died. The current governor is Republican

Greg Gianforte Gregory Richard Gianforte (born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representa ...

, who took office on January 4, 2021.

Qualifications

Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of Montana must meet the following qualifications: *Be at least 25 years of age or older at the time of election *Be a citizen of the United States *have resided within the state at least two years at his or her election

Governors

Prior to the creation of

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries T ...

(1864–1889), numerous areas of what is now Montana were areas of

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

(1848–1859),

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

(1853–1863),

Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory w ...

(1863–1864), and

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

(1861–1864).

Governors of the Territory of Montana

''NOTE:'' Term dates are for the full, official term of office, see notes column for clarification of dates when men served as governor.

Governors of the State of Montana

Succession

Other high offices held

This is a table of the equivalent or higher state and federal offices and other governorships held by governors. All representatives and senators represented Montana. * denotes cases where the governor resigned the governorship to accept the other office.

Notes

References

;General *
U.S. States L-M -- Montana
" World Statesman Almanac. Retrieved August 14, 2011. *
Former Montana Governors
" State of Montana. Retrieved November 13, 2014. *
Montana Governor Steve Bullock
" State of Montana. Retrieved November 13, 2014. * ;Constitutions *
Constitution of the State of Montana
(1972). Montana Legislature. Retrieved August 14, 2011. *
Constitution of the State of Montana
(1889). University of Montana Law Library. Retrieved August 14, 2011. *
Constitution of the State of Montana
(1884) ratified but never approved by Congress. University of Montana Law Library. Retrieved August 14, 2011.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montana, List of Governors of * Lists of state governors of the United States

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 ...