# Governor of Minnesota *Head of the executive branch of the state of Minnesota.* The governor of Minnesota heads the state's government and its executive branch.[^1] Since a 1958 amendment to the state constitution, governors have been chosen by statewide popular vote for four-year terms with no limit on re-election. Minnesota Territory's governors, by contrast, were appointed by the President.[^1] Forty people have held the state office and three held the territorial one, and [[Alexander Ramsey]] held both.[^1] The sitting governor is [[Tim Walz]] of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). The office is the appointing authority for the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Economic Development.[^2] The record documents the office through its outputs: signatures, vetoes, appointments and executive orders. Governors of both parties signed the statute now before a federal court. The chapter-43A vessel, [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.19]], was enacted in 1981 under Republican [[Al Quie]], and the operative [[Minn. Stat. § 43A.191]] entered as a 1985 rider under DFL Governor [[Rudy Perpich]]. Of its thirteen recorded amendments, Republican governors signed seven and Democratic governors signed six, and none repealed it.[^3][^4] On January 14, 2026, the United States sued the State over § 43A.191 in [[United States v. State of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00273)]].[^5] The [[United States Department of Justice]] titled its announcement *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*.[^6] The governor also appoints every member of the [[Metropolitan Council (Minnesota)]] under Minn. Stat. § 473.123: sixteen district members and a chair. Members' terms end with the governor's, and none is elected.[^7] In January 2011 the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] found that the Council's planning role "has been hampered by how members are appointed."[^8] The statute's amendment history ends at 2023 c 42 s 1, a redistricting provision. The text still provides that "Sixteen members must be appointed by the governor."[^7] ## Who - [[Joseph A. A. Burnquist]] was governor from 1915 to 1921 and chaired the wartime Public Safety Commission.[^9] - Governor Edward Thye created the Governor's Interracial Commission in December 1943.[^10] Thye was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 5, 1946, and [[Luther Youngdahl]] succeeded him as governor.[^11] - Youngdahl (R) was inaugurated on January 8, 1947. He was re-elected on November 2, 1948, and won a third term on November 7, 1950.[^12] He resigned on September 27, 1951, on his appointment by President Truman as a U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C.[^13] [[C. Elmer Anderson]] (R) became governor the same day.[^14] - [[Orville Freeman]] (DFL) was elected on November 2, 1954, as the first DFL governor, and was re-elected in 1956 and 1958.[^15] - [[Elmer L. Andersen]] (R) was elected on November 8, 1960.[^16] - [[Harold LeVander]] (R) was elected on November 8, 1966, and served from 1967 to 1971.[^17][^18] - Wendell Anderson (DFL) was elected on November 3, 1970, and re-elected in 1974. He resigned on December 29, 1976, and Lieutenant Governor Perpich became governor.[^19] Perpich served from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991.[^20] - Quie (R) defeated Perpich by more than 110,000 votes on November 7, 1978, and served from 1979 to 1983.[^21][^4] - [[Arne Carlson]] (R) was elected on November 6, 1990, after Jon Grunseth withdrew, and was re-elected on November 8, 1994. He served from 1991 to 1999.[^22][^23] - [[Jesse Ventura]] (Reform Party) was elected on November 3, 1998, defeating Hubert H. Humphrey III (DFL) and Norm Coleman (R). He was inaugurated in January 1999.[^22][^24] - [[Tim Pawlenty]] (R) was elected on November 5, 2002. He was re-elected on November 7, 2006, defeating Attorney General [[Mike Hatch]] by about one percentage point.[^22] - Mark Dayton (DFL) was inaugurated on January 3, 2011, the first DFL governor in twenty years.[^2] - Walz (DFL) is the sitting governor.[^2] Lieutenant Governor [[Peggy Flanagan]] was a sitting state representative when she was elected in November 2018.[^25] ## What The governor signs or vetoes the bills the Legislature passes. The governor may also strike individual provisions by line-item veto while signing the rest of a bill, a power most governors share and the President lacks. A governor must be at least 25 on taking office and must have lived in Minnesota for the year before the election. Most department heads appointed by the governor carry the title commissioner. The exceptions are the head of the Department of Military Affairs and the chairs of the Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.[^1] Instruments signed by governors, as the record shows them: - **1967.** On May 25, 1967, Governor LeVander (R) approved Laws 1967, ch. 896, which created the Metropolitan Council, a governor-appointed regional government.[^26][^18] On the same date he