| Post: | Governor |
| Body: | Minnesota |
| Insignia: | Seal of Minnesota.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 125px |
| Insigniacaption: | Great Seal of the State of Minnesota |
| Flag: | Flag of Minnesota.svg |
| Flagsize: | 145px |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of Minnesota |
| Inaugural: | Henry H. Sibley |
| Incumbent: | Tim Walz |
| Incumbentsince: | January 7, 2019 |
| Department: | Government of Minnesota |
| Preceded By: | Mark Dayton |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Residence: | Minnesota Governor's Residence |
| Termlength: | Four years, no term limit |
| Formation: | May 24, 1858 |
| Deputy: | Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota |
| Salary: | $127,629 (2022)[1] |
The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial governor, also served as state governor several years later. State governors are elected to office by popular vote, but territorial governors were appointed to the office by the United States president. The current governor of Minnesota is Tim Walz of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).
Similar to the U.S. president, the governor has veto power over bills passed by the Minnesota State Legislature. As in most states, but unlike the U.S. president, the governor can also make line-item vetoes, where specific provisions in bills can be stripped out while allowing the overall bill to be signed into law.
The governor of Minnesota must be 25 years old upon assuming office, and must have been a Minnesota resident for one year before the election.
Since a 1958 amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, governors are elected to four-year terms, with no limits on the number of terms they may serve.[2]
The governor has a cabinet consisting of the leaders of various state departments. The governor appoints these department heads, who, other than the head of the Department of Military Affairs and the chairs of the Metropolitan Council and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, are called commissioners. Cabinet members include:[3]
| Cabinet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Incumbent | data-sort-type="date" | Term began | ||
| data-sort-value="Administration" | Commissioner of Administration | data-sort-value="align="center" | Alice Roberts-Davis | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Agriculture" | Commissioner of Agriculture | data-sort-value="align="center" | Thom Petersen | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Commerce" | Commissioner of Commerce | data-sort-value="align="center" | Steve Kelley | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Corrections" | Commissioner of Corrections | data-sort-value="align="center" | Paul Schnell | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Education" | Commissioner of Education | data-sort-value="align="center" | Willie Jett | data-sort-value="20210401" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="Employment and Economic Development" | Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development | data-sort-value="align="center" | Steve Grove | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Health" | Commissioner of Health | data-sort-value="align="center" | Brooke Cunningham | data-sort-value="20180130" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="Higher Education" | Commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education | data-sort-value="align="center" | Dennis Olsen | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Housing Finance" | Commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency | data-sort-value="align="center" | Jennifer Ho | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Human Rights" | Commissioner of Human Rights | data-sort-value="align="center" | Rebecca Lucero[4] | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 3,[5] 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Human Services" | Commissioner of Human Services | data-sort-value="align="center" | Jodi Harpstead[6] | data-sort-value="20190107" | August 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation" | Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board | data-sort-value="Phillips, Mark"align="center" | Ida Rukavina | data-sort-value="20150119" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="IT Services" | Commissioner and Chief Information Officer of MN.IT Services | data-sort-value="Tomes, Tarek"align="center" | Tarek Tomes | data-sort-value="20180218" | April 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Labor and Industry" | Commissioner of Labor and Industry | data-sort-value="align="center" | Nicole Blissenbach | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="Management and Budget" | Commissioner of Management and Budget | data-sort-value="Campbell, Erin"align="center" | Erin Campbell | data-sort-value="20150105" | August 15, 2023[7] |
| data-sort-value="Mediation Services" | Commissioner of the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services | data-sort-value="align="center" | Janet Johnson | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Metropolitan Council" | Chairperson of the Metropolitan Council | data-sort-value="align="center" | Nora Slawik | data-sort-value="2019027" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Military Affairs" | Adjutant General | data-sort-value="Jensen, Jon"align="center" | Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke[8] | data-sort-value="20171104" | August 12, 2020 |
| data-sort-value="Natural Resources" | Commissioner of Natural Resources | data-sort-value="align="center" | Sarah Strommen | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Pollution Control" | Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency | data-sort-value="align="center" | Laura Bishop | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Public Safety" | Commissioner of Public Safety | data-sort-value="align="center" | Bob Jacobson | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="Revenue" | Commissioner of Revenue | data-sort-value="Bauerly, Cynthia"align="center" | Paul Marquart | data-sort-value="20150105" | January 2, 2023 |
| data-sort-value="Transportation" | Commissioner of Transportation | data-sort-value="align="center" | Margaret Anderson Kelliher | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
| data-sort-value="Veterans Affairs" | Commissioner of Veterans Affairs | data-sort-value="align="center" | Larry Herke | data-sort-value="20190107" | January 7, 2019 |
See main article: Minnesota Governor's Residence. The Minnesota Governor's Residence is located in Saint Paul, at 1006 Summit Avenue.
The line of succession for the Governor is established by Article V, Section 5 of the Minnesota Constitution[9] and Minnesota Statute 4.06.[10]
The Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener is a tradition that dates back to 1948.[11] The event was designed to promote the development of Minnesota's recreation industry[12] [13] The Governor goes to a selected lake in Minnesota to fish on the opening weekend of the fishing season.[14]