| Post: | Governor |
| Body: | Alaska |
| Native Name: | Alaaskam Kavanaa |
| Insignia: | Seal of the State of Alaska.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150 |
| Insigniacaption: | The Seal of the State of Alaska |
| Incumbent: | Mike Dunleavy |
| Incumbentsince: | December 3, 2018 |
| Department: | Government of Alaska |
| Residence: | Alaska Governor's Mansion |
| Termlength: | Four years, renewable once consecutively |
| Formation: | January 3, 1959 |
| Inaugural: | William A. Egan |
| Deputy: | Lieutenant Governor of Alaska |
| Salary: | $145,000 (2022)[1] |
The governor of Alaska (Iñupiaq: Alaaskam kavanaa) is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as well as being the commander in chief of the Alaska's state forces.
Twelve people have served as governor of the State of Alaska over 14 distinct terms, though Alaska had over 30 civilian and military governors during its long history as a United States territory. Only two governors, William A. Egan and Bill Walker, were born in Alaska. Two people, Egan and Wally Hickel, have been elected to multiple non-consecutive terms as governor. Hickel is also noted for a rare third party win in American politics, having been elected to a term in 1990 representing the Alaskan Independence Party. The longest-serving governor of the state was Egan, who was elected three times and served nearly 12 years. The longest-serving territorial governor was Ernest Gruening, who served over 13 years.
The current governor is Republican Mike Dunleavy, who took office on December 3, 2018.
Alaska was purchased by the United States from the Russian Empire in 1867, with formal transfer occurring on October 18, 1867,[2] which is now celebrated as Alaska Day. Before then, it was known as Russian America or Russian Alaska, controlled by the governors and general managers of the Russian-American Company.
The vast region was initially designated the Department of Alaska, under the jurisdiction of the Department of War and administered by Army officers until 1877, when the Army was withdrawn from Alaska. The Department of the Treasury then took control, with the Collector of Customs as the highest ranking federal official in the territory. In 1879, the Navy was given jurisdiction over the department.
Some believe the first American administrator of Alaska was Polish immigrant Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski. However, the Anchorage Daily News was unable to find any conclusive information to support this claim.[3]
| Commander | Position | Term in office | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-sort-value="Davis, Jefferson" | Jefferson C. Davis | data-sort-value="6" | Army Colonel | – August 31, 1870 | ||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Brady, George" | George K. Brady | data-sort-value="3" | Army Captain | – September 22, 1870 | ||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Tidball, John" | John C. Tidball | data-sort-value="4" | Army Major | – September 19, 1871 | ||
| 4 | data-sort-value="Allen, Harvey" | Harvey A. Allen | data-sort-value="4" | Army Major | – January 3, 1873 | ||
| 5 | data-sort-value="Stewart, Joseph" | Joseph Stewart | data-sort-value="4" | Army Major | – April 20, 1874 | ||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Rodney, George" | George B. Rodney Jr. | data-sort-value="3" | Army Captain | – August 16, 1874 | ||
| 7 | data-sort-value="Campbell, Joseph" | Joseph B. Campbell | data-sort-value="3" | Army Captain | – June 14, 1876 | ||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Mendenhall, John" | John Mendenhall | data-sort-value="4" | Army Major | – March 4, 1877 | ||
| 9 | data-sort-value="Morris, Arthur" | Arthur Morris | data-sort-value="3" | Army Captain | – June 14, 1877 | ||
| 10 | data-sort-value="Berry, Montgomery" | Montgomery P. Berry | data-sort-value="0" | Collector of Customs | – August 13, 1877 | ||
| 11 | data-sort-value="DeAhna, Henry" | Henry Charles DeAhna | data-sort-value="0" | Collector of Customs | – March 26, 1878 | ||
| 12 | data-sort-value="Ball, M. D." | M. D. Ball | data-sort-value="0" | Collector of Customs | – June 13, 1879 | ||
| 13 | data-sort-value="Beardslee, Lester" | Lester A. Beardslee | data-sort-value="6" | Navy Captain | – September 12, 1880 | ||
| 14 | data-sort-value="Glass, Henry" | Henry Glass | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – August 9, 1881 | ||
| 15 | data-sort-value="Lull, Edward" | Edward P. Lull | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – October 18, 1881 | ||
| 16 | data-sort-value="Glass, Henry" | Henry Glass | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – March 12, 1882 | ||
| 17 | data-sort-value="Pearson, Frederick" | Frederick Pearson | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – October 3, 1882 | ||
| 18 | data-sort-value="Merriman, Edgar" | Edgar C. Merriman | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – September 13, 1883 | ||
| 19 | data-sort-value="Coghlan, Joseph" | Joseph Coghlan | data-sort-value="5" | Navy Commander | – September 13, 1884 | ||
| 20 | data-sort-value="Nichols, Henry" | Henry E. Nichols | data-sort-value="4" | Navy Lieutenant commander | – September 15, 1884 |
On May 17, 1884, the Department of Alaska was redesignated the District of Alaska, an incorporated but unorganized territory with a civil government. The governor was appointed by the president of the United States.
| Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-sort-value="Kinkead, John" | John Henry Kinkead | – May 8, 1885 | |||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Swineford, Alfred" | Alfred P. Swineford | – April 13, 1889 | |||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Knapp, Lyman" | Lyman Enos Knapp | – June 28, 1893 | |||
| 4 | data-sort-value="Sheakley, James" | James Sheakley | – July 15, 1897 | |||
| 5 | John Green Brady | – March 21, 1906 | ||||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Hoggatt, Wilford" | Wilford Bacon Hoggatt | – October 1, 1909 | |||
| 7 | data-sort-value="Clark, Walter" | Walter Eli Clark | – August 24, 1912 |
The District of Alaska was organized into Alaska Territory on August 24, 1912. Governors continued to be appointed by the president of the United States.
| Governor | Term in office | Appointed by | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-sort-value="Clark, Walter" | Walter Eli Clark | – May 1, 1913 | |||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Strong, John" | John Franklin Alexander Strong | – April 12, 1918 | |||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Riggs, Thomas" | Thomas Riggs Jr. | – June 13, 1921 | |||
| 4 | data-sort-value="Bone, Scott" | Scott Cordelle Bone | – February 18, 1925 | |||
| 5 | data-sort-value="Parks, George" | George Alexander Parks | – March 30, 1933 | |||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Troy, John" | John Weir Troy | – December 5, 1939 | |||
| 7 | Ernest Gruening | – March 16, 1953 | ||||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Heintzleman, B. Frank" | B. Frank Heintzleman | – January 3, 1957 | |||
| 9 | data-sort-value="Stepovich, Mike" | Mike Stepovich | – August 9, 1958 |
Alaska was admitted to the Union on January 3, 1959.
The state constitution provides for the election of a governor and lieutenant governor every four years on the same ticket, with their terms commencing on the first Monday in the December following the election. Governors are allowed to succeed themselves once, having to wait four years after their second term in a row before being allowed to run again. Should the office of governor become vacant, the lieutenant governor assumes the office of governor. The original constitution of 1956 created the office of secretary of state, which was functionally identical to a lieutenant governor, and was renamed to "lieutenant governor" in 1970.
| Governor | Term in office | Party | Election | Lt. Governor | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William A. Egan [4] | [5] – December 5, 1966 | Democratic | 1958 | |||||
| 1962 | |||||||||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Hickel, Wally" | Wally Hickel [6] | [7] – January 24, 1969 | Republican | 1966 | ||||
| 3 | data-sort-value="Miller, Keith" | Keith Harvey Miller [8] | [9] – December 7, 1970 | Republican | |||||
| 1 | data-sort-value="Egan, William" | William A. Egan | [10] – December 2, 1974 | Democratic | 1970 | ||||
| 4 | Jay Hammond [11] | [12] – December 6, 1982 | Republican | 1974 | |||||
| 1978 | |||||||||
| 5 | data-sort-value="Sheffield, Bill" | Bill Sheffield [13] | [14] – December 1, 1986 [15] | Democratic | 1982 | ||||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Cowper, Steve" | Steve Cowper [16] | [17] – December 3, 1990 [18] | Democratic | 1986 | ||||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Hickel, Wally" | Wally Hickel | [19] – December 5, 1994 [20] | Alaskan Independence | 1990 | ||||
| 7 | Tony Knowles [21] | [22] – December 2, 2002 | Democratic | 1994 | |||||
| 1998 | |||||||||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Murkowski, Frank" | Frank Murkowski [23] | [24] – December 4, 2006 [25] | Republican | 2002 | ||||
| 9 | data-sort-value="Palin, Sarah" | Sarah Palin [26] | [27] – July 26, 2009 | Republican | 2006 | ||||
| 10 | Sean Parnell [28] | [29] – December 1, 2014 [30] | Republican | Vacant | |||||
| 2010 | |||||||||
| 11 | Bill Walker [31] | [32] – December 3, 2018 | Independent | 2014 | |||||
| 12 | Mike Dunleavy [33] | [34] – Incumbent | Republican | 2018 | |||||
| 2022 | |||||||||