| Post: | Governor |
| Body: | South Dakota |
| Insignia: | SouthDakota-StateSeal.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150 |
| Insigniacaption: | Seal of South Dakota |
| Flag: | Flag of South Dakota.svg |
| Flagsize: | 175px |
| Flagcaption: | State flag |
| Incumbent: | Larry Rhoden |
| Incumbentsince: | January 25, 2025 |
| Style: | The Honorable |
| Department: | Government of South Dakota |
| Termlength: | Four years, renewable once consecutively[1] |
| Residence: | The Governor's Mansion |
| Formation: | Constitution of South Dakota |
| Inaugural: | Arthur C. Mellette 1889[2] |
| Salary: | $139,100.00 [3] [4] |
The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota.[5] The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election.[1] The current governor is Larry Rhoden, a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 25, 2025.
Anyone who seeks to be elected Governor of South Dakota must meet the following qualifications:[6]
The governor holds many powers and duties, which in many ways are similar to those held by the president of the United States:[7]
From 1889 to 1974, the governor served a 2-year term. Until the 1940s, the governor was allowed to serve unlimited terms; since that time, governors have been limited to 2 consecutive terms. The gubernatorial term was extended to 4 years in 1974. The governor and lieutenant governor run on a single ticket. The gubernatorial nominee must win a primary, whereas the lieutenant governor nominee is selected at a state party convention. After the convention, they run on a single ticket.[1]
South Dakota’s first governor was Arthur C. Mellette, who was also the last governor of the Dakota Territory.[2]
3 of South Dakota's governors have left office before their terms expired. In 1978, Richard F. Kneip resigned from office 6 months before the expiration of his term to accept an appointment as United States ambassador to Singapore.[10] On April 19, 1993, George S. Mickelson was killed in a plane crash near Dubuque, Iowa; Mickelson is the only South Dakota governor to die in office. Mickelson and his father, George Theodore Mickelson, are the only father-son duo to serve as governor.[11] On January 25, 2025, Kristi Noem resigned to become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security in the Cabinet of President Donald Trump.
South Dakota's longest-serving governor was Bill Janklow; he was the first governor to complete two four-year terms, and he did it twice, serving from 1979 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 2003.[12] Janklow is also the only person to serve non-consecutive terms as governor.
Several governors have gone on to serve in other high offices. Coe I. Crawford,[13] Peter Norbeck,[14] William H. McMaster, William J. Bulow, Harlan J. Bushfield, and Mike Rounds followed their tenures as governor by serving in the United States Senate. Bill Janklow served briefly in the United States House of Representatives following his second stint as governor.[15] Kristi Noem was South Dakota's first female governor.
Of the 50 states, South Dakota currently holds the longest non-interrupted party control of the governorship. The Republican Party has controlled the South Dakota governorship since January 1, 1979.