List of Minnesota governors from first to last

Minnesota joined the Union on May 11, 1858. It became the 32nd state admitted to the United States. The state is famously known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” though it actually has over 11,000 lakes.

Henry Hastings Sibley became the first governor of Minnesota on May 24, 1858.

Here is a chronological list of the governors of Minnesota from First to last.

No.	Name	Term in Office	Party
1	Henry Hastings Sibley	May 24, 1858 – January 2, 1860	Democratic
2	Alexander Ramsey	January 2, 1860 – July 10, 1863	Republican
3	Henry Adoniram Swift	July 10, 1863 – January 13, 1864	Republican
4	Stephen Miller	January 13, 1864 – January 8, 1866	Republican
5	William Rainey Marshall	January 8, 1866 – January 7, 1870	Republican
6	Horace Austin	January 7, 1870 – January 9, 1874	Republican
7	Cushman Kellogg Davis	January 9, 1874 – January 7, 1876	Republican
8	John S. Pillsbury	January 7, 1876 – January 9, 1882	Republican
9	Lucius Frederick Hubbard	January 9, 1882 – January 5, 1887	Republican
10	Andrew Ryan McGill	January 5, 1887 – January 9, 1889	Republican
11	William Rush Merriam	January 9, 1889 – January 4, 1893	Republican
12	Knute Nelson	January 4, 1893 – January 31, 1895	Republican
13	David Marston Clough	January 31, 1895 – January 2, 1899	Republican
14	John Lind	January 2, 1899 – January 7, 1901	Democratic
15	Samuel Rinnah Van Sant	January 7, 1901 – January 4, 1905	Republican
16	John Albert Johnson	January 4, 1905 – September 21, 1909	Democratic
17	Adolph Olson Eberhart	September 21, 1909 – January 6, 1915	Republican
18	Winfield Scott Hammond	January 6, 1915 – December 30, 1915	Democratic
19	Joseph A. A. Burnquist	December 30, 1915 – January 5, 1921	Republican
20	J. A. O. Preus	January 5, 1921 – January 7, 1925	Republican
21	Theodore Christianson	January 7, 1925 – January 7, 1931	Republican
22	Floyd B. Olson	January 7, 1931 – August 22, 1936	Farmer-Labor
23	Hjalmar Petersen	August 22, 1936 – January 4, 1937	Farmer-Labor
24	Elmer Austin Benson	January 4, 1937 – January 3, 1939	Farmer-Labor
25	Harold Stassen	January 3, 1939 – April 27, 1943	Republican
26	Edward John Thye	April 27, 1943 – January 8, 1947	Republican
27	Luther Youngdahl	January 8, 1947 – September 27, 1951	Republican
28	C. Elmer Anderson	September 27, 1951 – January 5, 1955	Republican
29	Orville Freeman	January 5, 1955 – January 4, 1961	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
30	Elmer L. Andersen	January 4, 1961 – March 25, 1963	Republican
31	Karl Rolvaag	March 25, 1963 – January 2, 1967	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
32	Harold LeVander	January 2, 1967 – January 4, 1971	Republican
33	Wendell R. Anderson	January 4, 1971 – December 29, 1976	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
34	Rudy Perpich	December 29, 1976 – January 1, 1979	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
35	Al Quie	January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983	Independent-Republican
36	Rudy Perpich	January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
37	Arne Carlson	January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999	Independent-Republican
38	Jesse Ventura	January 4, 1999 – January 6, 2003	Reform/Independence
39	Tim Pawlenty	January 6, 2003 – January 3, 2011	Republican
40	Mark Dayton	January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019	Democratic-Farmer-Labor
41	Tim Walz	January 7, 2019 – Incumbent	Democratic-Farmer-Labor