The Governor of South Dakota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of South Dakota. The current Governor is Republican Kristi Noem, serving since 2019.
Republican (27) Populist (1) Democratic (5)
# | Governor (birth and death) |
Took office | Left office | Party | City elected from | Lieutenant Governor | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arthur C. Mellette (1842–1896) |
March 22, 1889 | January 3, 1893 | Republican | Watertown | James H. Fletcher George H. Hoffman |
[1] | |||
2 | Charles H. Sheldon (1840–1898) |
January 3, 1893 | January 1, 1897 | Republican | Pierpont | Charles N. Herreid | ||||
3 | Andrew E. Lee (1847–1934) |
January 1, 1897 | January 8, 1901 | Populist | Vermillion | Daniel T. Hindman John T. Kean |
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4 | Charles N. Herreid (1857–1928) |
January 8, 1901 | January 3, 1905 | Republican | Eureka | George W. Snow | ||||
5 | Samuel H. Elrod (1856–1935) |
January 3, 1905 | January 8, 1907 | Republican | Clark | John E. McDougall | ||||
6 | Coe I. Crawford (1858–1944) |
January 8, 1907 | January 5, 1909 | Republican | Huron | Howard C. Shober | ||||
7 | Robert S. Vessey (1858–1929) |
January 5, 1909 | January 7, 1913 | Republican | Wessington Springs | Howard C. Shober Frank M. Byrne |
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8 | Frank M. Byrne (1858–1927) |
January 7, 1913 | January 2, 1917 | Republican | Faulkton | Edward Lincoln Abel Peter Norbeck |
[2] | |||
9 | Peter Norbeck (1870–1936) |
January 2, 1917 | January 4, 1921 | Republican | Redfield | William H. McMaster | ||||
10 | William H. McMaster (1877–1968) |
January 4, 1921 | January 6, 1925 | Republican | Yankton | Carl Gunderson | ||||
11 | Carl Gunderson (1864–1933) |
January 6, 1925 | January 4, 1927 | Republican | Mitchell | Alva Clark Forney | ||||
12 | William J. Bulow (1869–1960) |
January 4, 1927 | January 6, 1931 | Democratic | Beresford | Hyatt E. Covey (Republican) Clarence E. Coyne (Republican) John T. Grigsby (Democratic) |
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13 | Warren Green (1869–1945) |
January 6, 1931 | January 3, 1933 | Republican | Hazel | Odell K. Whitney | ||||
14 | Tom Berry (1879–1951) |
January 3, 1933 | January 5, 1937 | Democratic | Belvidere | Hans Ustrud Robert Peterson |
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15 | Leslie Jensen (1892–1964) |
January 5, 1937 | January 3, 1939 | Republican | Hot Springs | Donald McMurchie | ||||
16 | Harlan J. Bushfield (1882–1948) |
January 3, 1939 | January 5, 1943 | Republican | Miller | Donald McMurchie A. C. Miller |
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17 | Merrell Q. Sharpe (1888–1962) |
January 5, 1943 | January 7, 1947 | Republican | Kennebec | A. C. Miller Sioux K. Grigsby |
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18 | George T. Mickelson (1903–1965) |
January 7, 1947 | January 2, 1951 | Republican | Selby | Sioux K. Grigsby Rex A. Terry |
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19 | Sigurd Anderson (1904–1990) |
January 2, 1951 | January 4, 1955 | Republican | Webster | Rex A. Terry | ||||
20 | Joe Foss (1915–2003) |
January 4, 1955 | January 6, 1959 | Republican | Sioux Falls | L. Roy Houck | ||||
21 | Ralph Herseth (1909–1969) |
January 6, 1959 | January 3, 1961 | Democratic | Houghton | John F. Lindley | ||||
22 | Archie M. Gubbrud (1910–1987) |
January 3, 1961 | January 5, 1965 | Republican | Alcester | Joseph H. Bottum Nils Boe |
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23 | Nils Boe (1913–1992) |
January 5, 1965 | January 7, 1969 | Republican | Sioux Falls | Lem Overpeck | ||||
24 | Frank Farrar (1929-2021) |
January 7, 1969 | January 5, 1971 | Republican | Britton | James Abdnor | ||||
25 | Dick Kneip (1933–1987) |
January 5, 1971 | July 24, 1978 | Democratic | Salem | William Dougherty Harvey L. Wollman |
[3] | |||
26 | Harvey L. Wollman (b. 1935) |
July 24, 1978 | January 1, 1979 | Democratic | Hitchcock | Vacant | ||||
27 | Bill Janklow (1939–2012) |
January 1, 1979 | January 6, 1987 | Republican | Flandreau | Lowell C. Hansen II | ||||
28 | George S. Mickelson (1941–1993) |
January 6, 1987 | April 19, 1993 | Republican | Brookings | Walter Dale Miller | [4] | |||
29 | Walter Dale Miller (1925–2015) |
April 19, 1993 | January 7, 1995 | Republican | New Underwood | Steve T. Kirby | ||||
30 | Bill Janklow (1939–2012) |
January 7, 1995 | January 7, 2003 | Republican | Brandon | Carole Hillard | ||||
31 | Mike Rounds (b. 1954) |
January 7, 2003 | January 8, 2011 | Republican | Pierre | Dennis Daugaard | ||||
32 | Dennis Daugaard (b. 1953) |
January 8, 2011 | January 5, 2019 | Republican | Garretson | Matt Michels | ||||
33 | Kristi Noem (b. 1971) |
January 5, 2019 | Incumbent | Republican | Castlewood | Larry Rhoden |