List of governors of Alaska (Redirected from Governor of Alaska)

Governor of Alaska
Incumbent
Mike Dunleavy
since December 3, 2018
Government of Alaska
ResidenceAlaska Governor's Mansion
Term lengthFour years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holderWilliam A. Egan
FormationJanuary 3, 1959
DeputyLieutenant Governor of Alaska
Salary$145,000
Websitegov.alaska.gov

The governor of Alaska 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.

Governors before statehood

Alaska was purchased by the United States from the Russian Empire in 1867, with formal transfer occurring on October 18, 1867, 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.

Commanders of the Department of Alaska

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Alaska, under the jurisdiction of the Department of War and administered by Army officers until 1877, when the Army was withdrawn from Alaska.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.

Chief federal officers of the Department of Alaska
No. Commander Position Term in office
1 Jefferson C. Davis
(1828–1879)
Army
Colonel
October 18, 1867

August 31, 1870
2 George K. Brady
(1838–1899)
Army
Captain
September 1, 1870

September 22, 1870
3 John C. Tidball
(1825–1906)
Army
Major
September 23, 1870

September 19, 1871
4 Harvey A. Allen
(1818–1882)
Army
Major
September 20, 1871

January 3, 1873
5 Joseph Stewart
(1822–1904)
Army
Major
January 4, 1873

April 20, 1874
6 George B. Rodney Jr.
(1842–1927)
Army
Captain
April 21, 1874

August 16, 1874
7 Joseph B. Campbell
(d. 1891)
Army
Captain
August 17, 1874

June 14, 1876
8 John Mendenhall
(1829–1892)
Army
Major
June 15, 1876

March 4, 1877
9 Arthur Morris
(1843–1892)
Army
Captain
March 5, 1877

June 14, 1877
10 Montgomery P. Berry
(1828–1898)
Collector
of Customs
June 14, 1877

August 13, 1877
11 Henry Charles DeAhna
(d. 1891)
Collector
of Customs
August 14, 1877

March 26, 1878
12 M. D. Ball
(1835–1887)
Collector
of Customs
March 27, 1878

June 13, 1879
13 Lester A. Beardslee
(1836–1903)
Navy
Captain
June 14, 1879

September 12, 1880
14 Henry Glass
(1844–1908)
Navy
Commander
September 13, 1880

August 9, 1881
15 Edward P. Lull
(1836–1887)
Navy
Commander
August 10, 1881

October 18, 1881
16 Henry Glass
(1844–1908)
Navy
Commander
October 19, 1881

March 12, 1882
17 Frederick Pearson
(1842–1890)
Navy
Commander
March 13, 1882

October 3, 1882
18 Edgar C. Merriman
(1840–1894)
Navy
Commander
October 4, 1882

September 13, 1883
19 Joseph Coghlan
(1844–1908)
Navy
Commander
September 15, 1883

September 13, 1884
20 Henry E. Nichols
(1842–1899)
Navy
Lieutenant
commander
September 14, 1884

September 15, 1884

Governors of the District of Alaska

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.

Governors of the District of Alaska
No. Governor Term in office Appointed by
1 John Henry Kinkead
(1826–1904)
July 4, 1884

May 8, 1885
(successor appointed)
Chester A. Arthur
2 Alfred P. Swineford
(1836–1909)
May 8, 1885

April 13, 1889
(resigned)
Grover Cleveland
3 Lyman Enos Knapp
(1837–1904)
April 13, 1889

June 28, 1893
(successor appointed)
Benjamin Harrison
4 James Sheakley
(1829–1917)
June 28, 1893

July 15, 1897
(resigned)
Grover Cleveland
5 John Green Brady
(d. 1918)
June 19, 1897

March 21, 1906
(resigned)
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
6 Wilford Bacon Hoggatt
(1865–1938)
March 21, 1906

October 1, 1909
(resigned)
Theodore Roosevelt
7 Walter Eli Clark
(1869–1950)
May 20, 1909

August 24, 1912
(became territorial governor)
William Howard Taft

Governors of the Territory of Alaska

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.

Governors of the Territory of Alaska
No. Governor Term in office Appointed by
1 Walter Eli Clark
(1869–1950)
August 24, 1912

May 1, 1913
(resigned)
William Howard Taft
2 John Franklin Alexander Strong
(1856–1929)
May 1, 1913

April 12, 1918
(successor appointed)
Woodrow Wilson
3 Thomas Riggs Jr.
(1873–1945)
April 12, 1918

June 13, 1921
(resigned)
Woodrow Wilson
4 Scott Cordelle Bone
(1860–1936)
June 13, 1921

February 18, 1925
(successor appointed)
Warren G. Harding
5 George Alexander Parks
(1883–1984)
February 18, 1925

March 30, 1933
(successor appointed)
Calvin Coolidge
6 John Weir Troy
(1868–1942)
March 30, 1933

December 5, 1939
(resigned)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
7 Ernest Gruening
(1887–1974)
September 2, 1939

March 16, 1953
(successor appointed)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
8 B. Frank Heintzleman
(1888–1965)
March 16, 1953

January 3, 1957
(resigned)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
9 Mike Stepovich
(1919–2014)
May 16, 1957

August 9, 1958
(resigned)
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Governors of the State of Alaska

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.

Governors of the State of Alaska
No. Governor Term in office Party Election Lt. Governor
1   William A. Egan
(1914–1984)
January 3, 1959

December 5, 1966
(lost election)
Democratic 1958   Hugh Wade
1962
2 Wally Hickel
(1919–2010)
December 5, 1966

January 24, 1969
(resigned)
Republican 1966 Keith Harvey Miller
3 Keith Harvey Miller
(1925–2019)
January 24, 1969

December 7, 1970
(lost election)
Republican Succeeded from
secretary
of state
Robert W. Ward
1 William A. Egan
(1914–1984)
December 7, 1970

December 2, 1974
(lost election)
Democratic 1970 H. A. Boucher
4 Jay Hammond
(1922–2005)
December 2, 1974

December 6, 1982
(term-limited)
Republican 1974 Lowell Thomas Jr.
1978 Terry Miller
5 Bill Sheffield
(1928–2022)
December 6, 1982

December 1, 1986
(lost nomination)
Democratic 1982 Steve McAlpine
6 Steve Cowper
(b. 1938)
December 1, 1986

December 3, 1990
(did not run)
Democratic 1986
2 Wally Hickel
(1919–2010)
December 3, 1990

December 5, 1994
(did not run)
Alaskan
Independence
1990 Jack Coghill
7 Tony Knowles
(b. 1943)
December 5, 1994

December 2, 2002
(term-limited)
Democratic 1994 Fran Ulmer
1998
8 Frank Murkowski
(b. 1933)
December 2, 2002

December 4, 2006
(lost nomination)
Republican 2002 Loren Leman
9 Sarah Palin
(b. 1964)
December 4, 2006

July 26, 2009
(resigned)
Republican 2006 Sean Parnell
10 Sean Parnell
(b. 1962)
July 26, 2009

December 1, 2014
(lost election)
Republican Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor
Vacant
Craig Campbell
(took office August 10, 2009)
2010 Mead Treadwell
11 Bill Walker
(b. 1951)
December 1, 2014

December 3, 2018
(withdrew)
Independent 2014 Byron Mallott
(resigned October 16, 2018)
Valerie Davidson
12 Mike Dunleavy
(b. 1961)
December 3, 2018

Incumbent
Republican 2018 Kevin Meyer
2022 Nancy Dahlstrom

See also


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