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Governor of Minnesota

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Minnesota Governor

Seal of Minnesota.png
General information
Office Type:  Partisan
Office website:  Official Link
Term limits:  None
Structure
Length of term:   4 years
Authority:  Minnesota Constitution, Article V, Section I the Executive Department
Selection Method:  Elected
Current Officeholder

Mark Dayton.jpg
Name:  Mark Dayton
Officeholder Party:  Democratic
Assumed office:  January 3, 2011
Compensation:  $120,303
Elections
Next election:  November 4, 2014
Last election:  November 2, 2010
Other Minnesota Executive Offices
GovernorLieutenant GovernorSecretary of StateAttorney GeneralTreasurerAuditorCommissioner of EducationAgriculture CommissionerInsurance CommissionerNatural Resources CommissionerLabor CommissionerPublic Utilities Commission

Contents

The Governor of the State of Minnesota is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Minnesota. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and has no term limit.

As of May 2013, Minnesota is one of 12 Democratic state government trifectas.

Current officer

The 40th and current governor is Mark Dayton, a member of the Democratic Farm Labor Party, elected in 2010.[1]

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article V, the Executive Department.

Under Article V, Section I:

The executive department consists of a governor...

Qualifications

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Gubernatorial Elections
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The term of office of the governor of Minnesota is four years. Candidates must:

  • be at least 25 years old
  • be a U.S. citizen
  • have been a Minnesota resident for one year before the election

Elections

Minnesota elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not Presidential election years. For Minnesota, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the first Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 3, 2011 and January 5, 2015 are inaugural days.

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Minnesota governors do not face any term limits.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article V, Section 5.

At any time that the governor is unable to discharge the office, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota succeeds to the office. In the event of a vacancy in the lieutenant governorship, the least elected presiding officer of the Senate, which is to say, the Senate President Pro Tem shall succeed to that office.

Duties

Minnesota

The Constitutionally prescribed duties and powers of the governor are quite lean compared to some other states. Minnesota's governor is the commander-in-chief of the state's militia and naval forces and is charged with upholding and seeing to the faithful execution of all laws.

Along with the Attorney General of Minnesota and the Chief Justice of Minnesota Supreme Court, the governor sits on the Board of Pardons. However, the power of pardon does not extend to cases of impeachment. (§ 7)

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

  • Requesting written opinions from any executive officer on any matter relating to that officer's duties
  • Making appointments, with the advice and consent of the Senate, when the offices of the Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor, and other state and district offices not otherwise provided for by law become vacant
  • Appointing Commissioners
  • Appointing notaries public

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries and Compensation of state executive officers

Article V, Section 4 of the Minnesota Constitution addresses compensation:

...The duties and salaries of the executive officers shall be prescribed by law.

2012

In 2012, the governor was paid an estimated $120,303. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

2010

As of 2010, the Governor of Minnesota is paid $120,303 a year, the 29th highest gubernatorial salary in America.

Contact information

Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone:651-296-3391
Toll Free:800-657-3717
Fax:651-296-2089
E-mail:mark.dayton@state.mn.us

See also

External links

References

Portions of this article were adapted from Wikipedia.


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