Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota

Elected political office in Minnesota, United States

Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota

Incumbent
Peggy Flanagan

since January 8, 2019

Style|

* Mister or Madam Lieutenant Governor
(informal)
* The Honorable
(formal)

Seat| Minnesota State Capitol
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Appointer| General election
Term length| Four years, no term limits
Constituting instrument| Minnesota Constitution of 1858, Article V
Inaugural holder| William Holcombe
Formation| May 11, 1858
(167 years ago) (May 11, 1858)
Succession| First
Salary| $82,959[1]
Website| Official page

The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a DFLer and the first Native American elected to a statewide executive office in Minnesota's history.

## Powers and duties

[edit]

The lieutenant governor assists the governor in carrying out the functions of the executive branch, as well as serving in the governor's place in the event of his or her absence or disability. The governor, as prescribed by law, may file a written order with the secretary of state to delegate to the lieutenant governor any powers, duties, responsibilities, or functions otherwise performed by the governor. As a key member of the governor's cabinet, the lieutenant governor is consulted on all major policy and budgetary decisions. Moreover, the lieutenant governor is a statutory member of the Executive Council and chairs the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security, the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board, and the State Capitol Preservation Commission.[2][3]

Politics of Minnesota

Constitution

Executive

* Governor: Tim Walz (DFL)
* Lieutenant Governor: Peggy Flanagan (DFL)
* Secretary of State: Steve Simon (DFL)
* State Auditor: Julie Blaha (DFL)
* Attorney General: Keith Ellison (DFL)
* Cabinet
* Executive Council

Legislature

* List of legislative sessions
* Senate
* President
* Majority leader
* Minority leader
* House of Representatives
* Speaker
* Majority leader
* Minority leader

Judiciary

* Supreme Court
* Court of Appeals
* District Courts

Elections

* Political parties
* Political party strength

Subdivisions

* Counties
* Cities
* Townships

Congressional delegation

* United States Senate
* Amy Klobuchar (DFL)
* Tina Smith (DFL)
* United States House of Representatives
* 1: Brad Finstad (R)
* 2: Angie Craig (DFL)
* 3: Dean Phillips (DFL)
* 4: Betty McCollum (DFL)
* 5: Ilhan Omar (DFL)
* 6: Tom Emmer (R)
* 7: Michelle Fischbach (R)
* 8: Pete Stauber (R)

* Politics of the United States
* Politics portal

* v
* t
* e

## History

[edit]

In 1886, elections were moved from odd years to even years. Beginning with the 1962 election, the term of the lieutenant governor increased from two to four years. Prior to the 1974 election, governors and lieutenant governors were elected on separate ballots, with the lieutenant governor having independent legislative authority as president of the senate. Since 1974, the lieutenant governor has been relieved of the duty to preside over the state senate and is elected on a joint ticket with the governor. Marlene Johnson, elected in 1982 as the running mate of Rudy Perpich, was the first female lieutenant governor of Minnesota. All eight of her successors in that office have also been women.

## List

[edit]

Parties

Democratic   Democratic–Farmer–Labor   Farmer–Labor   Republican/Independent Republican   Reform/Independence

No. | Image | Lt. Governor | Took office | Left office | Governor(s) served under | Party

|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  | William Holcombe | May 24, 1858 | January 2, 1860 | Henry H. Sibley | Democratic
2 |  | Ignatius L. Donnelly | January 2, 1860 | March 4, 1863 | Alexander Ramsey | Republican
3 |  | Henry Adoniram Swift | March 4, 1863 | July 10, 1863 | Alexander Ramsey | Republican
Office vacant from July 10, 1863 – January 11, 1864
4 |  | Charles D. Sherwood | January 11, 1864 | January 8, 1866 | Stephen Miller | Republican
5 |  | Thomas H. Armstrong | January 8, 1866 | January 7, 1870 | William R. Marshall | Republican
6 |  | William H. Yale | January 7, 1870 | January 9, 1874 | Horace Austin | Republican
7 |  | Alphonso Barto | January 9, 1874 | January 7, 1876 | Cushman K. Davis | Republican
8 |  | James Wakefield | January 7, 1876 | January 10, 1880 | John S. Pillsbury | Republican
9 |  | Charles A. Gilman | January 10, 1880 | January 4, 1887 | John S. Pillsbury
Lucius F. Hubbard | Republican
10 |  | Albert E. Rice | January 4, 1887 | January 5, 1891 | Andrew R. McGill
William R. Merriam | Republican
11 |  | Gideon S. Ives | January 5, 1891 | January 3, 1893 | William R. Merriam
Knute Nelson | Republican
12 |  | David Marston Clough | January 3, 1893 | January 31, 1895 | Knute Nelson | Republican
13 |  | Frank A. Day | January 31, 1895 | January 5, 1897 | David M. Clough | Republican
14 |  | John L. Gibbs | January 5, 1897 | January 3, 1899 | David M. Clough | Republican
15 |  | Lyndon Ambrose Smith | January 3, 1899 | January 5, 1903 | John Lind (Democratic)
Samuel R. Van Sant (Republican) | Republican
16 |  | Ray W. Jones | January 5, 1903 | January 7, 1907 | Samuel R. Van Sant
John A. Johnson | Republican
17 |  | Adolph Olson Eberhart | January 7, 1907 | September 21, 1909 | John A. Johnson (Democratic) | Republican
18 |  | Edward Everett Smith | September 25, 1909 | January 3, 1911 | Adolph O. Eberhart | Republican
19 |  | Samuel Y. Gordon | January 3, 1911 | January 7, 1913 | Adolph O. Eberhart | Republican
20 |  | Joseph A. A. Burnquist | January 7, 1913 | December 30, 1915 | Adolph O. Eberhart
Winfield S. Hammond | Republican
Office vacant from December 30, 1915 – October 28, 1916
21 |  | George H. Sullivan | October 28, 1916 | January 2, 1917 | J. A. A. Burnquist | Republican
22 |  | Thomas Frankson | January 2, 1917 | January 4, 1921 | J. A. A. Burnquist | Republican
23 |  | Louis L. Collins | January 4, 1921 | January 6, 1925 | J. A. O. Preus | Republican
24 |  | William I. Nolan | January 6, 1925 | June 1929 | Theodore Christianson | Republican
25 |  | Charles Edward Adams | June 25, 1929 | January 6, 1931 | Theodore Christianson | Republican
26 |  | Henry M. Arens | January 6, 1931 | January 3, 1933 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer–Labor
27 |  | Konrad K. Solberg | January 3, 1933 | January 8, 1935 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer–Labor
28 |  | Hjalmar Petersen | January 8, 1935 | August 24, 1936 | Floyd B. Olson | Farmer–Labor
* |  | William B. Richardson1 | August 24, 1936 | January 1, 1937 | Hjalmar Petersen | Republican
29 |  | Gottfrid Lindsten | January 5, 1937 | January 2, 1939 | Elmer A. Benson | Farmer–Labor
30 |  | C. Elmer Anderson | January 2, 1939 | January 4, 1943 | Harold Stassen | Republican
31 |  | Edward John Thye | January 4, 1943 | April 27, 1943 | Harold Stassen | Republican
32 |  | Archie H. Miller | May 6, 1943 | January 2, 1945 | Edward John Thye | Republican
33 |  | C. Elmer Anderson | January 2, 1945 | September 27, 1951 | Luther W. Youngdahl | Republican
Office vacant from September 27, 1951 – January 5, 1953
34 |  | Ancher Nelsen | January 5, 1953 | May 1, 1953 | C. Elmer Anderson | Republican
Office vacant from May 1, 1953 – September 3, 1954
35 |  | Donald O. Wright2 | September 3, 1954 | January 3, 1955 | C. Elmer Anderson | Republican
36 |  | Karl Rolvaag | January 3, 1955 | January 8, 1963 | Orville L. Freeman
Elmer L. Andersen | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
37 |  | Alexander M. Keith | January 8, 1963 | January 2, 1967 | Elmer L. Andersen
Karl F. Rolvaag | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
38 |  | James B. Goetz | January 2, 1967 | January 4, 1971 | Harold LeVander | Republican
39 |  | Rudy Perpich | January 4, 1971 | December 29, 1976 | Wendell R. Anderson | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
40 |  | Alec G. Olson3 | December 29, 1976 | January 4, 1979 | Rudy Perpich | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
41 |  | Lou Wangberg | January 4, 1979 | January 3, 1983 | Al Quie | Independent Republican
42 |  | Marlene Johnson | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1991 | Rudy Perpich | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
43 |  | Joanell Dyrstad | January 7, 1991 | January 3, 1995 | Arne H. Carlson | Independent Republican
44 |  | Joanne Benson | January 3, 1995 | January 4, 1999 | Arne H. Carlson | IR/Republican
45 |  | Mae Schunk | January 4, 1999 | January 6, 2003 | Jesse Ventura | Reform/Independence
46 |  | Carol Molnau | January 6, 2003 | January 3, 2011 | Tim Pawlenty | Republican
47 |  | Yvonne Prettner Solon | January 3, 2011 | January 5, 2015 | Mark Dayton | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
48 |  | Tina Smith | January 5, 2015 | January 2, 2018 | Democratic–Farmer–Labor
49 |  | Michelle Fischbach4 | January 2, 2018 | January 7, 2019 | Republican
50 |  | Peggy Flanagan | January 7, 2019 | Incumbent | Tim Walz | Democratic–Farmer–Labor

1 Richardson was actually president pro tem of the Minnesota Senate; became acting lieutenant governor when lieutenant governor Hjalmar Petersen became governor on the death of Floyd B. Olson, but Richardson was never sworn in.

2 Wright was president pro tem of the Minnesota Senate and assumed the office of lieutenant governor in 1954 after Lieutenant Governor Ancher Nelsen resigned to become administrator of the Rural Electric Administration.

3 As president of the Minnesota Senate, Olson assumed office of lieutenant governor when Rudy Perpich, then lieutenant governor, became governor on the resignation of Wendell Anderson; Anderson arranged with Perpich to be appointed to the United States Senate after the resignation of Walter Mondale, who had been elected vice president.

4 As president of the Minnesota Senate, Fischbach became lieutenant governor following the resignation of Tina Smith. Smith was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Al Franken. Fischbach resigned from the state Senate and took the oath of office for lieutenant governor on May 25, 2018.

## Note on Minnesota political parties names

[edit]

* Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party: On April 15, 1944, the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party merged and created the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). It is affiliated with the national Democratic Party.
* Republican Party of Minnesota: From November 15, 1975, to September 23, 1995, the name of the state Republican party was the Independent Republican party (IR). The party has always been affiliated with the national Republican Party.
* Independence Party of Minnesota: The party was founded under this name in 1992. In 1995 the IPM affiliated with the national Reform Party and renamed itself the Reform Party of Minnesota. In 2000 the Reform Party of Minnesota disaffiliated with the national Reform party and returned to the name Independence party.

## See also

[edit]

* Governor of Minnesota
* List of governors of Minnesota

## References

[edit]

1. ^ State Elected Officials' Compensation (PDF) (Report). Minnesota House Research Department. 2021. p. 1. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
2. ^ "Chapter 4. State Executive Offices, 2020-2021 Minnesota Blue Book" (PDF). Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
3. ^ "2024 Minnesota Statutes Index: Lieutenant Governor". Office of the Revisor of Statutes of Minnesota. Retrieved July 6, 2025.

* Minnesota Lieutenant Governors 1858- Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
* MHS.org's list

* v
* t
* e

Lieutenant governors of Minnesota

* Holcombe
* Donnelly
* Swift
* Sherwood
* Armstrong
* Yale
* Barto
* Wakefield
* Gilman
* Rice
* Ives
* Clough
* Day
* Gibbs
* L. Smith
* Jones
* Eberhart
* E. Smith
* Gordon
* Burnquist
* Sullivan
* Frankson
* Collins
* Nolan
* Adams
* Arens
* Solberg
* Petersen
* Richardson (acting)
* Lindsten
* Anderson
* Thye
* Miller
* Anderson
* Nelsen
* Wright
* Rolvaag
* Keith
* Goetz
* Perpich
* Olson
* Wangberg
* Johnson
* Dyrstad
* Benson
* Schunk
* Molnau
* Prettner Solon
* T. Smith
* Fischbach
* Flanagan

* v
* t
* e

United States lieutenant governors by political division

States|

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* list
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* list
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* list
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin

Insular areas|

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico do not have lieutenant governors.

* v
* t
* e

Lieutenant governors in the United States

Vice President of the United States: ▌JD Vance (R)

▌Ainsworth (R)

▌Dahlstrom (R)

▌Fontes (D)1

▌Rutledge (R)

▌Kounalakis (D)

▌Primavera (D)

▌Bysiewicz (D)

▌Gay (D)

▌Uthmeier (R)*4

▌Jones (R)

▌Luke (D)

▌Bedke (R)

▌Stratton (D)

▌Beckwith (R)

▌Cournoyer (R)

▌Toland (D)

▌Coleman (D)

▌Nungesser (R)

▌Daughtry (D)2

▌Miller (D)

▌Driscoll (D)

▌Gilchrist (D)

▌Flanagan (DFL)

▌Hosemann (R)

▌Wasinger (R)

▌Juras (R)

▌Kelly (R)

▌Anthony (R)

▌Carson (R)2

▌Way (D)

▌Morales (D)

▌Delgado (D)

▌Hunt (D)

▌Strinden (R)

▌Tressel (R)

▌Pinnell (R)

▌Read (D)1

▌Davis (D)

▌Matos (D)

▌Evette (R)

▌Venhuizen (R)

▌McNally (R)2

▌Patrick (R)

▌Henderson (R)

▌Rodgers (R)

▌Earle-Sears (R)

▌Heck (D)

▌Smith (R)2

▌Rodriguez (D)

▌Gray (R)1

Federal districts:

▌Mendelson (D)3

Territories:

▌Ae (R)

▌Tenorio (D)

▌Mendiola (R)

▌Rivera (PNP/D)1

▌Roach (D)

An asterisk indicates an Acting Lt. Governor

Italics indicate next-in-line of succession for states and territories without a directly elected lieutenant governor or whose lieutenant governor office is vacant:

* 1\. Secretary of State
* 2\. President of the Senate
* 3\. Council Chair
* 4\. Attorney General

Political party affiliation

* ▌Republican: 28 (27 states, 1 territory)
* ▌Democratic: 26 (23 states, 2 territories, 1 district)
* ▌New Progressive: 1 (1 territory)
* ▌Independent: 1 (1 territory)

* v
* t
* e

Government of Minnesota

Executive
elected|

* Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Attorney General
* Auditor
* Treasurer (1858–2003)

Executive
agencies|

* Administration
* Agriculture
* Commerce
* Corrections
* Education
* Employment and Economic Development
* Health
* Higher Education
* Housing Finance
* Human Rights
* Human Services
* Indian Affairs
* Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation
* Labor and Industry
* Lottery
* Management and Budget
* Mediation Services
* Military Affairs
* Natural Resources
* Pollution Control
* Public Safety
* Public Utilities
* Revenue
* State Colleges and Universities System
* State Patrol
* Transportation
* Veterans Affairs

Legislative|

* Legislature
* Senate
* House

Judicial|

* Supreme Court
* Court of Appeals
* Tax Court
* Worker's Compensation
* District Court

Regional|

* Regional Development Commissions
* Metropolitan Council
* Soil and water conservation districts
* Watershed districts

Public|

* University of Minnesota System

Related|

* Capitol
* Constitution
* Politics
* Laws
* Statutes
* Territorial legislature
* Tribal government

* v
* t
* e

Minnesota statewide elected officials

* Governor (list)
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Attorney General
* Auditor
* Treasurer (1858–2003)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template