The Governor of Michigan is the head of government in Michigan.
Term Limit
Ever since 1992, all governors in the state of Michigan are limited to only two consecutive terms in office. After a governor serves two terms, they are prohibited from running for this office again.
List of governors
| # | Governor | Term | Party |
| 1 | Steven T. Mason (1811-1843) | November 3, 1835 to January 7, 1840 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 2 | William Woodbridge (1780-1861) | January 7, 1840 to February 23, 1841 (Resigned)1 | Whig |
| 3 | James W. Gordon (1809-1853) | February 24, 1841 to January 3, 1842 (Did Not Run) | Whig |
| 4 | John Barry (1802-1870) | January 3, 1842 to January 5, 1846 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 5 | Alpheus Felch (1804-1896) | January 5, 1846 to March 3, 1847 (Resigned)2 | Democrat |
| 6 | William Greenly (1813-1883) | March 3, 1847 to January 3, 1848 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 7 | Epaphroditus Ransom (1798-1859) | January 3, 1848 to January 7, 1850 (Lost Renomination) | Democrat |
| 8 | John Barry (1802-1870) | January 7, 1850 to January 1, 1852 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 9 | Robert McClelland (1807-1881) | January 1, 1852 to March 6, 1853 (Resigned)3 | Democrat |
| 10 | Andrew Parsons (1817-1855) | `March 7, 1853 to January 3, 1855 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 11 | Kinsley S. Bingham (1908-1861) | January 3, 1855 to January 5, 1859 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 12 | Moses Wisner (1815-1863) | January 5, 1859 to January 2, 1861 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 13 | Austin Blair (1818-1894) | January 2, 1861 to January 4, 1865 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 14 | Henry H. Crapo (1804-1869) | January 4, 1865 to January 1, 1869 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 15 | Henry P. Baldwin (1814-1892) | January 1, 1869 to January 1, 1873 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 16 | John J. Bagley (1832-1881) | January 1, 1873 to January 1, 1877 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 17 | Charles Croswell (1825-1886) | January 1, 1873 to January 1, 1881 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 18 | David Jerome (1829-1896) | January 1, 1881 to January 1, 1883 (Lost Election) | Republican |
| 19 | Josiah Begole (1815-1896) | January 1, 1883 to January 1, 1885 (Lost Election) | Democrat |
| 20 | Russell Alger (1836-1907) | January 1, 1885 to January 1, 1887 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 21 | Cyrus Luce (1824-1905) | January 1, 1887 to January 1, 1891 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 22 | Edwin Winans (1826-1894) | January 1, 1891 to January 1, 1893 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 23 | John T. Rich (1841-1926) | January 1, 1893 to January 1, 1897 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 24 | Hazen S. Pingree (1840-1901) | January 1, 1897 to January 1, 1901 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 25 | Aaron T. Bliss (1837-1906) | January 1, 1901 to January 2, 1905 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 26 | Fred Warner (1865-1923) | January 2, 1905 to January 1, 1911 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 27 | Chase Osborn (1860-1949) | January 2, 1911 to January 1, 1913 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 28 | Woodbridge Ferris (1853-1928) | January 1, 1913 to January 1, 1917 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 29 | Albert Sleeper (1862-1934) | January 1, 1917 to January 1, 1921 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 30 | Alex J. Groesbeck (1873-1953) | January 1, 1921 to January 1, 1927 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 31 | Fred W. Green (1871-1936) | January 1, 1927 to January 1, 1931 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 32 | Wilber M. Brucker (1894-1968) | January 1, 1931 to January 1, 1933 (Lost Election) | Republican |
| 33 | William Comstock (1877-1949) | January 1, 1933 to January 1, 1935 (Lost Renomination)4 | Democrat |
| 34 | Frank Fitzgerald (1885-1939) | January 1, 1935 to January 1, 1937 (Lost Election) | Republican |
| 35 | Frank Murphy (1890-1949) | January 1, 1937 to January 1, 1939 (Lost Election) | Democrat |
| 36 | Frank Fitzgerald (1885-1939) | January 1. 1939 to March 16, 1939 (Died) | Republican |
| 37 | Luren Dickenson (1859-1943) | March 16, 1939 to January 1, 1941 (Lost Election) | Republican |
| 38 | Murray Van Wagoner (1898-1986) | January 1, 1941 to January 1, 1943 (Lost Election) | Democrat |
| 39 | Harry Kelly (1895-1971) | January 1, 1943 to January 1, 1947 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 40 | Kim Sigler (1894-1953) | January 1, 1947 to January 1, 1949 (Lost Election) | Republican |
| 41 | Soapy Williams (1911-1988) | January 1, 1949 to January 1, 1961 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 42 | John Swainson (1925-1994) | January 1, 1961 to January 1, 1963 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 43 | George W. Romney (1907-1995) | January 1, 1963 to January 22, 1969 (Resigned)5 | Republican |
| 44 | William Milliken (1922-2019) | January 22, 1969 to January 1, 1983 (Did Not Run) | Republican |
| 45 | James Blanchard (Born 1942) | January 1, 1983 to January 1, 1991 (Did Not Run) | Democrat |
| 46 | John Engler (Born 1948) | January 1, 1991 to January 1, 2003 (Term Limited)6 | Republican |
| 47 | Jennifer Granholm (Born 1959) 7 | January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2011 (Term Limited) | Democrat |
| 48 | Rick Snyder (Born 1958) | January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2019 (Term Limited) | Republican |
| 49 | Gretchen Whitmer (Born 1971) | January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2023 (Lost Election) | Democrat |
| 50 | Viktor Shevchenko (Born 2016) | January 1, 2023 to Incumbent | Republican |
Notes
- William Woodbridge resigned after he was elected to the United States Senate. ↩︎
- Alpheus Felch resigned after he was elected to the Senate ↩︎
- Robert McClelland resigned after he was confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior ↩︎
- William Comstock lost the Democratic nomination to Arthur Lacy, who intern lost the election. ↩︎
- George W. Romney resigned after he was confirmed the Housing and Urban Development of the United States ↩︎
- Under the 1992 Constitution, governors can’t run for re-election after 2 terms. ↩︎
- Jennifer Granholm was Michigan’s first female governor ↩︎